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"I missed you too, Amanda," I said, smiling at her. "How was your sleepover?"
"Mrs. Tom gave us pizza for dinner!" Amanda said, her eyes lighting up with joy. "It was so yummy!"
"She did?" I said, laughing. "Then we have to thank Mrs. Tom again."
As we walked back towards Mrs. Tom's house, Amanda excitedly chattered away, telling me about her evening. When we reached the front door, Mrs. Tom was there waiting for us.
"Hello, Mr. Anthony," she said, smiling warmly at me. "Amanda was such a joy to have yesterday. She's such a good girl, isn't she?"
"Thank you so much again, Mrs. Tom," I said, grateful for her kindness. "I really appreciate your help. And thank you for the delicious meal too."
"It was my pleasure," Mrs. Tom said, her eyes sparkling. "Amanda is always welcome here."
I looked around the front yard as Amanda disappeared inside the house to fetch her things. It was a beautiful sight. The grass was a vibrant green, and the flowers were in full bloom. The trees provided shade, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of summer.
Amanda came running out with her backpack, and we turned to head home.
"Thank you again, Mrs. Tom," I said as she reached to close the door. "You're a lifesaver."
"It's my pleasure," Mrs. Tom said, smiling at us. "Take care, Amanda. I'll see you soon."
As we returned home, Amanda chattered away excitedly.
"Daddy, can we eat pizza again? Daddy, can we go to the park today? She let out all her words at once in excitement.
"Okay, slow down, sweetie. You need to ask me your questions one by one, so I can answer them properly. Daddy is a little tired today," I said as we unlocked our door.
Chapter six
Laura
As I sat on my couch, staring at the stack of boxes that had accumulated over the past two weeks, I couldn't help but wonder why my dad had suddenly started using delivery companies. He had always been skeptical of strangers for these sorts of things and preferred to handle everything himself. In fact, I had never seen him entrust anything important to anyone outside his inner circle before.
I picked up one of the boxes and examined the label. It was addressed to me, but the return address was from a company I had never heard of before. I wondered how my dad had found them and why he had chosen to use them instead of his personal driver.
Curiosity getting the best of me, I decided to ask the next delivery person if they knew anything about Anthony, hoping to get some answers. When the doorbell rang, I hurried to answer it, eager to get some information. The delivery person handed me the package, and I said, "Excuse me, do you know my father’s driver Anthony?"
The delivery person looked at me curiously and replied, "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm just a company affiliate. I don't know anything about your father or any Anthony." I thanked them and closed the door, frustrated that my attempt to find out more had been unsuccessful.
As the days went on, the deliveries continued to arrive, but I still couldn't shake the feeling of unease. I wondered what my dad was hiding and why he had suddenly started trusting these strangers. Had something happened that had made him change his ways? I decided to confront him and ask him directly.
I picked up my phone and dialed his number.
"Dad, how are you?" I said into the phone.
"I'm okay. What do you need, Laura?" he implored.
I scoffed at the sound of that. "Nothing, Dad, I just realized different delivery services have been bringing the packages to me. Is there something wrong with the first guy, the one who you sent from your office?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"No," he replied.
"I know I can be controlling sometimes," he continued, "but I realized that I can't have my staff do everything. These companies have been a great help and have taken a huge burden off my shoulders."
"Dad, I just don't appreciate different strangers every day at my doorstep. It's dangerous," I whined.
"Laura, let's talk about this later," he said and hung up. I sucked my teeth.
Really?I thought.
