Chapter Twenty-One
Cade
December 24, Sunday Morning
I cringed as I waited for my father to answer the phone, preparing myself for the conversation that was to come. I wasn’t even sure why I was calling him, really. I wasn’t totally convinced that he deserved it, but I had to try. I mean, things had sucked in the past, but the billion-dollar gift was an olive branch, and I wanted to take it. I didn’t want to regret the chance to make things right.
“Hello?” He sounded far away as he answered the phone, which I suppose he was. Somewhere in the middle of Europe, half way around the world. “Cade, is that you?”
“Yeah, I erm...” I should have planned what I was going to say. “I’m just calling to say Merry Christmas. I guess with the time difference it must already be Christmas Day there?”
“Yeah, yeah it is, but you know me. I’m working anyway.”
I rolled my eyes, remembering all too well the missed holidays when I was a kid because of work. That wasn’t just Dad, though, that was Mom, as well. Everyone was always too busy for me. “Yeah, I can imagine. I bet you’re on your own, though. Isn’t everyone else with their family?”
“Not everyone, it’s alright.” He held his hand over the phone for a moment, and I could hear muffled chatter as he spoke to someone else. “Sorry about that, getting some contracts drawn up.”
Couldn’t that wait? I wanted to ask, but I didn’t bother. I had spent far too much of my life arguing about my dad’s need to work. “How’s Helen? Is she alright with you working?”
“Oh, she’s still in California; she hasn’t come to join me yet. I thought I told you that she’s coming after Christmas?” I felt pretty sure that he hadn’t mentioned that to me, but I didn’t argue that point, either. I could have tuned him out. “Yeah, she will come either tomorrow or the next day. We might have a little Christmas celebration then.”
“Sounds nice.” It was getting awkward now; I needed to try and work out a way to end this chat before it got weird. “Anyway, I’m sure that you’re busy so I’ll let you go...”
“Wait, before you hang up, I want to know how things are going with Alissa.” Oh right. I should’ve known that conversation topic would come up. “Have you been hanging out with her? How is she doing? Like, is she affording her rent and stuff?”
I smiled secretly to myself as I thought about all the times Alissa and I had been hanging out...not that I’d tell my father that. I was pretty sure that he didn’t want to hear just how much of her I’d seen. “Yeah, I’ve seen her a few times. She’s doing okay; she’s trying to make it with her music. Erm, as for rent I don’t know, but I’ll do my best to find out.”
“Hmm, I might just wire her some cash. I know she doesn’t like it, but I don’t want to think about her in trouble...”
“No, don’t worry about it,” I jumped in quickly. For some reason, I didn’t like the idea of my father taking care of Alissa. Now that I was in the picture, I wanted it to be me. I wanted to be the hero that she probably didn’t even want. “I’ll make sure all the bills are paid. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
“Good, right, okay. So, how does she seem? She appeared really down the last time I saw her.”
“I think she’s coming out of her shell,” I replied a little evasively. “She’s seemed a lot happier recently.” Because of me.
“Good, good, well, if she needs help with her music, then you should help her with that, too. You have nothing on your plate now; you could help her to find auditions and stuff...or whatever it is they do.”
“Yeah, I will, Dad. Honestly, you don’t have to worry about anything. I’m holding up my end of the bargain.”
“I don’t know if you know this,” my father continued as if he hadn’t heard me. “But she has a hard time with her mother. I don’t fully understand the issue there, but they don’t seem to get on too well. She’s a sweet girl; she doesn’t deserve all this hardship. She needs someone to take care of her.”
“Have you ever spoken to Helen about it?” I couldn’t help asking. If my significant other were being a dick to someone else, I’d certainly want to confront them about it. I couldn’t understand why my dad hadn’t.
“Oh, you know what Helen is like, she’s impossible to talk to about anything. I can’t do anything in that department, which is why I’m asking you to do this.”
I wasn’t sure why my father seemed so afraid of his wife. I wondered what power she had over him. “Yeah, I guess so. Well, at least they don’t spend too much time together.”
“I know, it’s best to keep them apart, unfortunately, which is why I worry so much about Alissa being alone.”
“Well, I’m spending Christmas with her, so at least she won’t be alone for the holidays. I can ensure that she has a good day then.”
“Good, good. Well, I’m glad to hear that. I think I did the right thing giving you the money.” He paused for a second, thinking hard. “Have you thought any more about what you want to do with your life? The offer at the Stone Group isn’t going anywhere.”
“I don’t know yet. I’m still trying to figure some stuff out.” I hadn’t thought about it at all, to be honest, but there was no point in telling him that. I didn’t need a lecture today. “At the moment, I’m focusing more on Alissa than anything else. But, erm, thank you for the money. I do appreciate it; you have helped me out a lot.”
“Well, I want to build something between us.” Instantly, my father’s tone softened, and I felt weird inside. “I know that things haven’t always been easy between us in the past, and I truly want to make up for that. I want to be a better father now than I’ve ever been to you before.”
That touched me deeply. I have never heard my father say anything so emotional. Of course, he said it as a statement of fact, without much feeling in his voice, but I knew it came from the heart. He was never emotional about stuff, so this was huge for the both of us.
“Well, thanks, Dad. I don’t really know what to say about that. That’s great.” I could hear a catch in my voice, which instantly silenced me. I didn’t want to cry, what sort of craziness would that be?
“Your mother and I always worked too hard. I guess as I’ve got older, I’ve realized all the mistakes that I’ve made. I know I can’t make up for everything, but I’d love to try.”
“You say, while you’re at work on Christmas Day,” I chuckled, trying not to let any bitterness come through. “Well, when you’re back in America, we should hang out more. Do some father and son stuff.”
“Sounds great, son,” he replied sounding ridiculously pleased.
We both paused for a moment, and I couldn’t help but wonder if my dad was choking back the emotion, just as I was. He had always been a strong, stern character in my life, but now, I hoped that there might be a nice future for us both. I wasn’t sure how it would work, but I hoped that it’d be positive.
“So, anyway, you have a nice day with Alissa tomorrow, take care of her.” The way he said that seemed to suggest he knew much more than he was letting on. My heart hammered for a second, but since he didn’t say anything else, I couldn’t be sure. “Make sure she enjoys Christmas.”
For a moment, due to the nice way this phone conversation was going, I almost considered opening to my father. I wanted to tell him everything about Alissa and me. I figured he might freak out a little bit, but I was certain he’d be alright once he’d given it some time to digest. I wanted someone else to know, someone who would fully understand the implications, but I stopped myself at the very last second.
Helen had ruined enough for Alissa. I didn’t want her to wreck this too, not when things were going so well. There was no guarantee she wouldn’t find out even if I told Dad not to tell her. If he feared her, that could only lead to trouble.
“Yeah, great. I’ll see you soon then. Have a good time in Belgium or wherever it is you are now.”
“Berlin. Have a great day tomorrow.”
“Yeah, thanks, Dad. And enjoy the rest of today. Have a, erm, have a nice time when Helen turns up tomorrow, too.”
“Thank you, bye.”
Once I hung up the phone, I sighed deeply, feeling pretty good about how that went. I expected to be drained emotionally, but he was alright. For the first time in a very long time, I wished I could be with him for the holidays.
But I wasn’t going to be. I would be with Alissa, instead, and that was even better.
I smirked to myself as I considered what might happen. I had a nice plan sorted out; it just needed a couple of tweaks that I could sort out right now, then... Well, then I hoped to get her into the bedroom once more. I knew that she still had a lot of herself to unleash, and I couldn’t wait to experience that. I wanted to have her writhing underneath me; I wanted to see her scream, I wanted to bring her out of her shell in every way possible.
As my phone blasted out again, I leaped on it, thinking that it might be Alissa. I wasn’t sure why I’d assume that other than because I was thinking of her, but disappointment coursed through me as I noticed it was Matt.
“Hello?” As soon as I answered and the thumping music greeted me back, I recalled his plan to go away for the holidays. “Matt, are you there?”
“Get on a plane!” he screeched back at me. “Come out here; it’s awesome!”
“You know I have plans.” This was starting to wear a bit thin now when the hell was he going to get it? “But it sounds like you’re having fun.”
“It’s amazing out here. Please come!” Was it me or did he have a desperation in his tone? Did he really want me out there, or was this just a drunken spur of the moment thing? Not that it made any difference. “You’ll love it. You’ll have the best fun ever.”
“I’m not coming, buddy. I have a lot going on tomorrow. We can hang out when you get back, though, okay?” I shook my head as I spoke, unable to imagine anything worse than getting on a plane right now.
“Yeah, okay, whatever.” Even the background noise was giving me a headache. I couldn’t be more convinced that I’d done the right thing by staying away. “See you soon.”
“Alright, bye.”
Yep, I had the best plans ever. Hanging out with Alissa, giving her, the best Christmas ever sounded perfect to me. All I wanted was to be with her, and I couldn’t wait. Now, I just had my last-minute calls to put in and everything would be ready.