you accidentally stumble into a correct conclusion.” I yawn again.
“Wow. What time did you fall asleep? Did you fall asleep?”
“Not to change the subject, but I am definitely changing the subject. We ran into Uncle Bill at the Shady Oaks Golf Club fundraiser last night, and he tried to apologize for being an ass. Both to me and to Winona. Winona said his apology was manipulative and insincere.”
“Woo-hoo!” Alice cheers. “I am team Winona all the way.” She does a little chair dance, complete with arm waves. “Go Winona! Go Winona! It’s your birthday, go Winona! When is her birthday? I want to send her something.”
I try to hide my huge, post-orgasmic grin from her and fail. I know what a goofball I look like right now. “Anyway. He gave me a family photo of us all together at Christmas.”
“Publicity photo?” Alice says drily. I feel defensive on Dad’s behalf, but she’s right again. I can’t remember us ever taking holiday photos that weren’t publicity photos.
“It was the one where I got a new baseball bat. I asked Dad to play baseball with me, but it never ended up happening. I was kind of snotty about it. I regret that now.”
“Blake. Don’t do that to yourself.” Alice’s voice softens. “You were a kid who loved his dad and wanted him to spend time with you. How could you possibly blame yourself for that?”
“I just feel bad because he had a lot going on back then, and I wasn’t very understanding.” I sigh. “Well, I should go shower.”
“Got you some, did you?”
“Alice!” I am appalled. “You’re my sister. You can’t say things like that. Is Tamara there with you?”
“What do you think?” She laughs. “She’s outside throwing water balloons at her dad.”
I hang up, put my coffee cup in the dishwasher, and head for the shower.
As I step into the shower, my good mood’s fizzled a little bit. The memory of me carping at my dad sends ripples of guilt flowing through me.
It’s okay. Everything is proceeding as planned. My father’s vision will be fulfilled. Next summer, I’ll be standing at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Hudson’s London building, with a giant pair of scissors in my hand and Winona at my side.
Yeah, I’ve given myself half a day off today, but it’s the first time I’ve allowed myself to have a little unscheduled fun in years.
I hurry through my shower, trying to reassure myself. Everything is going smoothly, the Popup Palooza is all over the news and social media, I’ve definitely landed Akiri–
Oh, hell.
No, no, no…
It’s Sunday. The day I’m supposed to be meeting him. Instinctively, I glance at my wrist.
My bare, naked wrist.
The watch would have saved me. It’s set up to alert me in time to leave for appointments. Our meeting is in five minutes, and I couldn’t make it there in time unless I borrowed The Doctor’s freaking Tardis.
I run naked into my bedroom and snatch up my wristwatch and phone. Four minutes. And my phone is dead. Frantically, I plug it back in. It takes a geologic ice age to power back on. Now I’ve got three minutes.
I look up his number, and call him. It goes to voicemail. Three minutes.
I call the restaurant; the maître d’ tells me that he’s already there. Akiri has showed up on time for the first time in the known history of the universe. I ask the maître d’ to take the phone to his table.
I’m spewing apologies, frantically trying to think of a lie that will fix this. I hate lying, I hate liars, but I’m desperate.
Akiri doesn’t even give me a chance to come up with an excuse. “Are you fucking kidding me? Are you fucking serious right now?” he screams at the top of his lungs.
I hear the maître d’ in the background. “Sir, this is a family establishment. I must ask you to lower your voice and watch your language, or you’ll have to leave.”
Well, that’ll help Akiri’s mood.
“Fuck you too!” Akiri screeches. “Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is?”
Then he yells into the phone. “Nobody stands me up! Nobody! I knew this was a bad idea!” There’s a click and a dial tone. He’s hung up on me.
I am sickened and unmoored. I stumble to my bed and sit down with a heavy thud. My hand shakes as I strap my watch back onto my wrist and turn notifications back on.
My watch and phone bing and bleep frantically with message