Page 72 - North Star Magazine 2022

turn green. He sounds like he is joking and serious at the same time. His humor is one way that he gets his point across.
“Bad?” I ask.
“She messes up some cooking steps and they’re not good on your stomach.”
“I rarely eat whatever mom cooks in the crockpot, anyway.”
In the past, mom messed up a chicken recipe and ended up undercooked. My dad and sister, Aleasha were sick for the rest of the night. I didn’t eat any of it because of the warnings from my dad. I was spared from getting sick.
My father turns into a parking lot for the bridal shop. I leave, so I can
wait for my job coach. Since I am mentally ill with Schizoaffective Disorder (Schizophrenia and Bipolar) and Aspergers, it’s hard to find a job, so I need help with an employment agency to find me a place to work.
“I’ll pick you up at six,” my dad says to me.
I wave, “Bye, see you at six.”
Part 2: Emergency Leave
4:30 p.m.
When you see your mother enter a bridal shop, you wonder, What the hell is she doing here, but something is up by the moment she enters through the doors. My co-worker asks what she needs. She requests me; there’s a family emergency. She mentions that dad is in the hospital.
“What has happened to him?” I ask.
“He fell,” she answers.
I clasp my hands to my mouth. I inform my boss that I am leaving. She’s got my number and my college schedule.
In the car on the way to the hospital, one side of me is subtle, telling me that he only fell and he will come back home soon. I wish that I believed