Welcome Wagon - 1.3

I just want to get my mail in peace.

I don't want whispers behind my back.

I don't need scantily clad neighbors looking for their next victim.

I don't want to be the sad widower that everyone feels sorry for or feels like they can 'make better.' Even the guys in town.... I don't know what to say to them. *sigh* But I guess I'm going to have to figure it out quickly...

 "Good Morning, Neighbor!"
"Uh..Hi...Morning."
"It's so nice to have another guy around town.  You play poker?"
I glance at my watch, hopeful that its time for the twins to be home...its not. "I...haven't played...in a while. I'm not really good at it," I heard my mouth say.  That's good...means my brain is at least acting human for me. Skinny Jeans seemed pleased with the answer. If this were a cartoon, I'm sure I would have seen dollar signs in his eyes.
We chat some more an suddenly Tiny Shorts drops to the ground, grinding out some push-ups.  Confusion hit me first...then the woman came sashaying past me. "...76, 77, 78," grunts Tiny Shorts.  I snort and quickly cover it with a cough. "Dude...is she looking? Is she watching?"

"Oh yeah. I'd run after her if I were you." Skinny Jeans looks up in time to see his friend running after the poor, innocent girl. He gives me a smile and a shrug before launching into a story about this new app he had just downloaded on his phone. I glance toward the house, hoping to see fire and smoke billowing out...anything to get me away from this asinine conversation.
I'm going to have to pull out the big guns. "Hey man...I gotta go.  If I'm late picking up the twins, they are going to be so upset."
Skinny Jeans nearly falls over himself as this look of awe comes over his face. "DUDE!  Twins?  That is so HOT!"
Wow...some people.  "No...my twins.  My kids.  They're 11...and definitely not hot."
Well, that attitude shifted quickly and he can't seem to get away from me fast enough. "Er...no...of course not.  I'm sor...I'm gonna go."
"Hey...wait.  What about that poker game," I throw his way as he runs after his friend.
I barely hear his answer since he doesn't even bother to look back. "I'll text you."
Then, in a bizarre moment, a bubble of laughter makes its way out of me.  It was just the ridiculous look on his face! People look up around me and, for once in a very long time, I don't care.  I'd rather them see me as the crazy guy than the pathetic widower.
Time to make supper.

Callisto on My Mind - 1.2

Oh Callisto...am I doing the right thing?

Two bedrooms. 1 Bathroom. Kitchen. Living Room. Central heat and air. Solid Roof...with only a little rust. Internet...albeit a little slow.  Is that it? That's the list of basic necessities...right?  I'll look like I've got it all together...the kids will be ok. Right?
*sigh*
Moving to this dust bowl of a town was the hardest decision I've ever made.  Uprooting their lives...what was left of it.  Am I crazy?  They just lost their mother and I load them into a car and take them to a whole new town....leaving their friends, the only home they've ever known...
I'm an idiot.

Honestly....who am I kidding?  I made salad for dinner last night...and I had to look it up online!

How am I going to be a father without you, Callisto?  You were my moon....my everything. 

New Beginnings - 1

Today is day one in our new house, in our new town.

Thankfully, its Saturday and we can get moved in over the weekend.  Dad says my brother and I still have to start school on Monday and we are NOT looking forward to it.  Moving to a new town, meeting different kids, new school cliques...ugh. 
This is me and my brother.

We're twins - Venus and Mars Stellar.  Yes...my parents have a sense of humor. 
Had.  Had a sense of humor.
My mother had a sense of humor when she was alive.  My dad stopped having one when she died. 
This is my dad, Jupiter Stellar.

And that's the look that he has on his face most of the time.  Sad and tired.  Don't get me wrong - he tries to act like he is ok, tries to be funny for us...but his heart isn't really in it.  I know the difference.
My mother has been dead for 6 months now, but she had been sick for a little while before that.  Dad won't really talk about it. I remember her, how amazing she was, before she got sick. Then one day she had the flu...and then she was gone.
I miss her.
Dad sucks at doing my hair.
Wow - I'm really all over the place with this story!
So we're in this new town, we haven't started school yet and dad is starting his job on Monday too.  He works with computers or something...I think. I know he's smart...so it really could be anything.