Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
“Does the pain stop when you die?”
“Was your mom sick?”
I saw the outline of her head through the square-latticed screen opening and knew she was nodding.
“She’s not in pain anymore.”
“Is Yoda there, too?”
I furrowed my brows. “The little green guy from Star Wars?”
She giggled. The sound was better than music. “No. Yoda was my dog. He had ears that stuck out of his head weird. He died, too.”
“Oh. Yeah, Yoda is in Heaven with your mom. They’re hanging out.”
“That’s good.”
“Is it just you and your dad now?”
“He’s not my dad.” She answered that question really damn quick. Too quick.
“Who do you live with?”
“My stepfather. He doesn’t like me very much, most of the time. But sometimes he likes my sister.”
“You have a sister? Is it just the two of you?”
“Yes.”
“Is your sister older?”
“She’s fifteen.”
I had a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. “How do you know he doesn’t like you very much? And what makes you say he likes your sister sometimes?”
She was quiet. “I should go. Benny is going to come home from work soon. He gets mad easy.”
“Benny? Is that your stepfather?”
“Yes.”
I wanted to know more, but I definitely didn’t want to be the cause of her getting in trouble.
“Come back next week. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Rachel
On Friday afternoon, I took more time than usual getting ready. I’d always liked school. It gave me things to focus on when I was feeling unsteady. But these days, it definitely wasn’t my studies that I looked forward to.
Caine’s office door was open when I dropped by unannounced. We made eye contact, and he used the hand not holding the cell to his ear to point to a chair opposite him in front of his desk. I listened to one side of his conversation while I looked around his office.
“Yes. I’ll be there.”
He listened and then rolled his eyes. “I would prefer you didn’t do that.”
There was a woman on the other end of the phone. I could hear the pitch of her voice even if I couldn’t make out her words. I tried to act like I wasn’t paying attention, checking out the art on his walls and the books on his shelf, but I was definitely listening.
“Ellen Werman and I are not going to be a couple no matter what table you seat her at.”
Pause.
“Because I have a penis, and Ellen doesn’t care for them, Mother.”
Pause.
“Okay. I have to go now. Someone just came into my office. I’ll see you soon.”
After he hung up, Caine let out a deep breath and tossed his phone on the desk.
“Is it just your penis Ellen doesn’t like, or penises, in general?”
He smirked. “Ellen has been out since eighth grade. My mother is the only person on the planet who still doesn’t get it. She’s my father’s business partner’s daughter. We’re good friends, but my mother’s had her heart set on us getting married for the last thirty-three years. She’s called me four times to talk about the seating chart at some charity event my parents host every year, and it’s not for two months. I should have just told her I couldn’t wait to sit next to Ellen and left it at that.” His phone started to buzz again, and he swiped to ignore it. “Do you have an extra-help session this afternoon? I thought that was on Thursdays.”
“It is. I just wanted to come by and tell you, if the offer is still open, I’d really appreciate if you would take over as my thesis advisor.”
Caine leaned back in his chair. “It’s about time. I was starting to think you were going to turn me down.”
More like I didn’t want to look desperate. “Well,” I teased. “I did have to consider my other offers.”
“Is that so? Guess I should consider myself lucky then.”
I grinned. “Guess so.”
“Why don’t you email me what you’ve done so far. I’ll take a look at it, and we can sit down and go over it one day next week.”
“Okay.” I dug my iPhone out of my purse. “What’s your email?”
He slid his phone over to me on the desk. “Put your number in. I’ll text you my contact information to save.”
After we exchanged details, I caught the time on my phone. “I better run.”
Caine eyed me suspiciously. “Date?”
“No. They’re having a TA get-together tonight, and I told Ava I’d go with her.”
He nodded. “Have fun. Be safe.”
The next morning, I’d just gotten out of the shower when my phone buzzed, indicating a new text. I finished towel-drying my hair and grabbed my glasses. I was surprised to find it was from Caine. It was the first text we’d ever exchanged, and my body stirred as I read it.
Caine: Do you still visit Umberto on Sundays?
Even though I’d emailed him my thesis-in-progress last night before going out, I hadn’t expected him to read it so soon. It made me excited and nervous at the same time. I was proud of my work with Umberto, but my rough draft contained a lot of personal thoughts and notes. Having Caine read it made me feel vulnerable.