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My mouth was open, ready to take the first bite of my dinner when my phone went off. Groaning, I set it down, hit pause on the show, and answered.
“Hey, dad.” I said into the phone, trying not to sound annoyed.
“Hey, pumpkin! How are things going?” He asked. I could hear people talking in the background and some sort of upbeat music. If I had to guess, he was relaxing on the deck of the cruise ship with a scotch on the rocks in his hand. Mom was probably dancing with some stranger because Dad didn’t dance, but wanted to watch to make sure the man she was dancing with was keeping his hands off her ass.
Why my parents had decided to go on a cruise is beyond me. They are not social people. Well, not that social anyway. They do small gatherings, especially around the holidays, but a cruise to Hawaii? I knew Mom wanted to go, but Dad never agreed to something like that. He always said he had too much business to keep an eye on around here, whatever that meant. He ran a security company that he had built from the ground up, which was something he was proud of, but with the managers he had in place on his staff, he was no longer hands-on. He mostly went into the office as a figurehead it seemed.
“Things are good.” I assured him and took a bite of my food. I might as well eat; no sense in letting it get cold. “Had a great group of students for my last class today. I was just sitting down to relax and watch a show while I ate my dinner.”
Hint hint hint.
“That sounds great! Your mother and I are enjoying the cruise. She’s having a blast anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever seen hersmile so much.” He said, completely ignoring what I had said. I sighed as silently as I could and munched on some broccoli.
“That’s fantastic. I’m glad things are going well for you guys.”
“Yea! I can’t imagine why we haven't done this sooner.” I heard the clinking of ice against the glass and pictured him sipping his drink. “I mean, this is the lap of luxury and the cruise was fairly cheap, not that it needed to be.”
“It helps.” I added.
“Oh it does! We have money, thanks to the business, but it’s not like we are rich.” He paused for a second. “Okay, so we may be in the top 10% of the country, but we aren’t like filthy rich.”
“Dad, please. This is me you are talking to. I’ve seen your bank statements. You have enough for you and Mom to retire and enjoy a vacation like that three times a year without an issue. Hell, you could probably create a channel on TikTok or Youtube just showing the places you go and get paid for it. Money for you is no issue.” I pointed out. He was quiet for a moment.
“That’s true, it isn’t an issue. For you either Pumpkin. We will take care of you. So long as you try your best and keep doing what you love, we will be there for you.”
I rolled my eyes and chewed on the piece of chicken in my mouth, swallowing before I answered.
“I know Dad.” I said. “I appreciate it. You and Mom have always been so supportive of my career choices. Hell, of all my choices.”
“Well, we happen to know that nobody is perfect and when you are young is the time for making mistakes. We just want you to be able to make those mistakes without any financial consequences. We want you to be as adventurous and carefree as possible. You deserve to be happy, Pumpkin.”
I smiled, my annoyance at his call ebbing away. Mostly I was annoyed because he always calls me on Fridays and Mondays just to check in and I thought I would have this Friday to myself.Silly me, but I guess it was nice that he cared so much, even when they were on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. There was a possibility I was being just a little too cranky.
‘Thanks Dad. You know I appreciate it, but come on, you and mom never make mistakes. You guys are perfect.” I chuckled.
There was silence for a few breaths on the other end and I heard my father take a sip of his drink. He cleared his throat before answering.
“I’ve made my fair share of mistakes, Pumpkin. Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking I’m perfect. Neither is your mother. We just have learned from ours and have the means to support you as you make yours, if you have any mistakes to make.” He cleared his throat again and I could hear someone talking to him. “No thanks, Sam. Okay, Anita, I’m going to go. I’ll call you next Friday, okay? Your mother and I are going to be hiking the volcano on Monday and I doubt there will be any cell service up there. But if you don’t hear from me by Friday, your mother probably threw me in.”
He chuckled and so did I.
“Okay Daddy, have a fun trip. I’ll talk to you on Friday.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you then Pumpkin. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone surprised that I wouldn’t be hearing from him on Monday, but happy to be able to not worry about them until then. They were having a blast, they made it to California and onto the cruise ship, things were going well and they were having fun. Now I got all weekend to do whatever I wanted to do.
It was shaping up to be a glorious week.
I finished my dinner while watching the next episode of Carnival, then spoiled myself with a rerun of Vampire Diaries. By the time I was ready to head up to bed, my hair was mostly dry so I gave it one last brushing knowing full well it would be allweird when I woke up, then crawled into bed, happy for my soft sheets and cozy comforter.
I was almost asleep when I heard rustling coming from downstairs and then a few loud meows. Crisco. Any money that fat cat had found his way into the trash again and was looking for remnants of food.
“Crisco…” I muttered and rolled out of my nice warm cozy spot and padded downstairs in my fluffy purple slippers. I yawned loudly when I shuffled into the kitchen, looking around for the little tub of lard. “Crisco, will you stop…”
Three things happened all at once.
