“Dad, we just at lunch two hours ago,” Nina sighed. “I’m not hungry.”
“I know, but in an hour or two, you’re going to be whining that you’re starving and then you’ll tell your mother that I never feed you,” I said dryly.
“True dat,” Nina agreed. “Okay, steak and potatoes! You want to call Emily and invite her over for dinner?”
“She’s busy tonight,” I said, tersely cutting off any further conversation. Wisely, Nina remained silent on the issue.
As usual, I was right, and by the time I’d grilled the steaks and baked the potatoes, Nina was hanging around the kitchen telling me she was starving. I laughed as I piled the steaks on a platter and pulled the steaming potatoes out of the oven and tossed them in a bowl.
“Damn, Dad, you’re the master griller!” Nina grinned, as she cut into her steak. “Emily’s gonna be sorry she missed this.”
“No doubt,” I said, as I shoved a piece of meat into my mouth to avoid having to say more. Once I’d chewed and swallowed, I said, “So, school starts again next week, eh?”
“Yeah, I’m feeling optimistic about my grades, though,” Nina replied.
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged, as she scooped sour cream out of the plastic container and dumped it on her potato. “Maybe it was the trip to the museum that made me think about all the things I could be doing if I got good grades. Or maybe I’m just growing up.”
“Perish the thought,” I said, rolling my eyes the way she did. Nina laughed loudly as she dug her fork into her potato.
We spent the rest of the meal talking about what we planned to do over the next several weekends, and Nina reminded me that she was going to be staying with me when Remy went to Europe in the spring. I made a mental note to get a copy of Remy’s life insurance papers just in case.
After dinner, we cleaned up and halfheartedly watched a crappy movie on TBS before Nina announced she was heading to bed. I heard her getting ready, and once I was sure she was tucked in, I peeked into her room.
“Night, Punkin,” I said. “You know I love you, don’t you?”
“I do,” she smiled, as she looked up from the book she had propped on her knees. “I love you, too, Dad, but you know, whatever is wrong between you and Emily, you need to fix it. Seriously, dude. She’s good for you.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind,” I nodded, as I backed out into the hallway, pulling her door shut.
Once in bed, I reached over and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. I held it as I thought about Emily and about how nice it was to have her around. And how much nicer it was to have her in my bed.
I looked at the blank screen on the phone and then reached over and set it on the charger before I turned out the light.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Emily
For the first time in several weeks, the alarm went off at 6, and I groaned as I hit the snooze button. It was time to go back to school, and while I was looking forward to seeing my students and hearing about their vacations, there was an air of sadness and loss hanging over the new year.
I hadn’t heard from Blake or my parents since the day I ordered them all out. Over the years, I’d learned to live with the distance between me and my parents, but Blake’s absence brought about a whole new feeling of loneliness. I sighed as I ran a hand over Howard’s fuzzy back, then reluctantly threw back the covers and prepared to face the day.
The phone rang as I poured my first cup of coffee. I checked the screen and then quickly answered.
“KO! How are you doing?”
“I’m all right,” she said unenthusiastically.
“What’s the matter?”
“Em, I need a favor,” she said hesitantly.
“What’s going on?” I asked, worried that there was something terrible lurking.
“I hate to ask, but Pop needs me to stay and help out, so I was wondering if you could stay at the house for a little while longer,” she said, exhaling on the other end. I could feel the stress flowing through the phone line.
“Yeah, of course,” I said. “Are you sure that’s it?”