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Sighing, I brushed my hand through my hair, perspiration beading along my hairline, a single drop trickling down the side of my face. Now it was time to leave my fantasy world, heading into business as usual. I had a little more than a day to clean my new place, get some groceries, and prepare for my new life.
While I planted a smile on my face, I had a pretty sickening feeling cleaning wasn’t the only thing the small building needed. Building… it looked more like a dilapidated trailer straight out of the fifties.
Just before I was ready to face my new life, my phone rang. There was a single person who’d be calling me. My father. I’d been super vague about taking the new job and he was the kind of man who needed to know every single detail.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Sweetheart. Are you safe?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t entirely certain about safe, but I’d let him think so anyway. “Stop worrying. I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”
“Remember I have a buddy in advertising. I’m certain he’d be happy to give you a job.”
“And you know I don’t take handouts.” My tone was a little over the top, but my father needed to stop trying to run my life.
Sighing, he waited a few seconds, which always made me nervous. “I miss you, girlie. I really do.”
“I know but when I get settled, I’ll have you out.” No, I wouldn’t. Besides, he wouldn’t come even if I invited him.
“Do you need any money?”
“Dad, I already told you I’m fine. What aren’t you telling me?” Given my father never called me in the middle of the day, I knew something was going on. His hesitation confirmed it.
“I’m having a biopsy next week. I wanted you to know that.”
“Why?” He’d also never told me about any medical situations, including before my mother had died. He’d kept her condition from me until I had very little time to spend with her. It was something I’d never completely forgiven him for.
“My doctor is… worried about colon cancer.”
The news hit me hard. I’d left my father all alone in Virginia. While my aunt, his sister, lived in Maryland, they almost never spoke, which I never had understood. “Daddy. How bad?”
“Just a spot, sugar bee, that the doctor wanted to double check. Nothing to worry about.” Using the nickname he knew I hated but one he’d called me until my sixteenth birthday meant he was terrified of the findings.
“Then why are you telling me?” My mind was spinning. He had plenty of friends including several buddies he’d served with years before. He’d devoted his life to the military, remaining as rigid as the day he’d left active duty.
“Because you had a right to know. Just in case anything happens, I’d left some papers with my attorney for you.”
Papers. He knew more than he was telling me. “Daddy. Don’t lie to me. Is it bad?”
“I really don’t know. I just… I needed you to be aware.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before I left?” I dropped my head to the steering wheel, squeezing my eyes shut. This was the worst possible scenario in the world.
“Because you deserve to find yourself. I promise I’ll keep you up to date.”
The hollow sound in his voice almost gutted me. “I’m coming back.”
“No, you will not, Harlow Marie. You managed to get out from beneath the shadows of that asshole and now you can spread your wings. I don’t say this often, but I’m very proud of you. You are going to stay right there and that’s an order.”
My father had told me that once. Once. It had been the day I’d graduated from college and been the valedictorian. He’d been the proudest papa sitting in the audience, his deep, booming voice heard over the other thousand people. It had been the proudest day of my life. “Yes, Daddy General.” It had always been my tease for him, the term making him smile. I hoped today was no exception.
“You’re very special, Harlow. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“I won’t, Daddy.”
“I’ll call you in a few days. Knock ‘em dead, kiddo. I have all the faith in you in the world.”
“Love you, Daddy.”
