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“Are you feeling okay?” he asked. “No headaches today?”
“Not yet.” I shrugged. “We’ll see how the rest of the day goes.”
“Did you go see Dr. Anderson?” he asked.
I nodded. “Monday afternoon.”
“What did he say?”
“He did some tests,” I said. I didn’t want to talk about my headaches. I was already worried enough. “CT scan and bloodwork. Nothing huge.”
“Did he tell you anything?” Dad asked. “What he thought might be wrong or anything like that?”
“You know he wouldn’t do that,” I said with a sigh. “They won’t tell me anything until the results come back.”
Dad nodded. The waitress came over, and we ordered our food. We lapsed into an easy silence while we sipped our coffee. Dad was still worried about me, but he was kind enough to drop the subject. I couldn’t stand to dwell on what might be wrong with me. There were too many options to consider. If I thought about them all, I would drive myself insane.
We got our food and ate slowly. Dad told me about work and asked about my other patients. We circled the subject of Caleb, but neither of us mentioned his name. I could tell Dad was leading us in that direction. His expression slowly darkened and eventually, he couldn’t contain himself any longer.
“We should talk about your brother,” Dad said.
I rolled my eyes. “He’s not my brother.”
“I’m married to his mother,” Dad said.
“That means nothing,” I said with a soft laugh. “It means nothing, Dad. Caleb and I met when we were practically adults. You can’t expect us to act like brother and sister. That’s ridiculous.”
“How should I expect you to act?” he asked, quickly losing patience.
“However I want to,” I said. “I’m an adult. So is Caleb. Our lives aren’t any of your business anymore.”
“He’s trouble, Tara.” Dad’s voice stern. “I know he seems like he’s changed but he hasn’t. He’s still the same.”
“Dad,” I said sharply. “You can’t keep doing this. I hear you, okay? I get it. Please, drop it already.”
“I can’t,” he said, shaking his head. “Not when I’m this worried about you.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Can you?”
His question echoed in my mind throughout the rest of the day. I forced him to change the subject while we finished our food. We said goodbye, and he went back to the hospital, leaving me more confused than ever.
That night, I went to Stephanie’s bar. I was eager for a little distraction. My father’s words still echoed through my mind and my thoughts of Caleb were stronger than ever. Seeing Stephanie would help me relax and feel like myself again.
“Oh, thank God!” Stephanie squealed when I arrived. She jumped on the bar and swung her legs over, dropping to her feet in front of me. “I thought for sure you would bail on me tonight.”
“Not a chance,” I said. We hugged, and she grinned at me.
“Drinks?” she asked.
“Are you off already?” I asked.
“Yup.”
She grinned wider and ordered us each three shots of tequila.
“Shit,” I said after we downed all of them. “Are you trying to kill me?”
