Page 39 of Roommate Wars
His expression grew serious. “Jack…” He hitched his thumb in the direction Elise had gone. “She’s a good one. Got a good heart; I can feel it. And she’s funny. Don’t push her away.”
I flinched. My dad was getting more perceptive in his old age. “Noted. Now, how are you feeling?”
He ran his hands down his ribs where there should have been mid-life layering. “Feeling fit. It’s why I decided to go out.”
My brow furrowed. “The doctor said it’s good for you to get out once you’re feeling well.” I said this more for my benefit than my father’s. It was hard to see him moving around while still weak. “Are you sure you don’t need the nurse I hired? I can call and have her come back a few times a week.”
My father groaned. “Not Nurse Ratched. That woman has balls of steel. She made me the most horrendous food. The kind you give people who are in the hospital on their deathbed.”
My stomach dropped. He was joking, but too close to the truth.
He could have died. He still could. The doctors were confident they’d removed the cancer and that he was on the road to recovery, but life was never certain. A part of me had never gotten over the death of my mother when I was thirteen. I couldn’t lose my dad too. Other than Max, he was the only family I had left. “It was the nurse’s job to help you recover and take care of you. Healthy food never tastes good.”
“Healthy is not how I would describe the food Ratched fed me. Gelatinous, sometimes liquidy goo is more accurate. I’d like to live, Jack. Feed me any more of that crap and I’ll keel over.”
I rubbed my forehead. “Dad, don’t joke.”
At my tense expression, my father said, “Sorry, son. Truthfully, I’m feeling better. I just need to get back to the gym and regain my athletic body.”
I laughed.
“Hey, no laughing. I’ve lost all this weight; I figure I’ll put it back on as muscle this time around.”
“You do that. Just make sure you tell me when you’re going so I can be there.”And make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.
My dad stood and stretched his back the same way I did. I had few memories of my mother, but her laughing at the two of us doing the same mannerisms was one of my favorites.
“All right, well, I better get going. Don’t want to wear myself out with all this activity and not be able to go to the gym to get swell.”
I chuckled. “It’sswole, Dad. You go to the gym to get swole.”
“Swell, swole, same thing. Just wait until your old man gets shredded.”
I looked at him sideways. “Are you still watchingReal Housewives of Orange County?”
“Of course I am. Not much else to do while convalescing. Why?”
That explained the vocabulary. “Nothing, just checking.”
I walked him to the door and gave him a hug—panicked at how thin he felt in my arms. I started to walk him out when he held up his hand.
“Stay. I’ve got this.”
My dad had his pride. It drove me nuts, but I understood it. “What are you doing tomorrow night? Want to grab dinner?” His appetite was returning, and maybe I could tempt him to eat more with his favorite foods.
“I’m around,” my dad said, taking the first step down the stairs. He stopped and looked back. “Just make sure I’m home early. Got a new episode of a show I’m watching…” He scratched his head. “Can’t remember the name of it, but the couples introduce each other to their parents the first day they meet.” He shook his head and smiled. “Talk about landmines. It’s riveting.”
I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll have you back by nine.”
ChapterEighteen
Elise
I liftedmy socked feet onto the coffee table the next morning, wearing Jack’s boxers and T-shirt—he bought the extra-soft kind—and watched him putter around the kitchen. I’d taken off to run errands after Jack’s dad left yesterday, and when I returned, Jack had holed up in his room for the rest of the night. But I had a lot of questions. I suspected something wasn’t right with his dad, and I wasted no time in getting to the point.
“What’s going on with your dad?”
He looked up from the giant bowl of cereal he was pouring. “You didn’t like my dad? That’s a first.” He shifted to the side as though he was avoiding something.
