AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You hoping for some franchise?” he asked me.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. There are some things in the book that I put in just to get them off my chest, but there are other things that have the real bones to make a good follow-on story. Not to say that I’m planning on them making a movie or anything out of this, but it would be nice to know that other people were able to get some pleasure out of reading it.”
Rob just nodded, then picked up his beer and took another gulp. I didn’t know Rob as well these days, but as a general rule of thumb, I felt I was really good at reading people. And I felt he was tense for some reason. I wasn’t sure why he would feel that way, but I could sense it.
I did my best to keep the conversation flowing, but I felt I was running out of things to say. Even though it had been so long since the two of us had hung out, I felt he wasn’t really participating in the conversation, which was only adding to me feeling as though there was something going on with him.
I took another sip of my beer and was relieved when he was the one who broke the silence.
“How is Erin settling in here?” he asked. “I expected her to call me more, but I guess that’s just one of the things you deal with when your kid gets to being her age. Not that she doesn’t keep in touch with me, but I haven’t heard from her nearly as much as I would like to.”
“I keep thinking about that with Libby,” I said. “I’m sure the day’s going to come when she isn’t reaching out to me like I’d like.”
“Enjoy it while you can,” he said with a sharp nod. “The day comes when you hardly even know who they are anymore. Or you think you do, and you come to find out something else that you’re not thrilled about.”
I cocked my head to the side slightly. I knew he was hinting at something, but I had no idea how he would have figured out what was going on between Erin and me. She hadn’t said a word about telling him, and I couldn’t think of a moment when they would have had the time to talk about it since he arrived.
“Erin’s doing fine here,” I said, changing the subject back to her. “And Libby has totally fallen for her. She asked me just the other day if Erin could live with us forever.”
I laughed, but it was an awkward kind of laugh that wasn’t joined by Rob. He instead picked up the bottle once more and took a longer drink of the beer than before. He practically chugged the drink, which told me he either wanted to really cut loose and get a buzz, or he was trying to get done with it so he could get away from the conversation – or, more accurately, me.
“What about you?” he asked.
“What about me?”
“Have you really fallen for her, too?” he continued. “Are you going to ask her if she will stay here with you forever?”
“Rob,” I said, but he held up his hand.
“Don’t fucking even try,” he said. He tapped the bottom of the bottle on Erin’s diary. “I’m not one to read my daughter’s diary, but I guess when a few keywords caught my eye, I couldn’t help myself. It didn’t take more than a page for me to figure out what was going on, Neils, and I don’t even have words for you right now.”
“I know this might not be the easiest thing in the world for you to hear,” I said, trying to take a different angle. I was a little shocked he had read Erin’s diary, but another part of me was relieved that I didn’t have to be the one to break the news to him entirely. Damage control was easier in this case than having to be the one to say the words to him.
“Fuck off, Neils, just fuck off!” Rob snapped at me. He drained the rest of his beer, then to my surprise, he threw it as hard as he could against the stones that once made up the fireplace.
The bottle shattered, and Rob rose to his feet.
“I sent my daughter down here to work for you, not to get fucked by you!” he yelled at me.
I said nothing as he stormed past where I was sitting. I half expected him to pick up one of the shards of glass and stab me with it before he left, but he opened the door and slammed it behind him without another word.
I sat in the deafening silence, my mind spinning. That hadn’t gone well at all, but at least he knew the truth. On the other hand, I had no idea what to say to Erin, who had no idea that this had even happened.
I took a deep breath, then drained the beer I was holding.
This day had taken the opposite turn than what I imagined, and now I wasn’t sure what to do with myself.
Right now, nothing seems like a good idea.
Chapter Thirty
Erin
Therideontheocean to Fort Jefferson was fun and the three of us girls loved it. We were on a ferry boat that was unique. It was an old sailboat used in the past to run drugs from the Caribbean and it had a storied past. It was confiscated by the government in the eighties and turned into a passenger ferry we were told on the trip to the Fort.
Once we got on land, we started on a walking tour.
“We should bring Dad with us next time,” Libby said as we wandered around Fort Jefferson. “He’d really like it.”
