I wave, and I wonder what she means by that, but I’m sidetracked as Cal picks me up and throws me over his shoulder playfully and carries me to his truck, me laughing.
I slide into my seat on the plane by the window, Cal settling in beside me with that easy calm that is always grounding to me. Wilby drops into the seat across from us and is rummaging through his bag.
Then, my dad appears. He nods at us and doesn’t say anything. No scowl. He just says calmly, “Silvie, can I speak with you for a moment?”
I follow him to the back of the plane, into the back bedroom, and he closes the door.
“I wanted to apologize for how I spoke to you.” His eyes are kind, and he means it.
I soften. “It’s okay, Dad. You just have to trust me that I know what I’m doing.”
He sighs. “I know. I’m trying to do that. It’s not easy.”
“I heard you had lunch with Cal,” I tell him.
“I did. Quite a young man you have there. Very intriguing.”
I laugh. “He is. I thought you’d like him when you got to know him more.”
He tilts his head. “I think I will. Your mother will hate him on sight.”
When he mentions my mother, I roll my eyes. “I don’t want to talk about Mom.”
He nods. “Let’s just get to it. The board is very curious about what you’re going to do with this meeting.”
I lift my chin confidently. “Good. I hope they’re ready.”
He smiles. “There’s my girl.”
We exit the bedroom and head back to Wilby and Cal. Dad sits next to Wilby, which is hilarious because Wilby is scared of my dad. Wilby eyes me, then slaps a deck of cards on the table we’re all sitting around. “Bullshit. Who’s playing?”
Cal raises an eyebrow, but Wilby’s already shuffling the deck. “We play bullshit. Passes the time.”
Wilby hands the cards to me and says, “Shuffle, I’m going to check on dinner.”
He stands to head to the front of the plane.
My dad nods toward Wilby. “I should fire my assistant and hire him. He’s good.”
I scoff. “You can’t have Wilby. He’s mine. Plus, he’s terrified of you. You’re mean.”
“Silverlyn, I’m not mean,” he says in mock horror.
“Dad.” I tilt my chin to him. “You’ve been through more assistants in six months than I can count.”
Wilby comes back and says, “I had pizza and drinks brought in. This is going to be a fun ride.”
We taxi and lift off, Coconut Beach shrinking beneath us, all blues and greens and sunlight.
I feel sad, I realize.
“We’re really playing bullshit?” Cal asks.
“It’s a classic,” Wilby says. “Have you played?”
My dad glances at him curiously. “That’s the name of the game?”
Cal leans closer to me. “It is. I love this game. Growing up, I played cards with my mom often.”
