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“Makayla, I worry about you.”
“So you’ve said,” I drawl. “But why are you worried now?”
He sighs, and it’s as if the weight of the world is in that sigh. “Because all you do is study and work at that library.”
And Cherry’s.
“As soon as I graduate, things will calm down.”
“If you say so.”
“So, how was your week?” I ask in an effort to change the subject.
Dad drones on about what he did every day, what he ate, and how he slept. I listen with half an ear, my mind on other things.
“Makayla, I asked you a question,” he says, pulling my attention back to our phone call.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked if you submitted your application for that museum job in Ireland. Wasn’t the deadline for it this week?”
“It was,” I confirm, but I don’t go into more detail, not wanting to explain why I wouldn’t go even if I was offered the position. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Anything, baby girl.”
“I know you think they’re foolish, but do you remember the stories mom would tell me as a child?”
“Of course, I remember. Why?”
“Well, I’m doing my thesis, and I was hoping you could shed some light on a few things.”
“Ah, Makayla, your mom was always better with that stuff than I am. Mythology washerpassion, just like you, but I’ll give it my best shot.”
“That’s all I ask.” I smile. Dad always ‘gives it his best shot’. I could ask him to explain to me why the sky is lime green, and even though he knows it’s not, he’d do his best to give me an answer. “Do you remember how Mom explained that men would get into Valhalla if they died bravely in battle?”
“Vaguely, yes.”
“Well, all of my research coincides with what she told me, but recently, a different opinion was shared with me.”
“Go on.”
“I’ve been told that, while some men die in battle, like during a war, and are escorted to Valhalla, that’s not all it takes to be considered a Warrior. That maybe, a Warrior would be chosen if they die protecting someone else at the expense of themselves.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” he asks. His tone isn’t condescending. He genuinely wants to know.
“It doesn’t make sense. Not just anyone can get into Valhalla, and based on that line of thinking, that’s exactly what happens.”
“Or…”
“Or what?”
“I know this is your area of expertise, but hear me out, okay?”
“Of course, Dad,” I say. “I asked you about this because I wanted your thoughts and to see if you remembered something I’m not.”
“Maybe you’re taking the information too literally.”
“How so?”
