Page 1 of Dad's Best Friend Scientist
Chapter 1
Zena
“That’s a big one over there, honey,” Linda says as she points to the fig tree. I’m helping her to harvest figs in her yard. The Davisons have been friends with my family since my grandparents’ time. My dad and Linda’s son David were best friends before David left Oak Valley, went to LA for college, and then got a job over there.
“Ed planted the tree,” Linda says. “He loves figs. Says they’re good for you.”
Linda’s husband Ed passed away two years ago, unexpectedly, from a heart attack. Linda has never gotten over the fact. She misses Ed so much she speaks of him as if he’s still around.
“Yes, they are,” I say as I place the fruit in the basket. After her husband’s death, Linda lives alone in their large house. It’s a Colonial with two stories, five bedrooms, and a lawn the size of a golf course. When I was a child, I loved coming to play here and preferred it to the parks in town. Linda and Edward always doted on me as if I were their granddaughter. I visited them less often as I grew older but started coming again after the passing of Ed because Linda was all alone in their mansion house.
“Is David coming home this weekend?” I ask as casually as possible. I’ve had a crush on David since I was a teenager. Even though the man is off-limits and totally out of my league, I can’t give up hope, especially he’s still single.
Linda smiles. “Yes, but probably not until later tonight. I called him earlier, and he said he got some robots to build.”
David works as chief designer at Robotech, a company in LA, and Linda is proud of her son. “Oh,” I say. “He always works so hard.”
She sighs. “Tell me about it, sweetheart. Your dad has two grownup children, and David hasn’t even gotten a girlfriend.”
I chuckle, not knowing what to say. Linda used to complain about this to my grandma before she passed away. “No worries, Linda, he just hasn’t met the right woman,” I say to her as my grandma would, and I secretly wish that I would be the woman.
Linda sighs even louder. “I know, Zena. But my days are running out. I would really like to see him settle down before I go.”
“Oh, you will,” I put the basket down and hug her.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” she says, smiling now. “I’m grateful to have you around. By the way, can we have a séance after this? I need to speak to Ed.”
“Sure,” I say.
Idiscoveredmy psychic ability shortly after Ed passed away and have been acting like a medium for him.
It could be just Linda’s excuse to connect with her late husband’s spirit, but she wants Ed's opinion whenever she can’t make up her mind on something. Normally, those are small decisions, so I’ve been taking the liberty to advise her.
After filling the large basket with ripe fruits, Linda tells me to stop. “Enough for now. We’ll save the rest for next time.”
“Okay,” I say. “Where do you want me to put these?”
“You take them home, sweetheart,” she says.
“Are you sure? But there’re a lot.”
“Yes. You have a large family. Your dad loves figs. And your mom and brother can have some, too.”
The truth is my dad doesn’t anymore, saying he gets too much gas from the fruits. But I don’t tell the kind lady. “Okay. Thank you so much.”
“Let’s rinse them first,” Linda says, pointing to the garden hose.
“Sure, I’ll do that.”
I pick up the hose as Linda turns on the faucet. Water splashes onto my body before I know it, and I squeal.
“Oops! I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Linda says, laughing. “I forgot to warn you. The hose’s stopper broke.”
“No worries,” I say. I’m all soaked. My top is plastered on my body as water drips down to my thighs and legs. Good thing is that we’re in the middle of July. “It’ll dry off soon.”
“You can’t wait for it to dry like that. You could get sick,” Linda says. “Let’s go to my room, honey. I’ll give you a dry shirt to put on for now.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I say, not wanting to inconvenience her. “You know what? I’ll go to your laundry room and iron the shirt. It’ll just take a minute.”
