Of course, by now, Ava would have found a substitute for Buddy. She would luxuriate in Daddy’s praise and gratitude. Now she would surely be crowned his best daughter ever, for she had saved him in a crisis. Ironically, despite all that had happened, I still felt a pang of envy. I could easily envision Daddy’s grateful expression, the flow of love and affection that came from his eyes, and the wonderful kiss of gratitude and love that came from his lips. I still wished it had all been directed at me.
Buddy’s eyes closed, and he finally fell asleep. I did, too, but only a few hours later, I had the feeling someone was nudging me awake, and I opened my eyes. Buddy was still asleep, and there was no one else in the room, but I didn’t feel we were alone. I rose and went to the windows. The curtains were closed as tightly as we could close them to keep out the daylight. Slowly, I pulled one aside so I could peer out at the motel parking lot. It was nearly empty, with only two vehicles in sight, and there was no one walking about. Traffic rushed by on the street facing the motel, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling.
In fact, I realized my body was as tight and as hard as stone. What I was feeling reminded me of the times Daddy would stop what he was doing and suddenly become very quiet, listening hard. We’d all hold our breath until he relaxed again.
“What is it?” Buddy asked, waking and seeing me at the window.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” He sat up. “Is there someone out there?”
“I don’t see anyone.”
He rose and stepped beside me to look out. “Seems pretty quiet out there.”
“There’s something,” I whispered.
“Okay. I’ll call for the car now, and we’ll get started. You want to shower or something?”
“No, you go on,” I said.
I remained by the window while he called for our car and then went to shower.
“How about something to eat?” he asked, coming out of the bathroom.
“After we get started,” I said, and went in to throw some cold water on my face and brush my hair. I got dressed while he did the paperwork for the rental car, and then we left the motel.
“You still feel spooked?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I wish you hadn’t come along.”
“Well, I did, so stop saying it. I’m going to see you through this,” he said firmly. “We’d better eat something.” He turned into a roadside restaurant.
I could feel his eyes on me as I looked at everyone closely.
“Hey, you think they’ve put the word out on you? Are your father’s kind everywhere?”
The waitress came over for our order. Nothing interested me, but I ordered a rare hamburger. Buddy ordered one, too, but medium, with French fries and a salad.
“How about some lemonade? They claim it’s freshly made.”
“I’ve never had lemonade,” I said.
“Never?”
He ordered it for us and then reached across the table to take my hands. I was still looking out the window at the people coming to the restaurant.
“So, are your father’s kind everywhere?”
“I don’t know, Buddy. Sometimes it seems that way. He has contacts everywhere he goes in the world,” I said. “And even if he doesn’t, Daddy often knows things no one else could possibly know, and so does Mrs. Fennel.”
“Who is this Mrs. Fennel, anyway?”
“She’s my father’s sister.”
“Yeah, you mentioned you were living with your father’s sister, but how come you never called her your aunt?”
“I didn’t know she was my aunt until recently.”