Chapter Fifteen - Charlotte
I’m so worried about Dad now.
I can’t stop thinking about everything Danny had said, about the Dock’s End. I can’t believe Dad didn’t tell me, and it really concerns me. I can’t help but think it’s not just the success, not just that he doesn’t want to ruin his own great idea with a problem. Though I do think Danny is right and that’s a part of it, I also know the divorce is playing a big part here.
He and Mom were never happy, for as long as I can remember. She’s always hated the whole restaurant business, and this town, and Danny—all the things that were so important to Dad. She was also his high school sweetheart, and I think he always thought he could make it work if he tried hard enough. That if he could just make enough money, that if he could run a restaurant successfully enough, she’d come around and they’d be seventeen and happy again. I think now, being the most successful he’s ever been, finally running something that’s his, but her being gone? I think it’s been hard on him.
I worry that he’s not letting himself see this as a problem because the Dock’s End has prospered while their marriage ended for good. I think he needs the Dock’s End to turn out good, for it not to feel like it was all a waste. Like every fight they had was for nothing and she was right after all.
When I was a kid, they used to fight until late in the night. He’d come home after being gone at whatever restaurant he was managing for eighteen hours, sometimes longer, and she’d be furious about the things he had hadn’t done, accuse him of caring more about the restaurant that his family, of being married to his job. He’d beg and tell her to understand that it would all be worth it someday. That she’d see, that the restaurant was for us, to build us a better life.
Now that she’s gone, I think he needs the Dock’s End to be perfect. He needs to have been right about that, even if they weren't right about each other. I think he’s not seeing what Danny’s seeing about the situation, what seems obvious to me now that I know because it’s all tied into Mom leaving.
So I call Dad and ask him if he’ll come Christmas shopping with me. I want to just check in on him, touch base a little. He agrees happily, saying Danny is handling the people coming to look at the pipes. I get dressed and glance over my list, looking at the few last things I have to buy. I’m still not sure what to do about Danny, but after the other night, after how kind he was in the kitchen, about Catherine, I want to get him something.
I meet Dad for coffee first, at the coffee shop on my block that has become a regular part of my week.
“Danny said this coffee was good,” Dad says, sitting down across from me and smiling. His eyes look tired. His whole face does, to be honest.
“Did he?” I ask, startled that Danny had mentioned having coffee with me.
“Yeah, he said he ran into you here,” Dad says, and I relax a little.
“He did, last week. We ended up drinking our coffee together,” I say. Dad smiles at me. He raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything else about Danny.
“Well, it’s freezing out there and I need this, so he’d better be right,” Dad says, laughing and taking a sip of his coffee.
“It is,” I say. “I forgot how cold the wind off the bay gets.”
“Cuts right through you,” Dad agrees. He sounds like himself, like the same voice that read me stories and helped quiz me for middle school tests, but I still think he seems tired.
“It is almost Christmas, though,” I say, “it seems right for it to be this cold.”
“You’re right about that,” Dad says. “You’re off on Christmas, right?”
“I am,” I say, smiling happily. I haven’t been off all day for Christmas in a very long time. Last year, I worked an overnight until 7:00 a.m. on Christmas morning and then had to be back at 3:00 p.m. the day after Christmas, which had hardly felt like time off at all.
“How’d you swing that one, being so new?” Dad asks.
“A lot of patients go home for a few days around Christmas—social services coordinate with our in-home team, so we need fewer people in the unit. Plus a few of my coworkers are Jewish, and a few more don’t have family or anyone around and said they’d rather be at work on Christmas, so it was actually pretty easy to get the day off,” I say.
“It sounds like you really like this new job,” Dad says, grinning at me. I know he’d never really liked me working all those long hours in the city. He always said he was proud of me, but I know it worried him.
“It’s been great so far,” I agree. I sit back to finish my coffee and tell more work stories, glad I’m spending some time with dad. He’s always been a great listener, and I’ve missed this and him. I’m halfway through telling him about our Secret Santa exchange when my phone rings.
“Go ahead and take it. I’m going to get a refill,” Dad says. If he notices my call is from Danny, he doesn’t comment.
“Hey,” I say into the phone. I’m more excited than I should be to be hearing from Danny.
“Hi,” Danny says. “I was hoping you were still up for some investigation.”
“Absolutely,” I say. I feel like I should whisper, even though that’s ridiculous.
“Good. So there’s a big delivery coming in tomorrow evening, and I thought, since food has gone missing, we could watch everyone and see if anything happens,” Danny says.
“I’ll be there,” I say. I know I shouldn’t be looking forward to it, but I am. Even under these circumstances, I’m glad to be spending more time with Danny. I can’t stop thinking about how he made me dinner, how he listened to me talk about Catherine, how he’d been there for me.
“Great,” Danny says, and I can tell he’s smiling. Dad makes his way back over.
“I have to hang up, but can I call you later?” I ask as Dad sits back down.
“Anytime,” Danny says. I flush, and I hope it’s not too obvious. There is something about the way Danny says it that makes my heart race.
“Okay. Bye,” I say, not meeting Dad’s eyes as I hang up.
I think the last thing Dad needs, especially if Danny and I do find a thief, is more stress – the kind of drama I and Danny together could possibly bring.
It doesn’t make me want Danny any less.