Page 18 of Hard Rock Heat
I kept on forgetting Hope had practically moved in with her boyfriend. We were still technically roommates, but with her nightly sleepovers and my hectic work schedule, our weekly scheduled lunches were the most I ever saw of hernow.
It was nice having the place to myself. For the first time, I was living under a roof with no parents or roommates. It wasfreeing.
That was what I kept telling myself. I ignored the small kernel of disappointment that formed in my stomach every time I walked into an emptyapartment.
I decided to throw together a quick beef and broccoli recipe using leftovers in the fridge before the broccoli went bad. I always tried to cook at home as much as possible, to offset all the dinners out I had because of work. Whether it was an event, or wining and dining clients, or simply because I was so swamped I only had enough time for take-out, I relished the days I got to eat a home-cookedmeal.
As I chopped up the broccoli for my stir fry, my gaze wandered to the calendar on the fridge. Today's date had a small star in the corner. My heart sunk alittle.
Crap. With Damon's little visit, I'd forgotten what day itwas.
Thinking quickly, I grabbed some bags of frozen veggies from the freezer and took out two packets of ramen noodles. With a few extra ingredients, my small beef and broccoli dish easily became a stir fry with enough to feed a person for severaldays.
While the stir fry cooked, I took out a large bowl of Cobb salad with hardboiled eggs, shredded cheese and diced tomatoes, and covered it with plastic wrap. I'd been planning eating it for lunch for the next few days, but I'd just have to plan somethingelse.
Once the stir fry was ready, I portioned it out into four plastic containers. I put the food into a reusable shopping bag, grabbed my purse and went back to mycar.
The drive across town was long, but not any longer than I'd expected considering the rush hour traffic. An hour and a half later, I pulled into a two-story house. The grass on the front lawn was getting long. I'd have to speak to the neighborhood kid I paid to mow it every week. He was slacking on hisjob.
I took out my keys, but discovered I didn't need them. The door was already unlocked. With a sigh, I entered the house, making sure to lock the door behind me. I put the food in the mostly-empty fridge, keeping out one of the now-lukewarm containers of stir fry. A few cans of soda, a jar of pickles, and several Asian food take-out boxes were the only things in there. Voices were coming from the next room over. The television was on, as usual. I headed to the livingroom.
"Dad, you can't keep forgetting to lock the door," Isaid.
The man in the beige leather armchair didn't turn his head. I stood between him and the television, blocking hisview.
My dad blinked, his eyes focusing onme.
"Faith." He fumbled with the remote in his hand, setting it on the armrest. "Is itWednesday?"
"Yeah. I brought you some food. Stir fry with beef and teriyakisauce."
He lumbered from the armchair and shuffled his way to the kitchen, wearing sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt. At least he wasn't in hisbathrobe.
I took one of the containers and split the food between two plates, giving him the bigger portion. As I nuked it in the microwave, I turned tohim.
"How are you feeling today?" Iasked.
"Not too bad." He sat down heavily at the kitchen table. It was covered with empty coffee mugs and dirty dishes. I gathered them all up and put them in the sink forlater.
"Have you spoken to Hope recently?" Iasked.
"Not in a while." He spoke the words slowly, as if every syllable cost him a year of hislife.
"She's doing good. Her new boyfriend is really great forher."
He noddedvaguely.
"I'm doing fine, too." I struggled for something to say. My mind flashed to my meeting with Damon. I certainly wasn't going to tell my dad about the gorgeous, infuriating rock star who made me want to Hulk-out. "My boss called me her best event specialisttoday."
"Hm," he saidnoncommittally.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I took the plates from the microwave, set them on the table and took a seat across from mydad.
I looked around the kitchen, taking in the dirty floor and sticky counters. For a week's worth of mess, it could have been worse. Usually I did a bit of light tidying every time I came, but I'd have to do another deep clean some timesoon.
I examined my dad for a moment. His hair looked washed and he only had a few days of stubble. That was an improvement over lastmonth.
"Have you done laundry recently?" Iasked.
