I fired back:
Pick you at 7?
And was rewarded with a thumbs-up.
Realizing I had hours to kill until then, and exhausted from the days on the boat, fighting to stand and work in rough seas and taking it in shifts to keep watch during the night, I decided to take a quick afternoon nap so I’d be refreshed for my date with Mae. I fell immediately into a deep sleep, until the ringtone of my phone dragged me out of it. Feeling groggy, I fumbled for my phone on the bedside table, trying to gauge from the light outside what time it was, worried that I’d slept too long and missed picking up Mae.
‘Jonah?’
Suppressing a sigh, I cursed myself for not checking the name on the screen before answering. ‘Hi, Mom.’
‘When did you get back?’
‘A couple of hours ago.’
She sniffed down the phone. ‘You should have called. You know your father worries about you when you’re out at Williams Bank.’
‘Sorry. You’re right. I should have called. How is he?’
‘Nice of you to ask. His blood pressure is a little high. The doctor wants us to monitor it ourselves more often.’
I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes, immediately concerned. ‘What else have they said? Do they know what’s causing it? It’s not a sign of another impending stroke, is it?’
‘They don’t think so, but he’s booked in for another scan at the end of this week to rule it out.’
‘I can take him. Take you both.’
‘Thank you.’ Her tone shifted. ‘They said the stress of work isn’t helping, Jonah. But then we knew that.’
‘He’s not working, he’s still at home, isn’t he?’
‘His body might be here, but his mind is in the office. He’s been working on his laptop, and taking calls when he’s supposed to be resting. I’ve told him to stop until I’m blue in the face but he won’t listen to me. You know what he’s like. Worries about the hotel.’
‘I’ll have a word to him.’
‘Good. You can do that tonight when you come for dinner.’
‘Uh.’ I tried frantically to remember whether I’d committed to dinner and forgotten. ‘Did we have plans?’
‘Your father hasn’t seen you all week, Jonah. He’s unwell. Surely you can spare some time to visit?’
‘Of course. I’ll come by around six for an hour or so.’
‘An hour? Why, do you have somewhere more important you need to be?’
‘Not more important, no. But?—’
‘Good, then that’s settled. You’ll stay for dinner.’
I gave up. It was only a matter of time before she found out anyway. This town had eyes and ears everywhere. ‘Only if I can bring a guest.’
‘A guest? Who?’
‘A friend.’
‘A woman?’
‘Yes.’
