My Fake Fling

REESE

Iwalked past the steam clock in Gastown with my phone pressed to my ear. It was becoming an hourly thing. When the voicemail picked up, it was only to tell me the box was full. I couldn’t leave any more messages for my father.

I slid the phone into my pocket and shook my head. This was just too weird. Where was he? This was not like him. I would never claim to be super close with him, but we talked every couple of days at least. He knew this was an important day. He wouldn’t miss it. Not without a really good reason.

I loved walking through the historical district. I often left my car at the office and walked the area that was always packed with tourists. The vibe was always fun and full of excitement. Even though I lived in the city, it never got old. Plus, the area had some of the best restaurants.

I was almost to the Mexican restaurant where I was going to be meeting Rich when I got a text from him. He was running late. I went in and got us a table in the busy restaurant. I ordered the usual margarita and munched on the delicious tortilla chips while I waited. My mind was stuck on my dad’s absence.

There was one person that might know. I found my Aunt Kathy’s name in my contact list and gave her a call. I hoped she wasn’t in bed yet.

“Aunt Kathy, it’s Reese,” I said when she answered.

“Well, hello my very handsome nephew.” I could hear the smile in her voice. We weren’t all that close, but I had always admired her. She was a good lady. Too good for my uncle. “To what do I owe this call to?”

“I was wondering if you have seen or spoken to my father in the last few days,” I said.

“Armand? No. He left over a week ago. He’s not home?”

“No, I haven’t seen him,” I said. “I’ve called several times and he’s not answering his phone. His voicemail is full.”

“Have you gone to his house?” she asked with concern. “Maybe he’s hurt.”

“I’ve been to the house. I let myself in and searched. He’s not there but nothing looks out of place. I talked with his housekeeper. She said he hasn’t been home in two weeks. We had a pretty important event today and he didn’t show up. It’s unlike him. Did he mention going anywhere? Maybe he was going to one of his vacation homes.”

“No,” she answered. “He told me he was going back to Vancouver. We talked about me going out there to visit soon. I did call him, but he never returned my call. Should I be worried? Are you worried?”

I didn’t want to worry the woman. I knew her health was dicey. “No, I’m sure he just decided to take a few days away. I’m not worried.”

“Will you please let me know if he doesn’t show up?” she asked. “I’m going to keep trying to call him.”

“It’s fine, Aunt Kathy,” I tried to assure her. “I’ll let you know when I talk to him.”

“Please do, Reese, please do.”

I felt a little guilty for worrying her. I hoped that he had maybe decided to crash with Kathy. I knew there was something happening there. They were grown adults. If they wanted to run away together, they could. They didn’t have kids to take care of. They were both retired and free to do as they pleased. Just because they weren’t together didn’t mean there was anything to worry about. He was an adult. A capable adult with no sign of dementia. He knew what he was doing.

Rich showed up a few minutes later. The guy looked fried. “Rough day in the travel business?”

He ordered a margarita and sighed. “It’s not the travel business. I can handle that. It’s my dad.”

“No shit,” I said with a smirk. It was kind of strange we were both having dad problems. “What’s going on with him? More of that crazy chick trying to screw him over?”

“Yes. She’s moving him to Calgary.”

“What the hell?” I asked with surprise. “Why? Your dad isn’t going to want to leave you guys.”

“You wouldn’t think, but Stacey has got a hold over him we can’t break,” he said. “She’s going to drag him away and completely screw him over. I think she’s trying to get him to sell the house. In this market, he’s going to make a killing. It’s more money for her to spend.”

“Shit,” I said. “That sucks. Are you going to try and talk him out of it? Is it already a done deal?”

“I’m going to try and talk to him, but I’m not confident I can stop it,” he said. “I don’t know how to make him see her for what she is. She doesn’t love him. She’s using him.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Want me to have a lawyer try and scare her off?”

“I don’t know what will work at this point,” he said. “I already talked with a police officer. He says I don’t have any legal action to take here.”

“Let me write her a check,” I said. “She wants money. I’ll write her a fat check and send her on her way.”