“Okay. So what do you need from me?”
“Can you help me prepare? Maybe give me some topics to talk about?”
I kept my face serious. Was Skip worried about impressing Jack? Or did he not like him? Or maybe it was both. I needed to proceed with caution. “Of course. But you don’t need me. Just show him what you know about camping. You can build a fire in seconds. That’shot.”
His eyes went wide and I regretted my bad joke immediately.
“It’s not like that,” he growled. “No. I just don’t know how to handle—you know, teenagers.”
I was so late to this party, but this time I really understood. He was so comfortable around me that I sometimes forgot that his slight speech impediment made him feel self-conscious. He was great when he knew the topic but he got easily flustered when conversations went off script.
“Teenagers are easy, Skippo. Just treat them like people. That’s all they want.”
“I didn’t understand them when I was one.”
“Nobody feels comfortable in their skin as a teen. But you’ll be great,” I finished. “You show them how to start a fire or catch their own fish and they’ll think you’re a god. The past, the things that happened, they don’t know any of that. You just walk in like you know shit and people will believe it. Plus, you have that sick beard. That instantly makes people believe anything you say.”
He blushed. “I’ll try. Maybe we can make flashcards before I go? So I don’t get stuck on my words. I’d like to be better about the customer side of things.”
“Of course. Whatever helps, mate. And if you need me at any point, I can leave and come get you. Okay?”
“Sounds good.” He nodded and took in a full breath.
I put my arm around him. “I’ve got you, okay? We’ve got this. That’s why we’re partners.”
He tensed under my arm but nodded.
“Also, we need to talk about OTB. Dev called and said he still hadn’t talked to you. You said you were going to talk to the team.”
My chest tightened and I frowned. I was feeling so good about Roxy and our kiss. I didn’t want to think about this yet. I didn’t want to feel the rainclouds building up behind me.
“I know, I just—”
My phone buzzed. I jumped on the distraction to see a notification of a voicemail. “That’s weird. It didn’t even ring.” I slid the call log open. “Oh, it’s from an hour ago.”
My heart dropped. It was my dad’s home. Or rather, his last home.
“Everything okay?” Skip asked.
“Of course.” I smiled. “I’ve just gotta listen to this. We’ll talk more in the morning. Make a whole game plan. Don’t you worry, I won’t leave you high and dry.” I walked away as he opened his mouth to protest. I gave him a thumbs-up and he frowned. The world around me went silent as I listened to the message.
There was a shuffling sound and then the voice of the owner saying, “Hello, Mr. Olsson. This is Angelina Montoya from Sunrise Care Facility. I’m just calling to let you know that some of your father’s belongings still haven’t been picked up. I know this is an extremely difficult time but your father’s room is needed for a new tenant. This is the third time I have called without hearing back from you. Please come pick up his things as soon as possible. Unfortunately, if I don’t hear from you in the next week, we will have to move his things into storage at your cost. I’m so sorry for your loss, once again. Please call me back. Thank you.”
Acid churned up in my throat instantly. I had been flying so high with Roxy and our plans for the future but this news brought me crashing back to earth. It reminded me that I had escaped an entire life back in Denver. I would have to go back and deal with it. I needed to be better for Roxy. I needed to be better for Skip and the team.
I barely made it to a back hallway before my smile fell off my face. The pain in my chest was so tight I couldn’t catch my breath but I welcomed it. My dad had deserved so much more from me. I scrolled through my older voicemails, looking for one from a year ago when his condition had started to go downhill fast.
A second later my dad’s voice came on.
“Sanders? Sanders, my boy? How’s school? Taking it easy on those teachers, I hope?” His rich laugh rang in my ear. I closed my eyes tight against the pain. “Your mom says hi. We miss you, boy-o.”
I was so glad I was nowhere near Skip because in that instant my face crumpled. I gripped the wall to keep from falling.
The message broke me the first time I heard it. I had been out with a client. When I came back into service, I had this message from him. He was already so lost by then. So confused. I couldn’t bring myself to delete it. Now I listened to it as a reminder, like picking a scab off a wound to watch it bleed again.
The message ended with some shuffling. It was right before I put him in the home. I put a fist to my mouth and bit my finger so hard I thought the skin would break. I hoped it would. I’d give anything to take away from the pain in my heart. I’d break my own leg to distract myself.
Everything came crashing down around me at once. I came out here to help the business and to clean up my act. To prove to Skip that I could fix things. But what if that was all a flimsy facade to cover the fact that this entire trip was an act of complete selfishness? Wasn’t I just running away? Always, unable to bear the real world. Look at the emotional turmoil I was putting Skip through. He’d travelled across states for me. He was putting himself so far outside his comfort zone. I caused this. He was on the verge of a breakdown again because of me.
