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“Patrick, listen—”
“What’s that sound? Where are you?” he said through a yawn.
She realized the sounds of the show were carrying over their call. “Believe it or not, I’m backstage at the Bowl. I got passes to Nigel Black’s show tonight.”
Patrick paused as if he was taking a moment to understand. “I’m sorry,what?” he replied, wide awake. “You waituntilnowto tell me this?! I would have started sprinting home on foot if I had known! You told me it was sold out, and now you’re backstage?!”
Gemma laughed at his reaction. “It was sold out.”
“How did you get passes? Did you ask Dad?”
“No. I did this one all on my own. Nigel was on our show today, and I interviewed him because my boss was out.”
Patrick was gaping; she could hear his mouth hanging open from three thousand miles away. “You hosted the show?”
“Believe it or not, I did.”
“And you interviewed Nigel Black?!” He nearly shouted the question in his excitement.
“Yes again.”
“That’s amazing, Gem! And then Nigel Black was like, ‘Hey, love, want some passes to my sold-out show tonight?’ ” He put on a horribly campy British accent that made Gemma laugh.
“Pretty much.”
“Damn. Well, good job to you.”
“Thank you.”
Patrick yawned again, and she knew it was time to set him free.
“Listen, Patrick. The reason I called is to tell you that you can give up trying to get here tonight. I’m sorry I’ve held you hostage all day.” She wasn’t sure if they were going to wake up in the same day again and it would all be moot, but in this version of the day, she needed him to know that she had come to an overdue realization. “And I want to apologize for all the times I’ve made you play peacekeeperbetween me and Dad. I’ve put a lot of unfair pressure on you, and I’m really sorry for that.”
He grew quiet for a long moment and came back with a serious tone. “I just want you to be happy, Gem. And I worry about you being alone out there. I know things were different for you growing up than they were for me, and it’s up to you what you want to forgive, but I hope you can give him a chance. Yes, he made mistakes, but we only get one family, and I’d hate to see you miss out on a member who’s right there willing.”
His words resonated in a way that Gemma would not have been receptive to on another day. “I’m going to work on it.”
“Good—wait, really?”
She softly smiled at his surprise. “Yes, really. I ended up going to see him today, and things...” She thought back to the scene at his house, how she’d left so angry, and where they had ended up. “Things worked out better than I expected them to.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Wow, Gem. That’s really great.”
“Yeah, it is. Turns out you were right, and I could do it on my own.”
“See, I told you,” he said proudly.
“Yes, you seem to have grown very wise.”
He laughed. “I think it happened somewhere between my third and fourth missed standbys today. I can’t wait to get out of here.”
“Okay, but promise me you’ll come home before you move for good, please?”
He paused again. “I’m sorry, am I dreaming right now?You’re making up with Dadandyou’re not upset about me moving?”
Gemma smiled. “You’re awake, I promise. And I’m sorry for my reaction earlier. You caught me completely off guard, and I can’t believe you told both MomandDad before you told me, but I’m really happy for you.”
A beat passed.
