Page 9 of Fake-Off with Fate
“Mom doesn’t feel like you see her anymore.” I stare at himintensely as though daring him to tell me I’m wrong. Luckily, he’s smart enough not to.
My dad is quiet for a long moment before he finally concedes. “I’ll sit down with your mother and get something on the calendar.”
“That’s not going to be enough. You can always cancel something that isn’t set in stone.”
“What do you want me to do, Ashlyn? Leave today?” It’s clear he doesn’t see this as an option.
“That’s exactly what I want you to do.”
“We won’t be able to get a reservation anywhere last minute.” Then a slow smile crosses his mouth. “Unless we go up to the lodge.”
My father is a bigger idiot than he’s been letting on. “You can’t take Mom away right here in Maple Falls. Your preoccupation with this town is the problem.” Before he can protest further, I tell him, “I bought you airline tickets and reserved you a bungalow in Barbados. You leave at ten o’clock tomorrow night. You can reimburse me forthosetickets.”
He jumps to his feet again. Putting his middle finger and thumb together, he makes a loud snapping sound. “Your mother can’t expect me to leave town just like that!”
“She doesn’t expect it because she doesn’t know about it.”
“Then why do I have to go anywhere?”
“Because you want to save your marriage?” I remind him. I have heartfelt sympathy for all the years my mom has had to put up with this.
Pacing back and forth in front of me, he says, “If she doesn’t know about the trip, why do you think she wants to go?”
“She doesn’t want to go,” I assure him. “She wants to leave you.”
“What about my job?”
“Whataboutyour job?” I demand.
“I’m needed here!” He says this like Maple Falls is on fire and he’s the only person in a fifty-mile radius with a garden hose.
“Surely, you can leave for a week.”
“A week! There’s no one who can take over!”Is it me, or has my dad always had this enormous sense of self-importance?
“I’lltake over.”
His eyes widen with surprise. “You’d actually be a very good mayor.”
“You’ve mentioned.”
“If I agree to this, and that’s a big if, no one can know I’ve left town.”
I’m starting to think he might be having some serious cognitive issues. “Why can’t they know you’re gone?”
“I will not have the citizens of Maple Falls feel they aren’t important to me.”Yet, he doesn’t seem to mind if that’s how his wife feels.“If I agree to this, you have to pretend like I’m still here.”
“How in the world will I do that, Dad?”
“When people call, tell them I’m in an important meeting and that I’ll get back to them.” He looks at the calendar on his desk. “You’ll have to meet with the Ice Breakers’ captain tomorrow night, too.”
“I’ll reschedule that one for you.”
He shakes his head with intensity. “No. You have to go. Tell Jamie I’m dealing with a crisis and couldn’t make it myself. Get him to agree to co-chair the festival this year.”
At this point, I’m willing to do whatever my dad wants just to get him to make things right with my mom. “Fine. I’ll come to work and cover for you. Now, will you convince Mom to go away with you?”
My father’s complexion turns so gray, it looks like he’s about to expire on the spot. “Yes. Fine. I’ll do it. Just text me the details of our trip.”
