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I shoved a bite of mashed potatoes in my mouth. “All the same…”
“Am I that repulsive to you?” he asked, his perfect brows rising in my direction. No, he wasn’t repulsive, I was just exhausted, and if I was being completely honest with myself, I felt no chemistry with him.
Another wave of fatigue crashed through me, and my eyes slid towards my father. He was looking so frail. The color had drained from his face, and he was staring blankly at the wall across from him instead of being involved in the conversation that my mother was so intensely invested in.
It killed me to see him so small. I was the petite one in the family, though that had never stopped me from learning everything I could from my dad.
But this wasn’t the man I’d grown up with. The man I cherished and so dearly missed. Thanksgiving was mere weeks away, and I needed him around for that. I needed him around for Christmas, and for everything in my life to come.
I needed my father, and seeing him that poorly shoved out any remaining morsel of energy I had left for this day.
Scooting back from my place at the table, I rose to my feet. My mom gasped as silence fell upon the table.
“I apologize for my abruptness, but I’m quite exhausted. I mean no disrespect, but if you’ll please excuse me, it’s been a long day of work.” Walking away from my half eaten plate, I felt every pair of eyes drill holes into my back except for my father who remained still and blank.
Kneeling down beside him, I rested a hand on his forearm. He flinched, finally being pulled from his stupor. “Come on daddy, let’s get you to bed.” I whispered, and he nodded once, his eyes misting over as I helped him to his feet. Taking a few steps back from the table, he stumbled towards me before catching his balance.
“Tenley, dear. Please sit back down. I’ll take care of your father while you finish dinner with our guests.” My mom smiled at me, but I shook my head.
“No, Mom. I’m sorry, but on top of being exhausted, I have a busy day at work tomorrow.” I guided my father forward a few more steps before hooking his elbow and turning away from the table.
“Is this because you think this is a date?” she squealed, jumping up from her seat. I remained silent, ignoring her question as I led my weary father from the room. The whispered voices faded as I disappeared down towards my parents' master bedroom.
Once we were in the hallway, my father stood up straight and shook the weariness from his figure. He winked at me as my jaw fell open in shock. He’d known. Somehow he’d known. A grin filled his frail lips as we chuckled silently with each other.
“I promise I’m not trying to avoid dating, Daddy.” I whispered, and he gave me a quick nod.
“You just don’t want to date this Cassidy fellow,” he replied, and I nodded. He placed a weathered hand against my shoulder. “I love you, my sweet daughter.” He coughed.
I shuddered, a solemn air falling upon us. This was the first time I truly acknowledged the deadline that hung stiffly in front of me. My father’s life was expiring soon. What’s more was he was acutely aware of it, which made things all the more real. More pressing.
His hand slid from my arm and flopped loosely to his side before he disappeared around the corner to his room. I snuck off as quietly as I could, hiding away in my own place of desolation, eventually falling asleep.
Chapter 9
It was a cold morning, the air stiff with threatening storm clouds as I pulled my car into the clinic parking lot. I had back-to-back appointments for the first three hours of the morning, and then some farm calls to do with Doc. But it was difficult for me to focus as last night's tumultuous events crashed through my mind like a DVD stuck on repeat.
I could only imagine how pissed Cassidy was, seeing as how I’d up and just left him sitting at the dinner table. A twinge of guilt flooded through me. Neither of my parents were awake this morning when I left for work, so the scolding from my mother would come tonight. A scolding I was not looking forward to. Then there was the matter of Nancy and Jeb. I owed all three dinner guests a solid apology, but wasn’t sure where to begin.
The bell tinkled as I walked in and found both receptionists sitting at the front desk, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. My look this morning was disheveled and messy. Not only had I forgotten my usual mascara that I typically slapped on, but my hair had not been cooperative, so it was pulled into some frizzy bun on the top of my head. On top of all of that, while eating toast for breakfast, some of the red jam had slid off and plopped onto the front of my cream hoodie. A stain I hadn’t noticed until halfway here, meaning there was no chance of changing.
Luckily, I could just take it off and wear the tight, navy blue long-sleeved T-shirt under my white coat today. But it didn’t mean I felt any more put together, in fact, that would reveal the lack of womanly curves that I hated so much. One of the excuses an ex had used to justify his cheating.
“Woah. Someone’s had a rough morning,” Carly said, her hair neatly curled in perfect beach waves.
“That’s the understatement of a lifetime,” I muttered and pushed my way through the door towards my office. It wasn’t like me to give the girls such a cold greeting, but today was a day.
Luckily, my first two appointments went smoothly, routine vaccinations for the two sweetest puppies. I was seated in my office with a pen between my teeth, filling out charts on the computer waiting for my next patient, when a knock sounded on the door.
“Come in,” I said, attempting to not spew the pen from my teeth.
Carly’s young face popped around the corner as she hesitantly entered my office, which looked much cozier now that it had become swamped with pictures and client sheets. Plus, many of my textbooks and articles that I consistently referred to filled the empty corners.
“Hey, Doc Mayn,” she said, a cautious smile caressing her face.
“Hey Carly. Sorry about earlier!” I quickly replied with a grin, and pulled the pen from my mouth. “What’s up?”
She sighed, stepping in like normal as the tension slithered away. “You have a phone call on line two. It was disappointing to see Duke on the caller ID and it not be Cassidy,” she grumbled.
