Stacy's Dad Has Got It Going On Read Free Page A

than her parents, though
they must be roughly the same age. He had a vibrancy to him, as well, that
seemed nothing if not youthful. She’d already forgotten the reason for his
visit, but when it stormed to the forefront of her mind, she felt a surge of
discomfort. She hoped he wouldn’t mention his wife’s affair to her. She’d feel
really awkward hearing about it. “What about Africa?” she asked. “That’s where
my father’s ancestors were from.”
    “We have a number of projects going on
in Africa, as you can imagine. Right now we have a big push on promoting the
rights of women and girls. This campaign’s gotten a lot of great press.”
    “Yeah, I’ve heard of it for sure. It’s
about helping women work for themselves in sustainable industries, and
encouraging families to let their girls go to school.”
    “Right!” Eric said. He seemed very
pleased his message had reached all the way to his daughter’s house. “As
ruefully as we may look at corporate sponsorship, it’s a necessary evil at
times. Did you know we’ve teamed up with purveyors of sanitary pads, who help
us by donating money and product to help keep girls attending classes?”
    Stacy crept back into the room and
took a seat in her favourite chair, but neither Eric nor Savannah acknowledged
her. The conversation had gotten too interesting. “Yeah, you know, I actually
did hear about that,” Savannah said. “Because a lot of girls there, especially
in the villages, aren’t allowed to go to school when they have their periods.
They fall behind after a while, and then a lot of them drop out.”
    “What the hell are you people talking
about?” Stacy asked, grabbing the remote from the coffee table.
    “One of the IHAO’s projects in Africa
involves…”
    But Stacy wasn’t listening. She upped
the volume on the TV to drown out her father’s voice. He looked to Savannah and
shrugged. “We’ll finish this conversation some other time, I guess.”
    The guy had a really nice smile—she’d
give him that much. “For sure. I have a lot of reading to do for Physiology of
Neural Systems.”
    Eric laughed. “Sounds like fun.” And
then he looked to his daughter. “Stacy, don’t you have reading to do too?”
    Rolling her eyes, she tossed the TV
remote back on the coffee table. “Yes, father.”
    When Stacy marched to her room and
closed the door with a little more force than was necessary, Savannah went to
the kitchen to clear her plate. Through the serving gap, she watched Stacy’s
dad pick up the remote, flip past documentaries and round-table news programs,
and finally settle on one of those irritating fat-husband-pretty-wife sitcoms.
A man as smart as Eric would really have to be suffering to fill his mind with
that crap.
    “Can I get you anything?” Savannah
asked him.
    “No thanks,” he said without turning
around. “Stace showed me where you keep everything and…oh, I won’t eat any of
the food with your name on it. She told me not to.”
    Her heart panged for the guy. “No…”
she muttered. “It’s okay. Eat what you like.”
    When Savannah got to her room, she
spent a good half hour scouring her bookshelf for something Eric might be
interested in reading. Anything would be better than sitcoms, but she doubted
he’d be interested in her old Genetics text, or even the vastly more jejune
Pharmacokinetic Principles. She didn’t own many novels, but she did have the
autobiography of a young Somali woman. With his international aid work, he’d
surely find it as interesting as Savannah had. She set the paperback by her
door to give him when she left her room for the nightly nine o’clock tea break.

Chapter Three
     
    Savannah closed her eyes and listened
to this week’s favourite song on the radio. She fully acknowledged her
commitment issues with regard to music and bands. What she loved this week,
she’d hate next week. She didn’t like anything after it became popular. Would
she drop Chris so easily once she