“Love the enthusiasm!”
“I just hope this Harry guy is worth it.”
“It’s Harry. How could he not be?”
You do realize the point of me writing you a letter was so that you would—
“Read it. Yes, yes, I know,” Nate whispered to the fake voice taunting him inside his head as much as the very real text message he’d received from his dad during their drive home from the airport yesterday.
Tuning into an online church service earlier this morning had distracted Nate for a little bit. But now, hours later, Nate found himself trying to make a case to the man who undoubtedly would’ve had something to say about this if he were still around. He dumped his musty-smelling clothes from his carry-on into his mom’s washing machine in the basement.
“I will read it. Soon as I’m ready.” Nate wasn’t sure if he was talking about the letter or the text message. Probably both.
What are you so scared of?That’s exactly what his mentor would be saying right now if he were still alive.
Nate poured in some soap and slammed down the lid, saying the answer he would’ve given back. “Once I read your letter, I’ll know you’re gone for good. I’ll finally have to accept the fact that I’ll never hear from you again. And I hate that. I also hate the thought of reconnecting with my dad only for him to decide again I’m not worth knowing.”
Nate blew out a breath. May as well say it all. “And I hate the thought of falling for McKenna only for her to decide I’m not worth her while either.” He squeezed the sting of pressure building behind the bridge of his nose. “There. Happy?”
Ecstatic.
Nate dropped his hand and shook his head with a begrudging smile. “I miss you, old man. Wish you were still here. I could use someone to talk to that isn’t just a made-up voice in my head.” A made-up voice that was fading no matter how much Nate tried clinging to the memory of it.
Nate pulled out his phone and dialed his mom, needing to hear a real voice, as he climbed the basement stairs. She answered on the second ring. “Hey, honey. How’s it going?Suz!Stop taking your gown off. You’re putting on a peep show in front of this poor young man who’s trying to deliver your food tray. He doesn’t want to see that. I don’t care if you’re hot. Fan yourself with the menu. Sorry, honey. How are you?”
“Uh, better than the poor young man delivering Aunt Susie’s food tray from the sounds of it.”
She offered a pitiful laugh as Nate glanced to the front sitting area where McKenna stood on a small ladder, scraping off the last of the wallpaper while singing some out-of-tune ditty about big red lips and kissing off lipstick that Nate could only assume was a Harry Connick Junior song? Whatever it was, it made him think of their little airport kiss yesterday.
Between that and the sound of his mom’s voice, Nate’s mood was already rebounding from the funk he always spiraled into whenever he got a message from his dad.
“Be back to help in a minute,” he said to McKenna as he stepped outside to get away from her off-key singing and mile-long legs so he could pay attention to his mom.
“It’s Nate,” he heard his mom saying to his aunt as he settled onto the porch swing. “What do you meanwho? Your nephew! Pull up your gown. No, not the bottom. The top.”
“So things are going well?”
“Oh my goodness, I can’t tell you how exhausted I am. Susie’s never handled medicine well. The anesthesia took her for a loop. Then the doctors said she developed something called ICU delirium? I don’t know. They moved her out to the general floor so she could get some more rest, thinking it would help, but she’s still not herself.” Away from the phone, “Eat your supper. Don’t bother with that other gizmo right now. You’re not doing it right anyway. You’re supposed to suck, not blow.Suck!Like you’re drinking through a straw.”
Back to Nate on the phone. “The nurse gave her this thing that’s supposed to help exercise her lungs and prevent pneumonia. I don’t care if it makes you cough,” she said back to Aunt Susie. “It’s supposed to make you cough. So then hold the teddy bear if it hurts. I spent thirty dollars on that stupid thing in the gift shop, so you darn well better use it to splint your cough, lady. I want you in tip-top shape so that I can kill you later, remember?”
Nate adjusted the phone. “So... a little while before you’ll be coming home then?”
“Oh, honey,” she said with a weary sigh. “Even if they sent her home right now, she’d need someone with her around the clock for another week or two at least. I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about.”
“I hate that I won’t be back in time to help with the concert. Everything going okay with that? I know how Georgie can get.”
“Everything’s fine. McKenna and I... we seem to work well together.” As if on cue, McKenna saw him through the window and gave him a thumbs-up. He tapped the corner of his mouth where she’d kissed him before giving her a thumbs-up in return. Even through the window he could tell she was blushing as she wrinkled her nose and gave him a thumbs-down.
“Is there something more going on there? You sound happy.Sue!What are you doing? That’s your drink. Stop blowing into the straw.Nate, honey, I’m going to have to call you back. She’s making a mess all over her tray.”
“Sure. One quick thing though before you go. One of the upstairs toilets has been having issues. I’m not sure how to fix it. Mind if I have a plumber come check it out?”
“Sure, but let me send you the name of a guy whose prices aren’t too bad. Sue! Stop blowing bubbles. Sorry, Nate. I have to go. But yeah, do whatever you think is best so long as it doesn’t sink me further in debt. I’m already having second thoughts about the emu, but I’m pretty sure it’s too late to back out. Oh, now she’s got milk all down the front of her gown.Sue.Look at what you’ve done. Bye, honey. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” he said even though she’d already ended the call. Nate stared at the chickens pecking the ground out front. A brown speckled one had made its way onto the porch.
