Page 2 of Dad's Best Friend Scientist
“Sure. Do that, honey. I’m going to nap for a while,” she says as she lies down on a chaise. “Wake me when you’re ready.”
“Okay.”
Chapter 2
David
“That’s it for today,” I say to my assistant Cindy, a graduate student working on her summer internship. “It’s Saturday, and I’m sure you have family and social engagement to attend.”
Cindy flashes me a bright smile. “Oh, I’m fine, Mr. Davison. I can stay later if you want me to.”
We’re working on a project, and Cindy is helping me test the latest robot my team is building for a warehouse. The size of a personal cooler, the robot can do mindless jobs that humans would rather not do. Namely, running up the aisles of a warehouse and climbing up the shelves to pick up heavy items.
“Are you sure?” I ask. I plan to stay late or overnight at the lab, but I don’t expect an intern to make similar sacrifices. But since Cindy seems enthusiastic about the project, it would do no harm to let her stay a bit longer.
I’m about to tell Cindy to resume work when my cell phone beeps. Knowing it’s my mom, I answer it. Mom has been lonely after my dad’s passing. Although she’s getting better as time goes by, I’m still worried about her in the back of my head. I excuse myself from Cindy and step out of the lab to answer the call.
“David,” my mom’s voice sounds cheerful on the other end of the line. “Can you come home a bit earlier?”
“I’m afraid I can't. I’ve got work to do. Is everything all right?”
“Oh yeah. It’s just that Zena will be here to spend the afternoon with me, and I’m going to make the roast chicken you both like. I thought you might want to be home for dinner.”
I pause. I love Mom’s cooking, but not enough to make me put away work. I want to tell my mom to go ahead and have dinner without me, but the image of Zena, the lovely girl with a cheerful smile, stops me from doing so. “Sure, Mom,” I say. “I’ll be home as soon as I’m done here.”
I check the clock. It’s two in the afternoon, and it takes a couple of hours to get back to my Mom’s house in Oak Valley. I return to the lab and say to Cindy. “I’m sorry Cindy, I need to go. Let’s stop now.”
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” Cindy says hopefully.
The girl is studious, just like I was twenty years ago when I first started the job.
“Yes, but again, you don’t have to be here if you can’t.”
“I don’t mind, Mr. Davison,” she says, blushing. “I don’t have any social life. I’m free over the weekends, and I like to be with you… I mean work with you. I’ve learned so much from you.”
This is flattering, but the way she blushes makes me uncomfortable. I’m a nerd and socially inept, but I understand signs of human emotions. The girl is attracted to me.
I’m on guard right away. Being in an empty lab alone with a young female intern isn’t a good idea at all.
“Very well, Cindy. But I probably won’t make it here tomorrow,” I say calmly. “Because I have some family matters to take care of.”
“Oh,” Cindy’s eyes dim with disappointment. “I hope everything is okay with your family.”
“Thank you,” I say. “I’m sure I’ll see you on Monday.”
Once I’m on the freeway, my mind is all over the place. It lingers on work for a second, and then goes to Zena. Zena is my best friend John’s daughter, and I’ve known her since she was a baby. The girl has always been feisty and sweet, and I’ve loved her like my own daughter. It’s impossible not to love the feisty girl, who has never bothered to hide her affection for me either. I have to be careful not to cross the line in recent years, and it’s getting harder to do so each time I see her.
As soon as I pull my car in the driveway, I see Mom napping on a lawn chair in the yard, but Zena isn’t around. Without waking my mom, I go into the house and head for the kitchen to get a drink.
Chapter 3
Zena
The Davisons’ house is twice as large as my parents’ house but I know it like the back of my hand. I go straight to the laundry room on the first floor, next to the kitchen. There’s a boombox inside and I love it because it’s such a cultural relic. I turn on the cassette player and hear Frank Sinatra's voice.
“It’s fabulous, it’s fantasy, it knocks me out tremendously, your love for me. It never was obtainable…”
I know the lyrics well because it used to be my grandma’s favorite song, so I sing along with the cassette.
