I watch him as he gets up and steps outside, brows drawn down in concern. It’s not like him to walk out unless there’s a good reason for it. Pulling out my laptop, I check the audio while listening with my earbuds, upload it to socials to test it, and then check my personal accounts.
There’s a message from Marilyn in my inbox, and I swallow hard as I decide if I want to open it or not. Dad sits across from me and I smile at him, deciding it’s a sign not to read it yet. Putting my things away, I decide to ask him about the call.
“Who was on the phone?” I ask. “Is everything okay?”
“It was the doctor,” he sighs. My anxiety jolts before he shakes his head. “I had a physical recently, and they just wantto run more tests when I get back. I need to eat better, things like that. You’re my excuse to eat at restaurants with healthier options.”
“I’ll gladly be your cover,” I tease him as the food arrives. It smells incredible, and I discover that my hunger is worse than I originally thought.
Tearing into my food, I hum happily.
“Good, because I plan to exploit it,” he smirks, digging into his food. I’m glad to see there’s loads of veggies on his bowl, along with arugula and grilled chicken.
Dad isn’t really an unhealthy eater that I’ve seen. Something doesn’t ring true about his words, and I find myself worrying about him as we eat.
“What exactly is the doctor worried about?” I ask him, sipping my water.
“He said I have high cholesterol, which could mean anything. Most people my age have that,” he shrugs. “I’m fine. I’m also going to drag you to the hotel gym in the morning. I tend to stagnate on exercise when we travel.”
“The team uses the gym,” I remind him as I eat. My descenting spray doesn’t work as well when I sweat.
“We’ll go before the rest of them are up,” he says. “You can take a nap. We are here for two nights, playing two different teams. It’ll be a nice change of pace. The team wants to go out to a bar after the game tonight. A couple of our players have siblings on the opposing team we’re playing.”
“That’s awkward,” I observe.
“Eh, it happens,” he says. “Inevitably, siblings go into the sport and end up on different teams. If they’re on good terms with each other, it’s not an issue.”
“That’ll be fun for them to see each other after,” I say noncommittally.
“Ah, how would you feel about coming with us?” he asks. “I need to be there.”
“Okay,” I sigh. “I’ll stick to a booth, grab a drink, and work from there. Bars aren’t really my scene, Dad. I don’t want to get behind on my work either.”
“I know,” he nods. “Rían has a friend who is planning to meet him, and he offered to hang out with you.”
“That poor guy,” I groan, finishing up my food. “I appreciate him so much because he also reminds me to drink water like a plant, but I feel bad.”
Dad snorts, coughing violently on the water he was trying to swallow.
“Please don’t choke,” I say, shaking my head at him.
“This is your fault,” he crows goodnaturedly. “Who the hell says they’re a plant?”
“Me?” I reply. “I feel like I tend to forget to do basic self care.”
“Eating and drinking isn’t self care,” Dad says. “They’re necessary.”
“Mmhmm,” I tease him. “I tend to get so busy that I’ll ignore the signs that I’m hungry or thirsty.”
“Well, I have alarms set for shit like that because I get just as bad,” he says, clearing his throat. “I want to make sure we pick up salads for lunch for the fridge in one of the back rooms they give the traveling team. This way it’s easier to get healthy meals.”
I stare at him for a moment, noticing how his cheeks heat.
“I told you, we’re going to make sure we both survive the insanity of traveling with the team,” he says, asking for the check.
Dad tosses cash over it as we get up to leave, and I think about his words as we walk out to the car. I’m not sure if this is a come to Jesus moment for him, or if he really is just trying to make this transition easier for us both.
He’s never been this careful before, and I used to travel a lot with the team in between attending classes. In high school, they agreed to offer me a hybrid of sorts so I wouldn’t miss school, and that’s how I graduated a semester early.
