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And maybe I am. Maybe he took a piece of me that I’ll never get back, or maybe I’ll see it again sometime down the road.
I get back to my parents’ house with the Pepto, and despite the late hour, my mom is awake and waiting for me.
“Dad’s been in the bathroom all night, so it’s not like I can sleep,” she says, rolling her eyes. If she notices that I’m a bit mussed up compared to how I was earlier, she doesn’t mention it. “Oh, did I win any of the auction bids?”
Oh, shit. I knew I forgot something.
I scramble to come up with something even though my brain is currently in sleep mode. “You know, I was chatting with someone when they announced it and totally missed hearing the winners. But I’m sure they’ll call you if you won. They won’t miss collecting payment, right?” I toss the shade off what I was really doing. I mean…wedidchat at different times throughout the evening, so it’s not a lie.
She narrows her eyes at me. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “Just tired.”
“Did you have fun?”
“I had the best time. Really. I’m going to go head up to bed now. See you in the morning.”
As it turns out, it’s nearly afternoon by the time I force myself out of bed. I take a long, steamy shower to help awaken myaching muscles that were twisted and bent in ways I’m not used to, and I head downstairs.
I checked my phone the moment I woke up, but I didn’t have anything from him yet. Maybe he’s still sleeping, too. We really took it out of each other last night.
I roll my shoulders as I pad into the kitchen in sweatpants and a Storm T-shirt, and my dad is sitting at the table looking both tired and a little green.
“How’re you feeling?” I ask.
He nods to the plain toast in front of him. “Regretful that I didn’t look at what I was eating,” he admits.
I wrinkle my nose. “I’m sorry.”
“Did you have a fun time?”
I nod.
“Wish I could’ve been there.”
“How’s it going out here so far, Dad?” I ask.
He sips from a steaming cup of tea, and I stand and head over toward the Keurig for a cup of coffee. “I inherited an incredible offense, and I’m excited to get started building on their strengths to grab some Ws this season.”
We chat while it brews.
“I have no doubt you’ll grab a ton of Ws, Daddy.” When my coffee is ready, I take my cup of black coffee and sit beside my dad.
“That smells great.” He inclines his head toward my cup, and I shake my head at him.
“No way. Mom would kill me if I gave you coffee when you can barely get a piece of toast down. Where is Mom, by the way?”
“Sleeping. She was up all night for some reason.” He shrugs and widens his eyes innocently, and I laugh.
“You’re terrible.”
“Don’t I know it. How are you really doing in San Diego all by your lonesome?” He lifts his toast to take a bite, and he sets it back down without taking it.
“I’m not all by my lonesome,” I remind him.
“I know, I know. You have your friends, and they’re like family. I hate having you so far. I can’t keep an eye on you when you’re three hundred fifty miles away.” He offers a wry smile.
I refrain from mentioning that he also couldn’t keep an eye on me when we were in the same room. “I’m fine, Dad.” I nod toward his toast. “And you will be, too, you know. If you avoid the scallops.” I raise my brows pointedly, and he laughs.
