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It was the way he said it and it made me feel bad. Of course, that was what he was going to bring up. I knew it. I knew that he wasn't going to be able to separate us being together and anything else. It wasn't like there was some great love that bound us to be together. It was just sex. It was good sex, but I had a feeling that what I was going to get from Frank was going to blow anything that Tommy could do right out of the water. Tommy was great and all, but there really wasn’t that much else there. It was purely physical and even that part was over now.
“I don't think that this is the right time to talk about it. Why don't we meet tomorrow sometime and we can discuss anything you want to? It would be better to do it in person.”
“I just want to know where you were.”
“I told you, Tommy; I don't feel like I should have to answer that. I know that you think that you have the right to keep up with me in that way, but you don't. I really need you to back off a little bit and give me some space. I will talk to you tomorrow.”
I hung up before anything else could be said and I was bound to tell him the truth. I had never been one to hold out or to be slick in any sort of way. I was more of a factual sort of person. I just wanted to get the truth out because anything less than that was a waste of time.
I laid down and it was hard to sleep, especially knowing that I had something wonderful waiting. I just had to be patient. I had waited for many things, and this was just one more occasion. It was strange, mixed feelings. I looked forward to Frank, dreaded Tommy. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.
22
Frank
Since I was a doctor, I knew that my daughter was getting the best care possible where she was. I didn't have a right to work there, like I did at most of the other hospitals in the area, but there was some professional courtesy given out and I was thankful for that.
Alice had never really been hurt too badly before and this was all more than I could handle. She looked like she was in a lot of pain. It was a lot easier to deal with patients and their symptoms and their pain when it wasn't my own daughter that was going through it. Watching Alice go through it was absolutely one of the worst things that I had ever been through. It was almost as bad as watching her mother die and not being able to stop it. I felt so helpless and right now, I felt the same way. I wanted to take the pain away from her and take it on myself. It would have been easier than watching her have to go through it.
Her arm was set, and she had a cast on. She also had a bump on the head, which they wanted to monitor, so we stayed overnight. I sent Amber a message telling her that I wouldn't be back that evening, and she sent back a frowny face emoticon. I was feeling the exact same way and it was the perfect symbol for how everything was going. I wanted to be there with her, but I needed to be here more. Alice needed me and I wasn’t going to leave her side.
The next morning, it was decided that she would be able to leave. It helped that I was pushing it a little bit and I told her doctor that I would make sure that I kept an eye on her and if anything happened, I would bring her back. Alice was in a better mood and ready to get home and see Amber.
“You really miss her already?”
Alice agreed. “It feels like I haven't seen her in forever.”
“It hasn't even been a day or two, Alice.”
“Don't you ever miss her?”
I thought about it for a moment, already knowing the answer, but not sure how much of it I should actually say. I never did know what was going on in Amber's mind. It was no different now, though this time around, it mattered so much more.
“Of course, I miss her.”
“You should tell her. If you would tell her, maybe she would make you one of her friends too.”
“We're friends.”
Alice nodded, but part of it made me wonder what she meant by that. “Things aren't as simple for adults as they are for kids.”
“It's not easy being a kid, Dad.”
She was talking about her stay in the hospital, and it was probably one of the first times in her life that she had to stay overnight. It was a lot for Alice, and I was happy that she wanted to see Amber, but it hurt me a little bit that she wanted to see Amber more than me. I was her father after all.
I went to see what time it was and forgot that I couldn't find my watch. I felt naked without it, wearing it every day for years now.
“You haven't seen my watch, Alice, have you, honey? I can't seem to find it anywhere.”
“No, but Amber’s friend has one just like it. I saw it on his wrist as he was leaving the other day.”
That had the alarm bells ringing in my head and, of course, I needed to know the when, why, and what she was talking about it. Who was Amber's friend and why did he have my watch? The watch I had was one of a kind that my father had specially made for me. There was no way that anyone else had it.
And why the hell did my daughter meet Amber’s friend in the first place?!
“When did you meet Amber's friend?”
It was another answer that I probably didn't want to hear, but I knew that I needed to. I knew that Amber was dating someone, but I didn't know that she was taking him around my daughter. That made things a little bit different.
