Someone Else's Ocean(69)
“I love that you guys still keep in touch.”
“Ian’s passed on most of our trips over the years, but he surprised us all with the invite out here.”
“Why do you think he passed?”
“His daughter. Always Ella. He’s a helicopter dad and won’t miss anything when it comes to her. None of us blame him.”
Finishing my water, I stood and threw it in the trash.
“I will tell you this. He’s not here because of his ex-wife.”
I nodded.
“But he’s been through hell because of her and the damage she’s done is going to fuck with him for some time.”
“Thanks.”
“Sure.”
“As long as we’re giving fair warning, you should know Jasmine’s in a… strange place.”
“We’ve been talking most of the night.”
“Okay, cool,” I said, relieved to be off the hook. “Well, see you in the morning.”
He pushed off from the counter. “Night.”
I got halfway to the hall when he spoke up. “Koti?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for having us.”
“Of course. I had fun.”
“And just in case you need to hear it from someone who knows him, you won’t be easily forgotten.”
But I would be forgotten, at least that’s the way I interpreted it. Unable to think of Julian as spiteful or having any reason to hurt me, my new hopes, even with Ian’s confession of falling, were obliterated. Though I was confused, I refused to ask Julian for a better explanation. I’d already shown too much vulnerability when it came to Ian. I’d given Julian a rock to my glass house and he’d used it.
“Night, Julian.”
“Night.”
Hi, Daddy.
Hi, brat.
Pain ripped through my chest and threatened my smile as I stared at my daughter on the screen. How many of his features did she have? Were any of her traits, the ones I thought were mine, his? Her smiles, especially those I earned, were those as hard-pressed to get from him? Did she suspect anything? Tara obviously hadn’t told her.
You look happy.
I am happy. It’s beautiful here. I can’t wait for you to come.
Next week?
Yes. I’ll be waiting at the airport. Are you sure you’re okay with flying alone?
She rolled her eyes and I cut my hand through the air to tell her that was not okay. It was a sign of disrespect and she got away with little in the way of that.
Sorry.
Forgiven.
Her beautiful smile faltered by the presence of someone coming into her bedroom.
Mom’s here, she wants to talk to you.
Later. I want to know how things are going. One more week until school is out. Are you excited?
Hell yes.
Language.
I reprimanded her even though I often let her get away with calling me an asshole. It was a long-running joke between us.
Do you love Koti?
No. Why would you ask that?
You can’t lie to me, Dad. You look happy and she’s behind you, staring at you.
That’s because she’s fascinated by sign language.
You should teach her.
I will.
Good.
What else is new?
Mom keeps asking me if I like Houston. I don’t want to move; all my friends are here.
I’m working on that.
Work harder.
Easy, brat. I’m not going to let her move the two of you without a fight. But that’s our business.
My business too.
True. But trust me to handle it.
She signed okay, but I could see the fear in her eyes which only infuriated me. It was only natural for Tara to move on and build a new life for herself, but her selfish choices were always an issue when it came between our daughter’s happiness and her own.
Are you getting excited about Washington?
Yes. They had us start writing to our camp roommates to get to know them before we went. I have a pen pal, her name is Melissa and she goes to The School for the Deaf and Blind in South Carolina. She might be going to DC next year too for the program so we can be friends.
Do you think you’ll like her?
I think so. Not sure.
No boys.
Dad!
If you roll your eyes again, you’ll be grounded.
Fine. But Jessica gets to date.
I’m not Jessica’s father.
Why are you so hard on me about this?
You know why.
I’m deaf, not stupid.
Exactly.
Then why can’t you trust me? What if I like a hearing boy?
No boys period. Let’s talk about something else.