“Okay,” I say, wiping a hand over my own face and then look back at her. “We need to clean up. That’s step number one.”
“Step number one towards what?” Candace asks, reaching for my hand and taking it as if she thinks I’m going to disappear.
I’m not going anywhere. I squeeze her hand reassuringly. “Towards what you just told me you want. Please. I think it’s a good idea if it doesn’t look like you’ve been crying.”
I watch as she visibly straightens up, sniffing a little as the last of the tears leave her. “Okay,” she says. “I trust you. I’ll go and freshen up my makeup.” She reaches inside her already-packed suitcase and draws out a makeup bag, heading off to the bathroom.
I look down at my shirt, which is smeared with makeup and tears. Not that I mind – well, except for the fact that I don’t want her to cry at all – but I don’t think this is going to look good on camera. I shrug it off and grab another. It’s a good thing I hadn’t quite finished packing, knowing I would have another couple of hours to get it done after Candace was on her flight.
When she emerges from the bathroom, she looks just as beautiful as ever. There’s still a slight red tinge to the edges of her eyes, where it can’t be covered with makeup. But maybe we can pass that off as bad lighting.
I really hope we can pass it off and make this work.
“What now?” she asks, her voice still trembling just a little. But I’m proud to see she’s pulled herself together almost completely. She trusts me so deeply that she hasn’t held onto any of that sadness, already believing that I’ll make it all go away for her.
Now I just have to live up to that trust and make sure that I can make this work for both of us.
“Now, we set up my phone and make a call,” I say. I check my watch, but it’s irrelevant. It will be late in the evening in the US right now, but I don’t think that Bill is going to miss this call. His daughter is in Melbourne and about to get a flight. He’ll be watching the flight tracker, waiting for her to call and say she’s at the airport, to let him know how she’s progressing. He won’t be asleep.
“To who?” Candace asks, still wide-eyed and confused, trying to catch up.
“To your Dad,” I say, propping my phone up on the table and settling down on the couch. I pat the cushion beside me so that she’ll drop down next to me, so we can present a united front. And then I lean forward again to hit call – no pause, no hesitation. If I wait, I know I’ll only end up feeling nervous, overthinking it.
This is the same way I’ve dealt with all the difficult business calls I’ve ever had to make. Don’t hesitate. Just make the call. Don’t let any weakness creep in.
The video call is answered within a few rings, but Bill isn’t looking up at the screen at first – he looks like he’s checking something on a different device. “Hey, Sean, can I call you back? I’m waiting for a call from…” he looks up and spots his daughter on the screen, his expression changing to confusion. “Candace.”
“Hi, Dad,” she says, a little awkwardly. I know I’ve thrown her in at the deep end, too. But it’s better this way. No time to second-guess ourselves or build up doubts. No time to panic. We just have to rip off the band-aid.
“What are you two doing together?” Bill asks, frowning. But then his expression clears a little. “Did you bump into each other? I know you do business in Australia often, Sean.”
“That’s exactly what happened,” I say, glancing down at Candace. We have to tell the whole story and get it out there. But at the same time, I’m not sure how much information Bill can digest at once before going off the deep end. “We bumped into each other right at the beginning of the week, actually.”
“Oh, so you’ve had a personal guide to help you out with getting around Melbourne?” Bill says, smiling. “I’m glad. You should have told me earlier, sweetie. I’ve spent all this time worrying about you.”
“Oh, I’ve been completely fine,” Candace says, and I don’t miss how she skips telling her Dad about that encounter at Flinders Street that made her need rescuing in the first place. “Sean’s really been looking after me.”
“Haven’t you had a lot of business meetings to take?” Bill asks, raising an eyebrow. “It’s a bit rare for you to take time off, isn’t it?”
“First time in twenty years,” I say, with a slight smile. He’s nowhere close to getting it yet. We need to keep pushing him in that direction, as gently as possible. This doesn’t need to be more traumatic for anyone than it already will be. “I thought it was worth it, to make sure Candace had a good vacation.”