“I sent it two days ago.”
“How close did you get to the penguins?”
“Really close. I actually carried one to the surface. It had a broken flipper.”
Her insides melted a little. “It let you?”
“It didn’t have a choice. We left it with the Doorman scientists. They were jazzed to rehab it.”
“That’ll make a great show.”
“Hope so.”
“Your dad mentioned he thought you had a death wish.”
“I wonder the same thing sometimes. When did you see my dad?” he asked.
“Earlier today. I brought a book to your mom and Marisol gave me another lesson in Tai Chi.”
“Bet she loved bossing you around.”
She laughed. “She does seem to like to tell people what to do.”
“How was the rest of your day?”
“Busy. Testing starts in a couple of weeks, and I don’t like this time of year. I understand testing a student on what they know is the only way to gauge if they’re learning. Even so, I hate it for kids who don’t test well.”
“I did much better with oral quizzes,” he admitted.
“That’s understandable with your ADHD. We do lots of oral testing these days.” With a glance out the window, she banged on it.
“What’s happening?”
“I’m trying to scare away squirrels. They made a hole in the eave on the corner by my bedroom and nested in the attic. You’d swear there were hundreds of them.”
“They’re still in there?”
“No. I called a pest control company. They removed them and fixed the eave. I just don’t want them to try again.”
“I could’ve done that for you.”
“Only if you were here.” How many times had she said those same words to Barry? Too many. Way too many. “Where are you?”
“In Argentina at Los Glaciares National Park. They’re calling my name. I’ve got to go. I’ll call when I’m back in town. Bye.”
At first, her heart leapt, thrilled at the prospect of seeing him again and even more excited he wanted to see her. Then her heart sank. She couldn’t let herself fall for him.
She’d already tried to live life with a man who traveled all the time and was never around.
It’d been a disaster.
“As your feelings for someone grow stronger, so does your fear of losing them.” ~ Unknown