Page 57 of Denim & Diamonds

I nibbled on my lip. “One. But I’m not even sure he’ll come.”

“That’s not an issue. The guest list is just for security purposes, so reception knows who they should let in. Who do you want to add?”

I took a deep breath. If saying his name freaked me out this much, maybe it wasn’t a great idea to invite him after all. “You know what, I think I changed my mind.”

Trinity smiled warmly. “The purpose of the one-on-one counseling sessions we do during family day is to help you mend relationships before you go back home. If you’re struggling to decide whether you should even invite someone, a session might do some good.”

I blew out two cheeks full of air. “It’s my dad. We’ve been estranged for a long time.”

“Well, the decision is obviously yours. But letting out pent-up emotions and clearing the air can be cathartic. You and I have talked a lot about the different work stresses that contributed to you coming to Sierra Wellness Center, and that makes sense because those are the issues you’ve dealt with recently. But sometimes the things we don’t deal with on a day-to-day basis can weigh just as heavily on our mental health.”

I sighed and nodded. “Okay. Can we add Joseph Shaw to the guest list?”

“Of course.”

I filled out a form before leaving Trinity’s office and then headed to one of the small telephone-lounge rooms. Since we weren’t allowed to have cell phones, there were several places we could go to make phone calls in private. They all had comfy chairs and couches. I’d only used the rooms for work calls so far, so I hadn’t noticed the box of tissues on the end table.Might need those for what I’m about to do.

I hadn’t seen my dad in more than a decade. And it wasn’t because he was a great distance away. As far as I knew, he still rented a house in Queens, a twenty-minute train ride from me in Manhattan. I stared down at the phone, thinking how much I’d changed recently. Three weeks ago, I would’ve never imagined that this place might actually help me. I’d only come to Sierra because my board of directors had forced my hand. When they’d suggested I might be having a nervous breakdown, I’d laughed at them. These days, though, I wasn’t so sure they were wrong. Maybe it was the pregnancy scare, or maybe it was thehormones—I’d finally gotten my period this morning—but I felt like I should keep pushing myself to find peace. And that meant it was time to fix things with my father.

I picked up the phone and dialed. If I didn’t call right this moment, I might chicken out. I wasn’t even sure if his home number was still the same one I knew. Heck, he might not evenhavea house phone anymore—most people didn’t these days.

My heart raced as the phone connected.

One ring.Thump-thump.

Two rings.Thump-thump-thump!

By the time the third ring started, my chest was pounding so hard I thought I might go into cardiac arrest. I considered hanging up, but at the last second someone answered.

“Hello?”

My dad.

I didn’t say anything.

“Hello?” he repeated in a sterner voice. “Is someone there?”

I sat up stick straight and cleared my throat. “Uh, yeah. Hi, Dad.”

A pause. “February? Is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

His tone softened. “How are you, honey?”

My eyes filled with tears. “Not so good, actually.”

“Where are you? Are you hurt?”

I smiled sadly. “No, no. It’s nothing like that. I’m fine, at least physically anyway. But…” I gnawed on my lip. “I’m at a wellness facility.”

“A what?”

“It’s a place people go when they need a mental-health timeout. I was working a lot and under a lotof stress and… Well, let’s just say I’m here, and it’s helping.”

My dad was quiet for a beat. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?”

“Actually, there is. That’s why I’m calling. Tomorrow is family day. They have these counseling sessions and stuff and…”

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