“Yeah, and that’s just the starting price! His pictures are insane, Peter. Like absolutely insane. I can’t believe it. I feel extremely poor just looking at them. I swear the paint he uses smells like Gucci.”
“So his large ego is earned, then?”
“Definitely.” Katie apologized to a stranger on the sidewalk. The line got muffled and I suspected she was moving down the sidewalk away from traffic. When she spoke into the line, her voice was clearer than before. “So what’s going on? Are you done already?”
“Not quite,” I said. “I’ve collected my brother and am on my way to see my dad shortly. He lives in an assisted living home. I was wondering.” Just ask her, man. She’s not going to say no. You’re getting too in your head about this. “I was hoping you would be up to the idea of meeting him in person.”
“Your dad?”
“Yes.”
“Really?” She sounded hopeful and more like I’d invited her to a carnival than a senior’s home. “You actually want me to meet him?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Come pick me up. I’ll text you the gallery address.”
“That’s it?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
I couldn’t fight the smile that stretched my cheeks. “Nothing, I’ll see you soon.”
Mike spent the entire drive to the gallery expressing his concern over my life decisions while he sipped on his second energy drink of the day. This was classic Mike. He treated himself and his surroundings like shit but preached to those around him about how much better they should be.
I took it all with a grain of salt. Nothing he said could get on my nerves this morning because of Katie’s unabashed willingness to meet my old man. I hadn’t expected her answer to make me so happy, but I felt like I could jump over the moon if I got a good running start at it.
We came around a corner at a busy intersection. I spotted Katie standing in front of the gallery in a pair of flip-flops, a floral-printed dress, and a knit cardigan.
Mike whistled. “Whoa, look at that babe, bro! She’s got an ass that won’t quit.”
I jabbed him in the shoulder with my fist.
“Ow!” Mike massaged the spot I’d just punched. “What the hell was that for?”
I pulled over. “That was Katie. Now get in the back seat.”
His eyes widened with surprise. “That was Katie?”
“Yes.”
“No way, bro. No way! She’s way out of your league.”
“I’m aware.”
“Are you? Because you’re sitting here in your khakis, and that chick is out there looking like a snack.”
The back door opened and Katie poked her head into my rental car. She grinned. “Hi, you must be Mike. I’m Katie. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Mike’s head moved on a swivel as he looked from her to me. “And here I’ve been spending my entire life thinking you were a loser.”
I forced a fake smile. “Thanks, Mike. That’s real nice. Now get in the back seat.”
Mike didn’t put up more of a fight after that. He clambered out of the passenger seat and held the door open for Katie. She paused to give him a hug, during which he stood like a dumb frozen deer with his arms hanging at his sides. When she released him, he collapsed in the back seat and watched as she buckled up and greeted me with a kiss.
“So,” she said, “what do I need to know about your dad before I meet him?”
The home smelled like breath mints and a dentist office. The carpets were emerald green and thin and indented with tracks from wheelchairs charting the same path day in and day out. We wiped our feet on the mat at the front door and approached the check-in desk, where I immediately recognized the dark-haired woman eating a granola bar and flipping through a magazine.
She glanced up and smiled when she saw me. “Peter Stenley. You made it! And you brought your brother. Michael, how are you?”
“It’s Mike,” my brother corrected her.
“Uh huh,” Tiff said with mock sweetness. She’d never been much of a fan of my brother and I couldn’t blame her. He was the definition of shit running down hill. “And who is this?”
Katie held out her hand. “I’m Katie. I’m Peter’s friend.”
Tiff shook her hand and flashed me a knowing look. “Nice to meet you, Katie. Come along, you three. Mr. Stenley has had an excellent morning. You couldn’t have picked a better time to drop in. He was up