Page 214 of Finding Us

“Dad told me about your classes. Sounds like a tough schedule.”

“Your schedule is just as bad.”

“I know, but I had to cram in all those classes so I can graduate this year. At least I don’t have to work. That’s a huge relief.”

It’s a relief for me, too. Last year, I was starting to think Ryan would never go back to school. Even with his job, the bills were piling up. But after I gave Frank that money, everything changed. Ryan quit his job, took summer classes, and now he’s back on track to graduate in May and start med school next fall. He’s already been accepted to the same school Chloe goes to. Taking last year off means Ryan will be starting med school a year later than he planned, but at least he’s going. Without that money, I don’t know if he would’ve been able to.

“Go tell Frank to get on the phone so I can talk to both of you.”

“He’s um, busy.” Ryan sounds weird, almost like he’s half-serious, half-laughing.

“Busy doing what? Is he in the bathroom or something?”

“No, he went out.”

“What do you mean he went out? It’s Sunday night. And it’s 9:30 there. He never goes out that late.”

“Well, he did tonight.” There’s hidden meaning in Ryan’s tone but I’m not getting the message.

“Just tell me, Ryan. What’s going on there?”

“Dad is, um, out having dinner with a friend.”

“A friend? What friend? Like a friend he used to work with?”

“No, like a lady friend.” He laughs as he says it.

“Yeah, that’s funny, Ryan. Where’s he really at?”

“I’m not joking. Dad’s on a date.”

I jump up from my chair. “No freaking way!”

Ryan’s full-out laughing. “I know, right? I reacted the same way when he told me he was going out with her.”

“Wait—where did he meet this woman? He never leaves the house except to go to his doctor’s appointments.”

“That’s how he met her. He’s been going to his appointments without me since he can drive now. And if he gets there too early or has to wait for test results, he goes over to the hospital next to the clinic and has coffee in the cafeteria. This woman he’s out with tonight is a nurse, and one day last summer they got to talking in the cafeteria and that led to getting coffee at a restaurant and now dinner.”

“What’s she like? Have you met her?”

“I’ve met her a couple times. She’s nice. I think you’d like her. She’s around 50. She doesn’t have kids. Her husband died 10 years ago in a car accident.”

“What does she look like?”

“Tall, like 5’9, with short, blond hair. She’s thin. She runs half marathons.”

“So Frank has a tall, blond, athletic girlfriend?”

“When you put it that way, damn, I guess he did pretty good, didn’t he? And he didn’t even ask her out. She askedhimout.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I think she got tired of waiting for Dad to ask her out so she asked him out instead. He hasn’t dated for a while. He’s out of practice.”

“She doesn’t know about his money, does she?”

“No. She has no idea. Even if she knew, I don’t think she’d go after his money. She’s got her own money. Her parents sold their farmland and made a boatload of cash and gave her and her sister a big chunk of it. And I’m sure she got an insurance settlement when her husband died.”

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