I shook my head. “It’s my father. He’s congratulating me, and I don’t know how to respond.”
“Keep it simple. Just a thank you.”
I knew he was right. “I want to know if he came. I hate him, but…”
Luca touched my face. “You don’t have to, Axel. At some point, you can allow yourself to let go of some of your feelings. Maybe tonight is a good way to start.”
“Maybe.” I stared at the screen, then typed out a brief reply.
Me: Thank you.
I watched the bubbles dance, stop, then start again. Almost like he didn’t know what to say.
Davis: I bought season tickets.
Davis: I plan to be at every home game.
Davis: Maybe we can get a drink sometime.
I showed the phone to Luca, not sure how to handle it.
“Wow. He’s really making an effort.”
I exhaled and wiped my hand over my mouth. It appeared he was, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to deal with him. “We’ve got to go. Did you drive?”
“No, I walked.”
Deciding to leave my father on read, I opened a rideshare app and ordered a car. I needed to talk to Mason before I responded. But it wouldn’t be tonight.
Chapter 31
Luca
By the second week of October, I was juggling my job, my capstone project, and my limited free time while trying to attend hockey games. After my moment of insecurity regarding Heath, Axel made a point to see me when I couldn’t attend. Some nights, he came to me at the library with a late dinner to make sure I’d eaten, or I went to him, no matter how late it was. I always slept better with Axel. He kept my nightmares away.
With the changing weather, our staff was spread thin. That meant I needed to make more home visits to check on my most vulnerable seniors who were trying to make it on their own. We had a symbiotic relationship. They liked to talk, and I liked to listen. But I always felt like I could do more. Funding was regularly an issue, and we were constantly faced with a shortage of beds in the better facilities. The need to find a solution had been the catalyst for choosing my capstone project to focus on community resources for the aging.
I was working on my never-ending trail of paperwork when my boss walked into my cubicle. “Hey, Luca,” Susanna called, “a call just came in to the switchboard with concern for one of your clients.”
Triggered immediately, I stood from the desk, scattering my paperwork everywhere. “Who? What’s wrong?”
She held her hands up to calm me. “She’s okay. The lady said Ms. Claudette isn’t quite herself. She knows how much Claudette loves you, so she thought it might be good for you to check on her.”
My pulse began to normalize. “Is she at home? Did she say what was wrong? Maybe she should call 911 to have her evaluated.” I hated to receive those calls, but they were inevitable when you cared for seniors.
She put her hand on my shoulder. “Breathe. Medically, she seemed fine. Just down.”
I ran my hands through my hair, then checked the time. “Yeah. I’ll go now.” I bent down to gather all the papers scattered on the floor, but she stopped me.
“I’ve got this. You go.”
Nodding, I grabbed my bag and my computer before heading down the stairs.
By the time I got to her apartment across town in the West Village, it was already five. Stopping to buy a small fall bouquet of orange, yellow, and purple flowers from the street vendor, I climbed the stairs and knocked on her door. “Ms. Claudette, it’s me.”
With my heart in my throat, I knocked a second time before I heard her moving around inside the apartment. “Luca, is that you?”
“Yes, ma’am. I brought you some flowers.” The locks slowly disengaged, and when she opened the door, my eyes ran over one of my favorite clients. Dressed in her night clothes, her smile wasn’t as bright as normal, and she looked tired. I wasn’t supposed to have favorites, but Ms. Claudette didn’t leave me any choice, just like Edith. My heart latched onto them, maybebecause, like me, they had no one in this big, bad world. Except that wasn’t true for me anymore. I had Axel.
