imagine the kind of emotional hell that had played on her psyche. It would take a while for her to come completely to grips with all of it, if she ever really did; but at least this way he could be there for her personally while she tried. He was grateful for that.
Then again, the ear-shattering shriek of joy that ripped through his skull upon her seeing Danny and Hamish outside the bar—waiting in surprise for a celebratory Happy Hour in honor of her return—reaffirmed his belief that, in time, she’d be alright. After all, some things were worth coming home to.
****
“So how’s it going down there in Margaritaville?” Mac asked. “You still babysitting all the world leaders of tomorrow?”
“Always you with the sarcasm,” Lee chuckled. “Just because you never had a prof as cool as me in college, that’s still no justification for jealousy.”
Mac snorted a laugh, nearly choking on the sip of soda she’d just taken. “Give it time,” she gasped, wiping her mouth. “My guess is that halfway through the semester, they’ll peg you for the same lovable, bumpkin-loser that all of your friends did years ago.”
“Your belief in me is inspirin’ Mac, really. Appreciate that,” he muttered, drawing another grin back at him through the webcam monitor.
“Hey BTW, how are the ribs?” she asked.
“Not bad,” Lee shrugged. “Still a little sore, but I’m already back out on the board.”
“Nice! Danny says you’re actually getting pretty decent on that thing.”
“I try,” he said, perusing through the file he’d just uploaded. “Hey speakin’ of Danny, how’s he really doin’ anyway? I mean, I talked to him earlier today, and he seemed like his usual machismo self. But even so, I could still tell he’s pretty stressed.”
Mac’s lips thinned. “No doubt,” she agreed. “Let’s face it; he’s been on the unemployment line for a while now and you of all people can appreciate what that does to a person.”
Lee nodded.
“I tell him he should pick up the phone and call his Dad for help, but—”
“That’ll never happen,” he interrupted. “Those two have been at odds for years—ever since Danny blew off the family shrink business to become, as his father put it, a lowly civil servant.” Lee shook his head in disgust. “It all came to a head when his Mom got sick, though.”
“ALS, wasn’t it?” Mac wondered.
“Yeah,” said Lee. “It was bad, too, Mac… particularly there at the end. Danny doesn’t talk about it much—for obvious reasons—but the way I understand it, she didn’t have a clue who he even was in those last few weeks; and even then the nurses said he still refused to leave. Doctor visits—second, third, and fourth opinions—clinical screw-ups… trips to the bathroom for god’s sake! He was there for everything.” Lee sat up straight and ruffled his hair. “Ya know, I ain’t above throwin’ the occasional jab at Danny for how he conducts his love life; that’s no secret. But I’m here to tell ya… that boy loved his Mom.”
“Where was his dad through all of this?” Mac asked, drawing a snort from Lee.
“Oh, the good Dr. Tucker was otherwise occupied at the time,” he said sardonically. “He was holed up in a condo on South Beach—a bottle in one hand and his 23-year-old psych patient in the other… drunk son of a bitch!”
Mac’s face oozed with revulsion, and Lee felt his fists clinch.
“Anyway,” he continued after cooling off. “Maggie’s passing pretty much sealed the deal between Danny and the Tucker family tree. To my knowledge, he hasn’t spoken to any of ‘em since the funeral, and that’s been almost five years now. Can’t say as I blame him, either.”
“Man, I can’t even imagine,” Mac murmured. “Being excommunicated from your own family like that… And there’s nobody on his Mom’s side of the family he can call?”
“Nobody’s left,” said Lee. “She was an only child, and her folks died of old
Michael Cunningham
Janet Eckford
Jackie Ivie
Cynthia Hickey
Anne Perry
A. D. Elliott
Author's Note
Leslie Gilbert Elman
Becky Riker
Roxanne Rustand