AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sweetie, I’ll have to call you back later,” she says. “It’s time for my appointment. Make sure you speak to your dad, okay?”
“Yes, Mom. Have fun at dinner.”
"I will. Love ya," Mom blows a kiss at me and the screen goes blank.
Phew. I feel better after talking with her, but I know it won't be that easy to talk to Dad about this.
***
Later that afternoon, I pad into the kitchen for a snack. I’m surprised to see Dad sitting on the island, a steaming cup and his iPad in front of him.
“Hey, Dad,” I say. I go to his side and give him a half hug.
“Samantha.” Dad smiles and returns my hug. “I’m glad you’re at home today. I’ve been meaning to talk to you. How are you?”
"I'm okay." I pick a plate and stack it with cookies from the batch Dolores baked this morning. I insert a chocolate-flavored k-cup into the Keurig and wait for it to get ready. "Why are you home today?" I ask Dad. He’s hardly ever at home during the day, even on weekends.
"Yeah, I decided to take the day off." He drops his iPad on the island and rubs his neck. "I've been getting a slight headache all week. I just want to rest it out."
“Do you want to go see a doctor?” I place one hand on his forehead and one on mine. They feel the same.
Dad shrugs my hand off. “I’m fine, Samantha,” he says. “I just need to sleep it off.”
"But you're not sleeping," I point out. "You're still working and drinking coffee."
Dad smiles sheepishly. “I am, aren’t I?” He pushes the coffee away and turns the iPad face down. “Some habits are just hard to break.”
I hug him again and rest my head on his shoulder. "I love you, Daddy. Don't stress yourself out too much, okay?"
“Yes, yes, I’ll try,” Dad says as he ruffles my hair.
"So, what are you up to?" he asks. "How do you enjoy workingwith Chris? I see you accompanied him to that conference earlier this week. How was it?"
I move away from the embrace at the mention of Chris. I go to stand opposite him, with the island between us.
“The conference was good. It opened my eyes to several things,” I say. Now whether those things were personal or work-related is for me to decide, right?
Dad doesn’t follow up with a question like he normally would have. “And Chris? He’s treating you well?”
“Yes. Chris is cool. I’m learning stuff from him too.”
“Good, good,” Dad says. “You’re in good hands with him.”
“Did you hear what happened to his former secretary?” I ask him.
"Yeah. Shannon right? It's sad she died like that, you know. We're looking into it, though. Did you know her outside of work? Were you friends?"
I shake my head no. “Her name’s Sheila,” I say. Dad smiles in apology for missing her name. “We didn’t meet much enough to be friends.”
"Hmm, terrible stuff. What happened?" he asks. "Did Chris tell you anything about the case?"
“Anything like?”
"Just anything. Forget it if Chris didn't. I just wanted to know," Dad says hurriedly, not meeting my gaze.
His action heightens my suspicion about Sheila's death. There is certainly more to it than everyone's saying.
“Hey, Dad,” I start. “Have you been thinking about me working at P&J? It’s been like a month now.” Surely he doesn’t expect me to be content with being a church secretary.
