water.
Beth came padding down the steps wearing a white terrycloth robe and a pair of his slippers she’d appropriated after moving in. Jack had given up any hope of getting them back and purchased another pair for himself.
“Oh, you made us a fire,” she said.
“Dinner’ll be ready in a minute,” Jack said. “In there or here?”
Beth came up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his back. “How ’bout here? Then we’ll go inside and relax. Marta’s unconscious.”
“Rough walk.”
By unspoken agreement, neither discussed the case. Instead, they talked about everything else under the sun, from visiting her folks over the upcoming holidays to shopping for new lawn furniture and a grill when the weather was warmer. Ultimately, Beth informed him his daughter wanted to go skiing with her class over the winter break.
“I didn’t know that,” Jack said, surprised.
“If it’s all right with you, of course.”
There was no reason to object . . . apart from the cost. He’d been skiing before and knew trips like that came with a hefty price tag. You could bribe an Atlanta politician for less.
“I gather Morgan asked you to pave the way?”
“Not in so many words. It’ll be a lot of fun. Her whole class is going and Lake Tahoe is gorgeous.”
“You’ve been there?”
“A guy I was dating took me a few years ago,” Beth said.
For some reason, that annoyed him, but he kept it to himself. “Are you in favor of the trip?”
“Of course.”
“Did she tell you what her mother said?”
“To ask you.”
“Which means she doesn’t want to pay for it.”
“Probably,” Beth said.
A thought occurred to him. “What if we surprise her and join her out there?”
“Jack, she’d die of embarrassment.”
“How come?”
“Trust me. I was a thirteen-year-old girl.”
He didn’t have much to say about that.
“Is there anything else I need to know?”
“Well, there’s a really cute boy in her class she likes named Josh, who’s going too.”
Jack put down his fork. “Thirteen is way too young to date.”
“I agree,” Beth said. “But they don’t exactly date these days. They hang out in packs, like wolves.”
It was depressing how much he didn’t know about his daughter and how quickly she was growing up and how much of it he was missing. He really did want to see her, but was willing to defer to Beth.As to the growing up part, there wasn’t much he could do about that, either. Morgan had been five when he and Katherine split.
Every time he saw her after being apart, he was shocked to see the changes. The last time he took her shopping for a new pair of jeans, she went into the dressing room Hannah Montana and came out Miley Cyrus.
After dinner, they adjourned to the family room, sat on the couch, and watched an old movie. The fire, expertly built in his opinion, insinuated its heat into the room. Marta continued her slumber. Every so often, her front paws twitched. He wondered what she was dreaming about. Beth snuggled her way under his arm and placed her head on his chest.
The movie was an old Jimmy Stewart film about a six-foot-tall invisible rabbit named Harvey. Six feet four inches, to be precise. Jack had seen it a dozen times but was content to watch it again. Beth giggled at the jokes and found it charming.
For reasons beyond his understanding, the film’s sponsor that evening was Viagra.
“Hm,” Beth said when the third commercial aired.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You can’t just say hm, and leave it like that.”
“Well, I was wondering. Have you ever tried it?”
“No,” Jack said indignantly, looking at her.
“Just asking.”
“Why?”
“Maggie Tannenbaum says that fifty percent of men over forty have some degree of dysfunction.”
“I’m thirty-nine.”
“Still . . .”
“Still, what?”
“She’s a doctor, Jack.”
“She’s a podiatrist .”
“They’re doctors, too. Maggie told me her
Beth came padding down the steps wearing a white terrycloth robe and a pair of his slippers she’d appropriated after moving in. Jack had given up any hope of getting them back and purchased another pair for himself.
“Oh, you made us a fire,” she said.
“Dinner’ll be ready in a minute,” Jack said. “In there or here?”
Beth came up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his back. “How ’bout here? Then we’ll go inside and relax. Marta’s unconscious.”
“Rough walk.”
By unspoken agreement, neither discussed the case. Instead, they talked about everything else under the sun, from visiting her folks over the upcoming holidays to shopping for new lawn furniture and a grill when the weather was warmer. Ultimately, Beth informed him his daughter wanted to go skiing with her class over the winter break.
“I didn’t know that,” Jack said, surprised.
“If it’s all right with you, of course.”
There was no reason to object . . . apart from the cost. He’d been skiing before and knew trips like that came with a hefty price tag. You could bribe an Atlanta politician for less.
“I gather Morgan asked you to pave the way?”
“Not in so many words. It’ll be a lot of fun. Her whole class is going and Lake Tahoe is gorgeous.”
“You’ve been there?”
“A guy I was dating took me a few years ago,” Beth said.
For some reason, that annoyed him, but he kept it to himself. “Are you in favor of the trip?”
“Of course.”
“Did she tell you what her mother said?”
“To ask you.”
“Which means she doesn’t want to pay for it.”
“Probably,” Beth said.
A thought occurred to him. “What if we surprise her and join her out there?”
“Jack, she’d die of embarrassment.”
“How come?”
“Trust me. I was a thirteen-year-old girl.”
He didn’t have much to say about that.
“Is there anything else I need to know?”
“Well, there’s a really cute boy in her class she likes named Josh, who’s going too.”
Jack put down his fork. “Thirteen is way too young to date.”
“I agree,” Beth said. “But they don’t exactly date these days. They hang out in packs, like wolves.”
It was depressing how much he didn’t know about his daughter and how quickly she was growing up and how much of it he was missing. He really did want to see her, but was willing to defer to Beth.As to the growing up part, there wasn’t much he could do about that, either. Morgan had been five when he and Katherine split.
Every time he saw her after being apart, he was shocked to see the changes. The last time he took her shopping for a new pair of jeans, she went into the dressing room Hannah Montana and came out Miley Cyrus.
After dinner, they adjourned to the family room, sat on the couch, and watched an old movie. The fire, expertly built in his opinion, insinuated its heat into the room. Marta continued her slumber. Every so often, her front paws twitched. He wondered what she was dreaming about. Beth snuggled her way under his arm and placed her head on his chest.
The movie was an old Jimmy Stewart film about a six-foot-tall invisible rabbit named Harvey. Six feet four inches, to be precise. Jack had seen it a dozen times but was content to watch it again. Beth giggled at the jokes and found it charming.
For reasons beyond his understanding, the film’s sponsor that evening was Viagra.
“Hm,” Beth said when the third commercial aired.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You can’t just say hm, and leave it like that.”
“Well, I was wondering. Have you ever tried it?”
“No,” Jack said indignantly, looking at her.
“Just asking.”
“Why?”
“Maggie Tannenbaum says that fifty percent of men over forty have some degree of dysfunction.”
“I’m thirty-nine.”
“Still . . .”
“Still, what?”
“She’s a doctor, Jack.”
“She’s a podiatrist .”
“They’re doctors, too. Maggie told me her
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