I'm With Cupid by Anna Staniszewski

haven’t called me Chipmunk in years.”
    â€œI haven’t?” He laughed. “Well, I suppose you’re not as tiny as you were when I first gave you that name. And you don’t hoard nearly as much food.”
    â€œI think you made that part up anyway. There’s no way I could have snuck all those peanuts into my crib.”
    Her dad gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry you didn’t get into the play, Chipmunk. You know I love you no matter what, don’t you?”
    Lena stared. Her dad never used the L-word, not in a nonscientific way anyway.
    â€œI thought you said love is only chemicals.”
    He ran his hand over his bald spot. “The love that parents have for their children isn’t simply chemical; it’s biological. It’s a matter of survival of the species. There’s nothing more important.”
    â€œSo do you think you could love Marguerite? Even after everything with Mom?”
    Finally, her dad’s smile dimmed. He seemed confused all of a sudden. “I…I don’t know. Part of me thinks I couldn’t, but there’s another part of me…that thinks maybe I could.”
    Lena could practically see her matchmaking voodoo working against her dad’s normal thoughts. She suddenly felt terrible that she’d messed with his emotions like that.
    â€œDad, can you do me a favor and not hang out with Marguerite for a few days?” Once the “love boost” wore off, then he could go on all the dates he wanted. At least Lena would know that what he was feeling was real and not something she’d caused by accident.
    Her dad frowned. “But I already made plans with her for today. She’ll be here any second.”
    â€œTell her you’re sick or something.”
    Her dad’s eyebrows went up. “What is this all about? I thought you said you wanted me to spend time with her.”
    â€œI…I don’t want you to rush into things.” Besides, if she found her dad and Marguerite ballroom dancing in the house, she’d scream.
    â€œNo one is rushing,” her dad said. “We’re just having a picnic.”
    â€œPlease, Dad.” She felt tears stinging at her eyes before she quickly blinked them away. Lena couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried, and she wasn’t about to do it now.
    Clearly, Dad was surprised to see her so emotional too. “What’s going on, Chipmunk? Is this about the play?”
    â€œYeah, I guess, and about other stuff.” She wished, yet again, that she could tell him what was going on. Of course, his scientist brain could never accept all the crazy supernatural things she’d been dealing with. But in a way, it would be a relief to have him tell her that none of it was real. Maybe then she could fool herself into believing that for a little while.
    But even if she had gotten up the courage to tell him the truth, the doorbell rang, and it was too late. Marguerite waltzed in wearing a checkered sundress, exactly the kind of thing you’d expect someone to wear to a picnic.
    â€œAre we ready to go?” she cooed at Lena’s dad, ignoring Professor, who was trying to regift his old sneaker offering.
    Her dad gave Lena a questioning look. She could tell he wanted to go—voodoo or no voodoo—but that he wouldn’t if she asked him not to. But the hopeful look on his face shut her up. Yes, maybe all this love business was fake, but her dad seemed happy. She was sure that if she checked out his aura, it would be a hundred times lighter than it had been the other day. She couldn’t take that away from him, could she?
    â€œHave fun, Dad,” she told him. “I’ll be fine.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    Lena nodded, and he gave her a warm smile. She couldn’t remember the last time her dad had looked at her like that. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it.
    As she watched Dad and