Page 40 of The Right Stuff

ILAST TWO DAYS BEFOREI ask my dad, “How’s Tru doing?”

He lowers the paper enough to level a frown at me. “Why don’t you ask Tru?”

“She doesn’t want to hear from me.”

“I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.”

“She changed her number.”

He goes back to the paper. “Did she?”

He knows damn well she did. “Bo misses Fifi.”

“That’s too bad. Poor dog.”

I push down the newspaper. “Give me a break, Pops.”

“She’s fine. Fifi is fine.”

I grab a glass and start polishing. “Great. Glad to hear it.”

“Give me a break, son.”

I walk away, fill the peanuts, polish another glass. I’m glad she’s fine. Really. Nice to know she’s doing just fine without me. “Hey, old man. If she asks about me, make sure you tell her I’m fine too.”

“Heh,” he huffs. “You’re a mess.”

“I am not.” I stalk back toward him. “Things are getting back to normal. Just the way I like it.”

“Good for you, son.”

I tear the newspaper out of his hands. Well, the half that comes with the motion. He’s still holding on to the bottom piece. “You seem fine to me,” he says blandly.

“I’m just worried about her. I feel responsible. You know. I want to make sure she’s got someplace to stay. Enough to get by.”

“Let me ask you something. If you care so much about her, why didn’t you tell her you cared while she was here?”

“Tru and I were friends. Business partners. We weren’t dating or anything.”

Damn. He’s looking right through me. “If you care so much about her, why didn’t you date her?”

“You know me. I’m not the boyfriend kind of guy.”

He takes a long drink of his coffee. I don’t know how he stomachs the stuff. “Why aren’t you the boyfriend kind of guy?”

I shrug. “Just never wanted to settle down.” His dad-stare just bores into me. “I’m a rolling stone.”

“I think you’re a chicken shit.”

“Pops!”

“Well, you are. I’ve seen a lot of really nice women float in and out of your life, and you stay friends with all of them. Something scares you about letting them in, though.”

Lord save me if he decides to write a song about me. It would be just my luck that Ironwing gets back together. He’s still staring at me. “I just don’t want anyone to depend on me to save them.”

“Save them? Son, is this about your mom?”

I blow out a breath. “I really don’t want to talk about her.”

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