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When I walk into the apartment after work, the smell of curry wafts over me. I inhale, loving the scent. I’ve decided it’s my new favorite cuisine and all others pair in comparison.
“Mr. Nick.” Talisa comes around the corner, wiping her hand on her towel. “Good evening.”
“Good evening, Talisa. Dinner smells amazing.”
“Soon,” she told him. “Miss Amelie is in her room.”
I knock on the door and then open it. She’s on her bed, with her headphones on, reading a book. I know, without asking, she has music playing. How her mind can do two things at once is beyond me.
Tapping her on the shoulder, I wait for her to remove the device. “Hey, Daddy.”
“How was your day?”
She shrugs. “It’s boring sometimes.”
Amelie started complaining the work was too easy. Aubrey and I met with the school and asked for Amelie to have the next level of course study, which also turned out to be too easy after a couple of weeks.
“I’m sorry.” I sit on the edge of her bed and sigh. “Not sure what I can do to help.”
“It’s okay. I just get bored.”
“And boredom leads to trouble?”
She nods.
“Did you get into trouble?”
Amelie shakes her head. “Not yet.”
It takes everything in me not to roll my eyes. “Let’s try and stay out of trouble then. Come on, let’s eat and then we’re calling Mack.”
After Amelie and I do the dishes—it’s not something I expect Talisa to do—we sit down and call Mack. When he answers, he’s smiling big and bright.
“Hey guys,” he says. He looks like he’s been running around.
“What’s going on?”
Mack turns his screen around and shows us a dog, and then he’s back facing us. “This is Beau,” he tells us. “He’s Ben and Elle’s puppy. I’m taking care of him and helping train him.”
“He’s soooooo cute,” Amelie says. “I love his name.”
“Yeah, he’s the sweetest.”
“How’s Ben?” Liam or Josie keeps me up to date on the happenings in town. I was shocked and saddened to find out Ben had cancer. He’s so young and you never think of people his age going through something like this.
“Uh, he’s in the hospital,” Mack says. “I don’t know all the details because I’m just a kid, but he collapsed the other day when he was buying the puppy. I was there and called for an ambulance. Elle’s paying me to train him. I pick him up from her studio every day after school.”
“You’re a good kid, Mack.”
“Thanks, Dad. Uh, when are you coming home? I really miss you.”
My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. I need a clone because that’s the only option for me so I can be in two places at once. My son deserves to be with his parents, but not at the expense of his future. If he were here, he’d be somewhere in boarding school, and we’d have the same conversation.”
“I miss you too,” I tell him.
“Do you miss me?” Amelie asks him.
“I do, but your friends really miss you,” he tells her. “I see them a lot and they ask about you and want to know why you don’t call them. I tell them the time difference is sort of crappy.”
