“There’s nothing there worth trying to salvage,” she said, kicking a scorched couch cushion and sighing loudly again. I drove Emily to the clinic where she picked up Howard, who was only slightly disgruntled about having to have spent a night away from his person, but he quickly forgave Emily when she gathered him in her arms and held him to her chest. We stopped and picked up a few groceries and a litter box for Howard, and by the time we pulled up in front of Kendra’s house, he was purring contentedly as he pushed on Emily’s arm.
I unloaded the truck as Emily unlocked the door and turned on lights. I brought her meager belongings into the house and looked around. It was a clean but Spartan house.
“She’s out of town visiting her parents; I’m not sure when she’s coming back,” Emily said, without prompting. “I’ll just stay here until I get the insurance settled and find a new place to live.”
“Sounds good to me,” I nodded. “Meanwhile, I’d like to take you out on a real date. Maybe Wednesday?”
“I’d like that,” she smiled.
“Good, then I’ll pick you up at 7,” I said, as I kissed her and then turned to go.
“Thank you, Blake,” she said quietly. “It’s been a horrible couple of days, but you made it all much better.”
“I’m glad I could help,” I said, tipping my imaginary hat. “I’ll see you Wednesday.”
I stopped and picked up burgers for Nina and I before I returned home. When I got there, she was frantically texting with someone obviously more important than I was, so I held up the bag containing dinner and said, “Might want to come and get it while it’s hot!”
Nina set her phone do
wn and followed me into the kitchen as I divvied up the burgers and fries and she grabbed the condiments and napkins.
“So, what’s going on with you two?” she blurted out. “And don’t lie to me; there’s obviously something going on.”
“I wouldn’t dream of lying to you, darling daughter,” I said, imitating her dramatic way of answering me when I dug into her personal life.
“Dad!” she protested. “I’m serious! What’s going on with you and Ms. Fowler?”
“I want to date her,” I said plainly. “So, I’m going to take her out to dinner on Wednesday.”
“This is so gross,” Nina said, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you’re going to date my teacher!”
“Who else am I going to date, Nina?” I said. “And besides, you are the one who's been pushing me to get out there and mingle with the singles.”
“Yeah, but not my teachers,” she protested, before taking a huge bite of her burger.
“Then I can’t win,” I said exasperatedly. “I give up. You want me to call and cancel?”
“Nooooooo,” Nina said with a full mouth.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Just don’t be so obvious about it, Dad,” she grinned, as she grabbed fries off of my plate and popped them into her mouth. “Seriously. It’s gross.”
“Fine, I will conduct my business with all the secrecy of a CIA black-op,” I said solemnly.
“Oh God, don’t be so dramatic, Dad,” she said, rolling her eyes even more dramatically. “I’m just saying that you should keep it on the DL until you know if you two actually like each other or not.”
“The DL?”
“Oh my God, Dad! The DL is the down low! I’ve told you that a million times,” she exhaled exasperatedly. “What is wrong with you?”
“Dunno, maybe I’m in love,” I said, shrugging. “Or maybe I’m starving because my daughter is eating all of my food!”
Nina burst into giggles, and we spent the rest of our dinner hour laughing as we ate. As I got ready for bed later that night, I smiled as I realized that my date with Emily was the first thing I’d looked forward to in a long time.
Chapter Eighteen
Emily