front of me to deserve you in my life again.
It’s a long road ahead in so many ways. At the moment, I’m making myself useful to our country’s people in any way I can. But please know I think about you constantly and miss you like crazy. I’m not asking for your forgiveness, but there is one thing I’ll presume to ask of you. Wait for me. Wait for me and I’ll do everything in my power to make you never regret it.
Yours Always,
Malcolm
I read the letter over as I’d done with so many before it, but a glance to the corner of the roughly built office revealed only a pile of bottled water cartons and a crate of first aid kits. No ornate vase or even so much as a rubbish bin to toss the letter in.
So I did what I’d never done before and tucked it into an envelope, jotted Alice’s address on the front, and put it in with the other outgoing post.
“I’m still having difficulty imaging the three of you camping. The last time any of you attempted it, I believe it was in the West Garden and you only lasted the time it took to eat all of the pies and biscuits Mrs. Fontleroy had supplied before you ran inside declaring camping to be the most boring endeavor on earth.” My father chuckled at the memory, and it was good to hear the lightness in his tone.
I switched the phone to my other ear to free my right hand to sign a delivery slip. “You know we’re not actually camping in tents, right? We have proper raised camping beds and a roof over our heads. Really the only issue we’ve had so far is Matthias’s disturbing sleep-talking habit. I won’t be surprised to find him the subject of an exposé on men living double lives one day.” I nodded at the delivery driver before he walked out with a clearly conflicted half bow/half salute. “So, how does it feel to have your retirement postponed? Are you reconsidering it entirely?”
The coronation had been indefinitely postponed in light of recent events, leaving my father as king for a while longer. He experienced good days and bad days with his mobility and cognitive lapses, but thankfully most were good of late. And no one felt the need for any more upheaval for a bit—not to mention any celebrating.
“Well, your mother says she’ll cap me at six months, come hell or high water, so I’d better give it my best until then.” That sounded about right.
“I, for one, think you’re exactly what the country needs right now.”
“Oh, no, no.” He chuckled again. “That’s not what I hear. It seems my son has well surpassed me in popularity.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I interjected. The footage of my televised interview had captured the earthquake hitting as well as the moments following it and had apparently impressed some people with my show of leadership. That and the media interest in what my siblings and I were trying to do here was affecting public opinion in a way I hadn’t anticipated or intended.
“I’m not being ridiculous in the least. What I am is proud of you,” my father said.
My nose began to sting at his words. Good God, were those tears threatening to gather? One natural disaster and I’d suddenly turned into a teenage girl. Time to call an end to sharing time. I cleared my throat—in a very manly way—and said, “Thank you, sir,” before changing topics to a more detailed discussion of matters concerning the relief effort and rebuilding our nation.
My work had never been so rewarding—or important.
Chapter 23
Alice
“Oh, God, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” Grier pulled me into a hug and squeezed so hard I had to gasp for breath. “I can’t believe all of this.”
“How’s your son?” I asked into her shoulder before she finally released me. She was full of energy but the circles under her eyes told of her exhaustion.
“About as expected, but the doctor says he’s on the road to recovery.” She shook her head and frowned. “When it rains it pours.”
Grier was finally back in the office having spent the better part of the week at her son’s bedside after his car accident, but it sounded like he was finally on the mend.
“Well, we’re glad to have you back.” I nodded. “Everyone has been running around like mad, but we’re doing our best to get a handle on it all.”
The corporate offices and headquarters