“You can’t do this, Jonah,” I said to myself. “You can’t fall for this girl. Think about Dean, think about this job, this company, and everything you are putting at risk by eventhinkingabout Kat in this way.”
I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, staring down at the cars driving by on the street in front of the office building. I just needed to calm down and strategize. Kat was coming with me on this trip, but that didn’t have to be such a bad thing. Vince was there, so he would serve as a barrier between us, and maybe going on a trip with her would help me get over these feelings. People’s true selves often came out during a road trip, and hopefully she would end up saying something or doing something that was a turn off and I could put a stop to all of this.
“Yeah,” I said. “Yeah, totally. I just have to look for something that isn’t attractive about her. Something I can focus on when I start to feel—”
The door to my office opened without a knock, and there was only one person in the company who didn’t announce themselves before coming in. “Hi Calvin,” I said without turning around. “What do you want?”
“I was just coming to say thank you.”
“For what?”
I glanced at him before going back to looking out the window.
“Mainly for getting so many people from the office to come to my show, and for introducing me to Sean in the first place. If it weren’t for you two, I might never have gotten back into music. Anyway, he and I are going out for a beer after work, if you wanna come.”
“Raincheck?” I said. “I have a lot of work to get done before Wednesday, so I’m staying late tonight.”
Calvin laughed, prompting me to face him.
“What’s so funny?”
“Sean just said you would use work as an excuse.”
I folded my arms. “Sean is an idiot. And you can tell him I said so.” Calvin laughed again and nodded.
“I will,” he said. “And I will also let you get back to work since I can tell you aresobusy daydreaming and staring out at the sky.”
“I was staring down at the ground, thank you very much,” I said. “But yes, you should go, because I do actually have a lot of work to get done. Which reminds me, I better call Vic and see if she can go to a friend’s house after school.”
Calvin frowned. “She can’t just go home?”
“I don’t like her to be home alone for too long.”
“Isn’t she like fourteen?” He scoffed. “Hell, my parents left me alone when I was like ten. I mean, Kat was there, but she was a terrible babysitter. She never paid any attention to me. She would just sit in her room on the phone with her friends. I could’ve walked out the front door and walked into traffic and she would only learn about it when the EMTs came knocking.”
“See, that’s a very real concern of mine,” I said.
“Vic isn’t going to walk into traffic,” Cal countered. “She’s a teenager, and she’s smart.”
“I know,” I said. “I just like to know that she’s somewhere safe. With other people. And adult supervision. It gives me peace of mind, you know, and without that peace of mind I would never be able to get any work done.”
Cal put his hands up. “Whatever you say. You’re the parent.”
“Yes, thank you. I am the parent.” I said this partially to him, but partially to myself, as a way of psyching myself up for what I knew would be an argument with my daughter. Cal left the office, and I checked the time. She would still be in class, so my options were to text her and hope that she would see the message in time to find a place to go, or to call the school and have them bring her to the office.
I’d done it before, when I hadn't been able to get ahold of her, but she absolutelyhated itwhen I did.
I’d text first, and if she didn’t respond in a couple minutes, when she was in between classes, then I would call the school. It probably sounded a bit extreme, and overprotective, but it was the only solution in a school where they were so strict about phone use. I didn’t want her to miss my message, and then have to come home to an empty house and be alone all afternoon.
What if someone broke into the house?
And if no one is there to greet her at home, no one would know if she even made it back safely!
My mind went from one bad scenario to the next, and before I even knew what I was doing, I had dialed the number for Victoria's school and a woman who worked at the front desk picked up.
“Hello, Harmony Middle School, how may I direct your call?”
“Uh, hi, my name is Jonah Hollis, my daughter is Victoria Hollis. I was wondering if she could come into the office. I need to speak to her about after school plans, but I know she isn’t allowed to use her phone during school hours.”