Painted Blind Part 11

"Then call him at home."

"It's clear up in the mountains. There's no service up there."

"Uh huh." She nodded. "And I bet you don't know when you'll see him again, but tomorrow you'll come to school and say he mysteriously dropped by."

"Actually, he's supposed to drop by tonight."

"Great," she said. "I'll wait."

I felt my heart drop into my belly. If she stayed, he wouldn't come. She'd think he didn't exist, and I wanted to be with him more than anything.

When my dad came home a few hours later, Savannah and I were hanging out in my room with the stereo blaring. He pushed the door open a few inches and squinted at that noise.

"Did you miss me?" I yelled over the music, then turned it down.

"Less now than before. Hi, Savannah."

"Hey, Ron. What's for dinner?"

He scratched his head waiting for inspiration to hit. "How about grilled chicken with a mushroom Alfredo sauce and pasta?"

Savannah squealed with delight. "Can I marry you?"

"Gross!" I threw a pillow at her.

Dad turned to go. "Dinner in half an hour."

When the phone rang in the middle of dinner, Dad and I looked at one another. He slowly reached for the phone and checked the caller ID. "Unknown name," he said. "Could be a reporter."

"Could be a contractor calling to offer you a million-dollar job," I replied.

He smirked and answered. His expression turned suspicious. "May I tell her who's calling?" Then he held the phone across the table. "Erik."

Savannah jumped from her chair and grabbed the phone before I'd put my fork down. "Hi, Erik," she said sweetly. "This is Savannah Schofield, Psyche's best friend. I was just telling her today how excited I am to meet you. She said you might be stopping by."

Dad wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Really? I'd like to meet him, too."

"Oh, that's too bad," Savannah said. "Another time, then. Yes, it was nice talking to you, too." She held the phone out to me, and turned to Dad. "He's working late and can't make it tonight."

I grabbed the phone and headed into Dad's office, where I shut the door before answering. "Erik?"

"You have company." He sounded disappointed.

"Yeah, sorry. She wants to meet you and decided to stay until you showed up. Where are you?"

"Nearby. Mind if I sneak in later?"

I looked out the window, and wondered how near he really was. "It would make my day."

"School was that bad, huh?" He chuckled. "I feel your pain. My mother visited today."

"Your mother visiting is as painful as a building full of teenage boys?"

"Worse."

Nothing would make me happier than being near him. "Call me when you're here, and I'll take out the garbage or something."

"Unnecessary," he replied lightly. "I'll surprise you."

After he hung up, I sat with the phone in my hands and a smoldering hope in my chest. Trying to look disappointed, I returned to the dining room, where Dad and Savannah eyed me curiously.

"So?" Savannah prodded.

"He has to work. Are you satisfied?"

She finished her last green bean and wiped her mouth. "For now."

Dad stood with his empty plate. "I still want to meet him."

I rolled my eyes, but Savannah leaned closer. "s.e.xy voice. Does he always sound like that?"

"Yeah." His voice was nothing compared to the feel of his arms. His kiss.

"I hate you."

I shrugged. "You and half the school."

She smiled and shook her head. "I should go. I have purging to do."

"We aren't talking about the pasta, are we?"

"No." She sat back in her chair and pressed a hand to her belly, which she'd stuffed with a second helping. "I'm going to purge my life of that heartless lifeguard."

"Purging is healthy." I forked up the last cold mushroom from my plate. "And tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow I'm wearing my white leather mini."

"That a girl. You want to take my car and pick me up in the morning?" We piled our plates into the sink. "Is that okay with you, Dad?"

He poured dish soap into the sink and turned on the water. "Sure. Don't rear end any Volvos."

"Saw the p.o.r.n, did you?" Savannah gave him an understanding nod.

I punched her in the arm, but my dad laughed. "Wish you'd gone with her this summer. Maybe she would have made better choices."

Savannah's eyes twinkled. "I'd be happy to go next summer. I'd be a very responsible chaperone."

"If I go back next summer." Maybe I'd disappear into paradise instead.

She thanked my dad for dinner, and we walked outside. It had gotten windy, and I hugged my arms as we crossed the lawn. After pulling my coat and backpack out of the car, I waved as she backed out of the driveway. "Don't be late," I called.

Dad was scrubbing dishes, so I picked up a dish towel and started drying. With only two of us, he'd never bothered to buy a dishwasher. "Been a long time since Savannah's been over here," he observed.

"Her boyfriend dumped her this afternoon."

"Oh." He pulled another plate from the sink. "I still remember when Patricia Wallace dumped me my senior year. Right next to the trophy case in the foyer." He smirked at the memory. "After she walked away, I turned around and saw her picture there in the trophy case, all smiles and pompons. It took everything I had not to put a fist through the gla.s.s."

I tried to imagine my dad in love. If he'd loved my mother, I was too young to remember it.

"I heard she moved back and took a job at the university a few years ago." Dad turned on the water and rinsed a couple of plates, which he set in the drainer for me. "She married some lawyer and had a few kids. He had an affair, and they divorced."

"Sad."

Dad shrugged. "Happens to the best of us."

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"Don't be." He dumped a pan into the water and scrubbed it clean. "I'm not sorry I married your mom. I got you out of the deal."

"But I'm graduating. Then you'll be alone."

The lines around his eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Don't think your crotchety old dad can manage without you?"

"Of course you can manage, but do you want more?" Until now I'd never considered that probably he didn't date because of me.

"Do I want to get married again?" He rinsed the pan and turned off the water. "I've liked our life. I didn't want to throw a third wheel into it. You're easy to live with. Some women aren't." By this he meant my mother, but I supposed it was true of other women, too.

I'd never begrudge his happiness. Was the same true for him? If happiness for me meant leaving someday and not coming back, would he want me to live without it?

Upstairs I took pajamas from the dresser and was about to pull off my s.h.i.+rt, when a voice said, "I don't think you want to do that in front of me."

I spun around. "Where are you?"

Erik fluffed a pillow, and I could see the indentation of his head as he laid it back down. I dove at him, and he grunted as he caught me. "Happy to see me?"

"I've never seen anyone so handsome." I settled beside him. "How long have you been here?"

"Since Savannah left. You really shouldn't leave the door open like that. You never know what kind of trouble will blow in." He pressed his lips to my forehead. "The palace is empty without you. Aeas and Eudora scolded me for letting you leave. Top that off with my mother dropping by unannounced..." He groaned. "Come back," he begged, "and stay longer this time."

"I can't just disappear. My dad is worried already."

"It wasn't a problem before."

"Before there were reporters stalking me. And of course, I can't tell him the truth. He'd have me committed." I sat up as an idea struck me. "Unless..." I needed an ally. "Savannah wants to meet you."

"You know that's impossible."

"Yeah, but she could see the palace. She could vouch that I'm not insane. I didn't invent you or your world. He would trust her if she told him I was safe with you."

"No, Psyche. She could jeopardize everything we have together."

"Or she could make it easier for us. I want to be with you, and I don't want to lie about it. What am I supposed to do when he demands to meet you or forbids me from seeing you?"

Erik's voice was stern. "You come to me anyway."

"Erik, you grew up without parents. You don't understand how things work. I can't come and go as I please. I can't disappear for days on end."

"Or what? He'll throw you out? You lived on your own all summer. Why should he control you now?"

"Because he's my dad, and I live here now. That's just the way it is."

"Because you aren't willing to let go." There was a bitterness in his voice that hadn't been there before. "This world is cruel. You don't belong here."

"Your mother isn't the loving type, and I don't see you cutting ties with her."

He took my hand with a sigh. "We seldom allow mortals into our world. I took you there because I want you to be a part of it. I don't trust Savannah."

"She's my best friend. And, honestly, I could use a second opinion. I'd like the a.s.surance that it's real."

"It's real." He touched me gently. "I'm real, and my love for you is real."

"I need this."

He was silent a long time before answering, "I'll allow her to visit briefly. A few hours is all. She may be at the palace only, not in the village or anywhere else in the kingdom, and I will send all my people away. You will take her there with Pixis, stay a few hours and bring her back. Agreed?"

"Yes." I was so excited, I could hardly wait to call her. What a relief it would be to share this secret with someone!

"I'm not comfortable with this. I don't like it at all."

"I understand." I didn't like him being invisible, so I moved across the room and switched off the light. He appeared in the dark when I returned to him. "Erik, there's one more favor I'd like to ask you."

He moaned. "What will this cost me?"

"Can I stay at the palace Friday night? I want to sketch your world for my art cla.s.s."

"What happened to being committed?"

"Mr. Mayhue will think they're fantasies. I'll need your help with the shading."

"In the dark?" he asked.

"We could do it here on Sunday."

He pulled me down on the pillow. "I don't tutor for free." His lips brushed my face as he whispered, "Try not to faint."

I was lost in Erik's kiss and didn't hear Dad's footsteps until he was right outside the door. Then I pulled away with a start.

We vanished.