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“Uh-huh, blame Mrs. Martine.” His daughter’s dry tone told him she wasn’t buying it. “You aren’t the whole park’s dad, you know.”
“It’s not a bad thing to be a concerned neighbor.”
“Okay, Trailer Park Daddy. You know there’s such a thing as being too neighborly, right?” she asked, before he could object to the nickname. “I’ll talk to Emily and make sure she’s okay. You can tell Mrs. Martine I’ve got it handled.”
“Thanks, pumpkin, I’ll be sure to do that.” Even though it didn’t give him the sense of satisfaction he needed. While he trusted his daughter to do right by her friend, there was a part of him that wanted to be the one to find out what was going on with Emily… because if something was wrong, then he could fix it for her.
What he really didn’t want to tell his daughter was that she was hitting a little too close to home with the ‘Daddy’ remark. Those were needs he’d buried a long time ago when he’d buried his wife. And thinking about himself as a Daddy when it came to Emily…
Yeah, he needed to get his mind off that real fast.
“Do you need anything?” he asked, changing subjects to something much safer. “Did I give you enough of an allowance for the month?”
“I’m fine, dad. You gave me more than enough. Just like last year. I’ve got a savings account now, thanks to you.” Katrina sounded amused, but there was also real appreciation in her voice. “I’m concentrating on school, just like you want me to. I’m going to be looking for a part-time position this year, though, so I don’t graduate with my master’s and no experience.”
“Oh, right, that’s probably good.” Though, if she needed it, he would keep helping her out after she graduated. Living the way he did while owning several businesses meant his savings account was robust, and he had plenty of investments on top of that. He kept his wealth pretty quiet because he’d seen how money could change people, and he was satisfied with how he lived. Eventually, it would all go to Katrina, and that was all he really cared about.
“Alright, I have to go, especially if I’m going to call Emily tonight. Love you, Dad.”
“Love you too, sweetie. Have a good night.” He bit back a request to let him know how her conversation with Emily went. He already knew what the answer would be, and it might raise suspicions and thoughts he definitely did not want her to have.
“Night.”
Damian hung up the phone and stared out at the bus stop, tapping his fingers on the counter. He still felt unsatisfied, but he’d done all he could do.
2
The Lies
Emily
Standing at her kitchen table, Emily sniffled, taking out the boxes of food the cooks had given her. Thankfully, Ron had been in the dining room when she’d gone into the kitchen with her request, and they’d loaded her down as much as they could. The two boxes of rolls could be frozen, and that would give her something to eat for the next couple weeks. They’d also given her the family-size containers of mac’n’cheese and potato salad.
The pasta would freeze better, so she’d do that and eat the potato salad this week, along with the fresh fruit and the mixed green salad. The greens were almost always part of the family meal, but the fresh fruit was a luxury she didn’t often get to indulge in. Even though the strawberries were a little overripe and the peaches were a bit bruised, she was going to enjoy eating them.
She couldn’t even drown her tears in a vat of ice cream. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to afford any, so she’d be crying into her fruit salad instead. It was the one small, nice thing she could do for herself on this especially shitty night.
She’d just gotten everything put away and her fresh fruit sliced and put in a bowl when her phone rang.
Katrina.
Her best friend, who was living the life Emily desperately wished for. But she couldn’t be mad at Katrina just because she’d been able to go to college and was now getting her master’s. Katrina was just really lucky. They’d never talked about it, but Emily figured her friend must have gotten a bunch of scholarships to be able to go to school all the way across the country. That or she was going to be drowning in student loan debt after she graduated. They didn’t talk about money, though. No one did in their neighborhood.
She missed Katrina like crazy, but part of her was glad she didn’t have to see her friend too often. Knowing Katrina was out there going to college while Emily was still stuck here… well, it hurt.
But she could use her best friend tonight, even if it meant admitting she’d gotten fired from a job she couldn’t afford to lose.
“Hello.” She forced as much cheerfulness into her voice as she could, wincing because she realized it hadn’t done the trick as soon as she heard herself. It was really obvious she’d been crying, and Katrina picked up on it right away.
“Oh no, what’s wrong?”
No beating around the bush for her bestie. God, Emily wished she could be more like Katrina. “I got f-f-fired.” Blinking back another assault of tears, Emily barely managed to get the words out.
“What?” Katrina’s outrage shook the phone in waves. “What the hell? You’re the best worker that shitty diner has!”
“Marianne wants to hire her nieces.” Emily hiccuped.
“Fucking nepotism! You should fucking sue them. Hell, if I was there, I’d march right down and?—”
