AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He listened to me, thought it over, and often let me take direction on different projects. He made me his real-life Cyrano, presenting my ideas as his own. But he gave me credit often enough, and it was hardly worth quibbling over. This was the most respect I’d ever gotten for my work.
Almost everyone on the team seemed cool with it, but there was this one dude, some guy named Evan Smith, who always had a problem with it. His avatar was a lone wolf (which made me roll my eyes whenever I saw it), and he nitpicked everything he could find. I guess he’d worked on Melvin’s teams for a long time, and there seemed to be a little bit of jealousy in hiscomments. At least that’s what my dad would say. Regardless, I refused to let him dull my sparkle. I was doing things I’d never done before, and haters gonna hate.
Melvin eventually asked for my cell number so he could text me when to check my email, if I was unavailable due to all my manly pursuits. I gave it reluctantly, but he hardly ever used it.
Until the kicker.I have a three-day trip planned for the Denver area, arriving Thursday night, he texted.There’s an important client in the area that we need to land. I’m going to need your help on this. I’m sure you realize that I’ve come to think of you as my right-hand man. We’ll have an all-team meeting, then I’d like to talk with you one-on-one afterward.
I sat back. Two days. Melvin was arriving in two days. Two. I felt dread wash over me but tried to stay rational. As his right-hand “man,” this might be my best opportunity to come clean. What I looked like shouldn’t matter. He trusted me with inside information, he relied on me, and maybe he couldn’t function without me? He was having way more success with Artemis than he’d had in his previous leadership roles. When he came in person (OMG, seriously two days?) I could introduce myself asme,and he would be further impressed instead of disappointed. A short opinionated gamer girl was every bit as good as Harrison Ford.
I knew that was true. So why did I have such a feeling of impending doom?
If there was a heaven on earth, it was Aspen Skies, I thought as I pulled into the parking lot of the assisted living facility later that evening. I carefullygrabbed the package off the passenger seat and hurried inside, away from the chill in the air. The lobby was bright and warm. “Hey, Ana,” the woman at the front desk greeted me.
I smiled at her and shivered a little in the warm glow. “How are you, Rita?” I asked. “How’re the kids?”
“Everyone’s good, thanks for asking,” she said. “Chris came in second in the skateboarding competition.”
“Awesome!” I exclaimed. “I was rooting for him.”
She grinned. “I knew you were. Your dad’s been asking when you’d get here. He’s not very patient.”
I nodded. “One of a few things I wish I hadn’t inherited from him.”
“He’s in the common room, watching the fish.” If I lived here, that was where I would spend all my time.
I waved goodbye to Rita and headed toward the common room. Aspen Skies was a beautiful place, and I’d been lucky when they had an opening and had agreed to take my dad. It cost a fortune to keep him here, and the expense had quickly eaten up his savings and mine, but he loved it, and I loved him, so it didn’t matter. I turned down the hallway and caught sight of him sitting in front of the stunning saltwater tank that lined the back wall of the room.
I came up behind him and set my package down, then leaned over and gave him a big hug from behind. His arms came up around me. “Indiana!” he cried, swiveling his wheelchair around. “How’s my girl?” It was a while before I let go. He smelled like home and so many happy memories rolled into one nostalgic scent.
“I’m okay. How’re you?” I asked. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and sat back to look at him. He looked great. He had color in his cheeks and his usual mischievous twinkle about him.
“Doing grand,” he said. “This isn’t your usual visiting day. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you about some stuff,” I said.
“Always up for a chat. But before we do that, look at all the new seahorses in the tank.”
I jumped up and squinted at the water, looking for them. “Oh my god, where? There are a bunch of tangs in there—they’re going to eat them! We have to tell Rita!”
Dad sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I forgot what a geek you are about fish.” He lowered his voice and pulled me down close. “I’m not actually looking at the tank, Indiana. There aren’t any new fish. I’m trying to be discreet, but I forgot that you don’t do discreet. I’m looking at the reflection.”
“What do—” But then I saw what he meant. Reflected in the glass was an older woman who must have been sitting across the room behind us, reading a book and occasionally glancing over. She had an elegant look about her and great taste in clothes. From the passing smiles she was sending our way, it looked like she had good taste in men, too.
“Are you talking about that lady?” I whispered to him and turned around to look.
He grabbed me as I started to swivel. “Be cool. And don’t talk so loud. Just look at the imaginary fish.”
I sat next to him and watched the tank. He put his arm around me, and I leaned into him, feeling myself relax. After a few minutes, he squeezed my shoulder. “Did you bring me something?” he asked, gesturing to the box.
I nodded and pulled it into my lap. I took out a few books and handed them over.
Dad was a voracious reader, even more so since his accident. He chortled when he saw the stack and hugged them to his chest. “Thanks, Indiana. I’d be lost without you. I really would.”
“And now for your real surprise.” I said, “Drumroll…” Then I pulled the lumpy duck from the bottom of the box. It had been fired and glazed and fired again to a blotchy opalescent blue. It was something only a father could love, and Dad took it with reverence, running his fingers down the bumpy curve of the wings.
He seemed to get a little teary. “I love the lumps and bumps.”
“I knew you would.” I grinned. “Bumps make things more interesting.”
