“I should call Dad. Not that it will help this tear situation, but I hate that he’s not here.”
Kari picks up her phone and hands it to me. “Call him. Cane talked to him about this before we left, so he knows it’s happening.”
“Were his feelings hurt?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. Dad just wants us happy, Jada.”
I dial his number and wait for him to answer, but he doesn’t. It goes to voicemail. I feel like such a baby, such a little girl, but I can’t help it. I just wanted to talk to my dad.
“Daddy? It’s Jada.” My voice cracks, and I watch Kari, trying to gain some sort of strength from her. This is so much harder than I thought it would be. I sniffle back tears and realize that I only have a few seconds before the recording ends. “I love you.”
SIXTY-THREE
Cane
“It’s a suit, Cane.”Max laughs behind me. “You’ve worn these before.”
I straighten the gold tie and twist my neck, trying to get comfortable. “I feel like a fucking monkey in this thing. You think I could just leave the tie off and the top button of this shirt undone? If not, I might die from asphyxiation before I get there.”
Max’s hand lands on my shoulder. “Look at it this way: Jada could bail on you at the last minute. You gotta jump through all the hoops, including wearing a suitandtie, to make sure she doesn’t change her mind.”
“She’s not gonna change her mind, asshole.”
“Nah, she won’t. But you still gotta wear that.”
“You sound like my dad.” As soon as the words slip from my lips, a heaviness comes over me.
I don’t think about him a lot, not in depth. I allow myself to consider how he’d handle things from time to time, but normally I justpush forward and stay focused on whatever is in front of me. But today … what’s in front of me is the rest of my life.
I turn and see Max watching me from the other side of the room. His eyes are narrowed,cautious, and I know he’s waiting for me to speak. He knows this is a touchy subject, and he’s known me long enough to know how I work. He’s giving me space. And that space is making me suffocate.
I shrug helplessly. “What do ya think, Max?”
“I think he’d be damn proud of you.”
I snort and turn away.
“Look at what you’ve done with your life, man. You were in your early twenties and lost the only family you had. Instead of just saying, ‘fuck it,’ you picked yourself up, took over the company built by your grandfather and father, and made it into somethingmore.”
“I just did what I had to do.”
“But so many people don’t. You could’ve let it all go or sold it all. But you didn’t. You kept the legacy of your family and built on it. That’s impressive.”
“Did you just call me impressive?” I grin, turning to look at him.
He rolls his eyes. “No. I said what you did was impressive. Slightly.”
There’s a comfortable silence between us, something I only have with Max. We may not be blood, but we sure as fuck might as well be.
I twist my neck again. “Am I supposed to wear a flower or some shit on my jacket?”
Max laughs, glancing down at the pink one on his. “Yeah. Kari did mine. She’ll be over in a minute to do yours, too.”
“She’ll probably jab me with the needle.”
“Probably.”
There’s so much unsaid between us, and I know I don’t have to say any of it. Max knows. I don’t think I can verbalize all the things I’m feeling right now, but I need to try to say something.
