(Seven years old)

“Bye Jose,” I leaned over and kissed Mum on the cheek before jumping out of the car and running into the school. “Dad will pick you up after school!”

“I love you, Mum,” I shouted, waving, and grinning at my best friend, Olivia.

Olivia took her hands out of the pockets of her school blazer and picked up her blue school bag.

“Hey Josie.”

I nodded and sauntered up to the large, stone building. It was a private school- all fees paid by Dad and his high-paying job- and went from prep to year 12.

“Do you want to come to my house after school?” Olivia asked. “Mum said it would be okay if you did.”

I shook my head and sat down in the corridor, outside our classroom.

“I’m going to Dad’s place. It’s his weekend.”

Olivia groaned and nodded. She was the only one of my friends who I had told the whole story of Dad leaving. She tried to understand and be a good friend about it, but sometimes it was hard for her.

The custody arrangement was that Rosa, now 17, spent every second weekend at Dads. He would pick us up from school and drop us off on Monday morning. Mum would then take us home that afternoon. Rosa had been cold towards Dad until she was 16, when he bailed her out of jail for shoplifting and agreed not to tell Mum.

“What about tomorrow?” Olivia asked.

I yawned and shook my head again, wishing that I was able to go.

“Dad’s taking me and Rosa to some performance. It sounds really boring, but his girlfriend is acting in it.”

Olivia nodded sadly and we sat in silence until the teacher opened the door and let us in.

After school Dad met me at the front gate with Rosa beside him. She stood with her hip jutted out and leg bent, twirling some of her auburn hair around a long and slender finger. Her heavy-looking schoolbag lay on the ground beside her with the top of a folder sticking out. Dad stood completely straight with a smile on his dark face. He obviously hadn’t shaven in days, and his brown hair was sticking up in places.

“Finally,” Rosa exclaimed. “What took you so long? You do know that I have a very important test I have to study for.”

I blushed. “Sorry Rosa.”

Dad took my small hand in his big, rough one and chuckled. Rosa and I rolled our eyes at each other as we walked to the car. It was a blue sports car with the roof down. I loved Dads car because when he drove fast, the wind blew your hair back (or forwards, depending what direction you were going in).

Dad and Rosa got into the front two seats and I jumped into the back.

“All ready?” Dad asked, and started the car. I sat back and enjoyed the wind whipping my face, and I could see that Rosa was talking on her mobile.

“Who’s up for McDonalds?” Dad asked as we neared the fast-food chain. Rosa and I both nodded, and he drove into the drive-thru. He ordered, and then passed us our meals. I munched on nuggets and drank my lemonade the rest of the way to Dad’s place.

Dad lived in a house that looked like it could fit many people, even though it was only him and Eliza, and sometimes me and Rosa. It wasn’t a mansion, but it was definitely bigger than our house. It had two floors, two bathrooms, four studies, a kitchen and seven bedrooms.

“Dinners at six Rosa,” Dad shouted as Rosa twisted her key and ran upstairs. We both knew she was going into her private study to do homework and prepare for some test. She was really smart, and was expected to get top marks of her VCE exam.

“What do you want to do, my little princess?” Dad asked me, picking up my bag and shutting the gates. We walked up the gravel path and entered the house, Dad closing the big wooden door behind him.

I shrugged. “I think I’ll have some food, and then go to my room. Olivia gave me this book today. I want to read it.”

Dad sighed, nodding. It was only when he was upset that you could see the lines on his face. For the very first time I noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the grey hairs that mixed in with the brown. But instead of trying to be nice, I walked into the kitchen where Eliza was bringing a chocolate cake out of the oven, and sat down on a stool.

I quite liked Eliza. She was kind, and a brilliant cook. She was tall and thin, with strong black hair that was always kept in a ponytail. Rosa said she looked the Catherine Zeta-Jones, and shouldn’t be dating our dad seeing as she was only 29, and he was 48!

“How was school, Jose?” Eliza asked, handing me a piece of cake smothered in cream.

I picked up the fork and put a bit in my mouth. My face twisted into a smile. The cake was delicous.

“School was fine,” I said. “Olivia gave me a book as a late birthday present.”

Eliza sat down in front of me and ate a slice. She knew all about Olivia because I talked about her so much.

“And how’s your mum?”

“Mum’s fine,” I told her. Eliza had met Mum on a few occasions, such as the school presentation nights, dramas that Rosa had been a part of and once when I sang in the school choir.

Eliza nodded. “That’s good,” she cut another slice and put it on a separate plate. “Why don’t you take this up to your sister?”

I nodded and took the plate, making my way up the extravagent flight of stairs. For once Rosa’s door was actually open, so I walked straight in and put the cake on her desk. Rosa was on the phone, but she smiled and mouthed, ‘Thank you,’ then waved me out.

I went into my room and opened my bag, but something stopped me taking the book out. I glanced up at my desk, and for some reason one of my photos stopped me. It was of my fourth birthday, just before Dad left. We were all at the zoo, having fun. I was holding a balloon, and Rosa had an almost blank expression on- trying to be ‘cool’- but you could see a faint smile on her face. Dad stood next to Rosa, with his arm around Mum’s waist. It was probably the last time we had all been together, as one happy family.

I scrunched up my face and lost my balance, landing on my butt. I picked up the photo and stared at it as tears spilled out of my eyes, landing on the glass that was protecting the picture.