Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
He chuckled. “I bet she was.” His eyes were so kind as he stared at the screen, a permanent grin on his face, his cheek resting against his palm.
I had to stop and stare at him for a second because he’d never looked so good. With that smile, he looked like a billion bucks. The joy reached all the way to his eyes, made him come to life.
Deacon switched his gaze to me when he noticed me. His smile didn’t fade. “Come say hi.”
I carried the box to the table then dropped into the chair beside him, seeing Derek on the screen, leaning up against the pillow in his bedroom. There was a poster on the wall behind him, of Neil Armstrong on the moon. “Hey, Derek.” I waved.
He waved back. “Hey, Cleo.”
“I like your poster.”
He leaned his head back and looked at the wall. “Pretty cool, huh? Buzz Aldrin signed it, too.”
“Really?” I asked in surprise.
“Yeah.” He picked up his device and raised it to the scribble in the corner. “See?”
“Wow, that’s so cool.”
He lowered the device so his face was in view again.
“How did you meet him?”
“Dad knows him,” Derek said.
I turned to Deacon.
“That’s not exactly true, but I arranged it.” Deacon kept his eyes on his son.
“Hey, Dad?”
“Yeah?” Deacon asked.
“Do you still have that drawing I made for you?” he asked.
“Of course. It’s on my nightstand.”
I smiled, having spotted it when I delivered his dry cleaning last week.
“Cool,” he said. “So, when are we going to go fishing again?”
Summer had arrived in earnest, and it had started to get humid in the city. It was the perfect time to enjoy the lake and have a barbecue in the great outdoors.
“Hopefully soon,” Deacon answered. “Your mother just got you back, so she probably wants to hold on to you for a while.”
“Why?” he asked. “I’m with her all the time. You’re the one I never see.”
My heart broke.
Deacon’s smile faltered. “We’ll figure it out. Just be patient.”
Derek sighed. “Fine…”
Deacon sat there in silence, just staring at his son through the screen, a father’s love in his eyes. “Swimming a lot?”
“Sometimes,” he said. “Mom got me some squirt guns, but I don’t have anyone to play with. I wish I had a brother or sister.”
“I’m sure you will someday,” Deacon said.
I wondered if he was referring to himself or Valerie. I never asked him about that because it was too personal.
“Derek, time to get off.” Valerie’s voice came from off-camera.
“No!” Derek looked away from the camera, his eyes furious.
“Sweetheart, Daddy is busy, and we have—”
“Dad is never too busy for me,” Derek argued.
Deacon raised his voice. “Derek, do what your mother says. We’ll talk again soon. Now say goodbye.”
Derek sighed but listened to his father. “Alright. Bye, Dad.” He waved.
“I love you,” Deacon said.
“Love you too.” He looked at me next. “Bye, Cleo.”
I waved. “Bye, Derek.”
The camera moved away and turned to Valerie, who was so done up, she obviously wanted to impress somebody. Her hair was big, her makeup heavy, and she wore a diamond necklace worth more than a car. “Hey, Deacon.” Her eyes shifted to me, confused. “Oh. Hi, Cleo…”
“Hello, Valerie,” I said politely. “I just dropped off a package for Deacon and thought I’d say hello.”
She smiled, but her eyes were suspicious as if she didn’t like me being there.
I left the camera view. “I’ll see you later, Deacon. I just wanted to give you this package because it looked important. It’s from your office.”
He pulled his gaze away from the device. “Hold on a second.” He turned back to Valerie. “Thanks for letting me talk to Derek, Valerie.”
“Sure. How are you?”
I watched Deacon have a live conversation with his ex, and I could tell he struggled with it, struggled to talk—not just because he was bad at it, but because he didn’t want to. He wanted nothing to do with her, but he had to play nice if he wanted a relationship with his son. “Good. How about you?”
“It’s getting really hot here. But other than that, nothing has changed.”
Deacon stared, like he didn’t know what else to say, he just wanted the conversation to end.
Valerie didn’t seem to pick up on his mood. That only proved my suspicions, that she didn’t understand the man she had been married to, didn’t try to accept him for who he was, expecting him to change for her. “Does Cleo come to your condo a lot?”
Oh no.
“She manages all the tenants in the building. So, she brings my dry cleaning, lets housekeeping in, takes care of my mail and my bills. She basically runs my life, which is nice because I don’t have the time to do it myself.” Maybe Deacon noticed her jealousy and tried to assuage her fears. Or maybe he just answered her question without thinking about her tone. “So, she’s here every few days.”