Papa

"Hey! Your hair looks nice. You letting it grow out?"

"Just for the winter."

"The color's nice on you too. OK ..best I got is T O D A Y ......17 points."

"Thanks. I just did it Sunday. Boo asked me why it smelled funny on Monday night."

"What'd you say?"

"Told her it was because of the dye I'd put in my hair to cover the grey. She was like, 'Oh! That's why you're not gray like Grandma Bush.' T R U S T .......12 points."

"Nice one."

"Yeah. Then I made the mistake of telling her the grey hair made me feel old."

"And? Q U E S T ......36 points."

"Damn, a Q already, and I left the U hangin' out there for you. She said 'But grandma, you are old.' F O O L .... 14 points."

" You betcha. That's my name sake all right."

"Nothing like a child to tell you the truth. She asked about Papa again."

"Why? It's been two years since she's seen him. A N G E R ...12 points."

"She found the Slider doll he bought her at an Indians game a couple of years ago. Wendy'd put it away in the spare bedroom. She found it while they were cleaning out the room for the new baby. I R O N Y ...........10 points."

"She'd remembered he'd bought it for her? That sucks."

"She asked me why he drove away without even saying goodbye. Then she asked me if I thought we'd ever see him again."

"Great. What did you tell her? T R U T H .......24 points."

"What could I say? I told her I didn't know why he left, and NO I didn't think we'd ever see him again. A B A N D O N .........8 points."

"What an ass. Who leaves a kid like that?"

"Lots of people, I guess. I told her he was a Poop Head."

"Way to go, Ma. J U S T I C E ......32 points."

"Yeah , well, she told me I shouldn't call him that cause they don't say things like, Poop Head in their house." S O R R Y ........10 points."

" Well, maybe they should! Truth is he doesn't give a damn about anybody but himself. She was just collateral damage as far as he was concerned. W A R .....8 points."

"When she's old enough, she'll realize the truth on her own. Until then, lets just let her believe that he's still Papa.
N A I V E.......8 points."

"Ma, You're never gonna win with low scores like that."