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“I feel another joke about stuffing coming on.”
He chuckles. “How are you?” he asks softly. “Really, I mean?”
“Okay. Dad wasn’t as good today. He was in quite a bit of pain. Mum cried this morning.”
“Aw.”
“Dinner was a bit of a sorry affair; none of us ate much. Dad will probably spend most of the evening dozing.”
“Your mum didn’t mind you going?”
“No. I asked her and Kate if they would rather I stay, but they both told me to go.” I don’t add that Kate’s reaction was, “Sid, he’s loaded. Jesus, of course you have to go!”
I know he’s worried I feel obligated because of what he did, and that makes me sad. I don’t want either of us to think about his money when we’re together.
Still, there’s something I have to say about that before I close the subject. “Mack, you’ve admitted you paid for the treatment. That obviously means you knew about my dad before you took me to breakfast. How did you find out? Was it the FBI?”
“In New Zealand? No, Sid, I doubt you have an FBI file.”
“Then how? Please. I’m curious. I don’t blame you for finding out, in fact I’m glad you did. I won’t tell anyone.”
“Okay. I Googled you.”
“What?” I hadn’t expected it to be that simple.
He sighs. “I like to think I’m a good judge of character. When I calmed down, it occurred to me that I couldn’t imagine you wanting the money just to pay off your student loan. There had to be another reason you’d need a large amount of money quickly. I Googled you, discovered the names of your parents and siblings, Googled them, and found the GoFundMe account. It wasn’t rocket science.”
I can’t imagine where on Google he’d find out the names of my family. “How did you… Oh, never mind.” I keep forgetting he’s a computer genius. It wouldn’t surprise me if he opened the Internet, reached in, and just took the information out. At least I know now.
There’s one more thing I’ve been meaning to ask him. “Have you looked into Socrates’ phone number?” I ask.
He nods. “It’s a burner SIM. He probably switches it out as soon as he’s called you. No way of tracking who it belongs to.”
“That’s a shame.” I feel a stab of guilt, wishing he could have found him.
“Forget about him,” he says firmly. “I’m not devoting a single second of my time to him.”
I nod. “I’m sorry to hear about your dad,” I say, changing the subject. I was surprised he revealed that to my family, but I could see my father getting choked up, and I know Mack was trying to reach out to him. “How old were you when he died?”
“Twenty. Only two months before I sold to Intel.”
“Just before you got your money. That’s sucks.”
“Yeah, well, even if I’d had the money I do now, I don’t know that it would have made any difference. But I can’t help but blame myself that I wasn’t able to help.”
“It was hardly your fault.”
“I know. It’s not a rational thought.” He sips his Champagne, studying me. “You look lovely today.”
He wants to change the subject. I’m happy to be paid compliments. “Thank you.”
“I hope you’ve brought your togs.”
“I’m wearing my bikini under my dress.”
He inhales, then blows out a long breath, and I giggle.
“Have you been to Matauri Bay before?” he asks.
