clothing needs. Instead of a mild winter break in California where the odds of wearing shorts and sandals on Christmas Day were pretty good, I needed to shift back to warm sweaters, scarves, and lots of heavy socks.
I unpacked my giant duffle, a purchase I’d made after enduring incessant teasing from Rylie over my designer suitcases. I walked over to my dresser where I’d stacked my t-shirts and dresses and the disappointment of my situation struck me. I picked up my cell phone and turned it on. I’d turned it off to avoid my mom’s relentless calling. The second service had returned, the phone rang. I glanced at the number. It seemed my mom had called in her strongest ally— my dad. I would never consider myself to be a daddy’s girl, but I’d grown up with three brothers and so my dad had, of course, treated me differently. I took a deep breath to strengthen my resolve and answered.
“Hey, Dad.”
“How’s my baby girl doing?”
“I think you know.”
“Now Auggie, you know how much your mom has been looking forward to you coming home for the holidays.”
“I looked forward to coming home . . . to our home. She promised that we could stay home and cook and bake together. I’m not going to France, Dad.”
“You can’t stay on campus alone. No one will be there. It won’t be so bad in France. You and I could try and get away for a few days and travel to Germany or Spain.” Just like Mom, Dad had the same rotten knack for making charming, intriguing promises that he knew he’d never keep. “Now pack up and get over to the airport.” My dad could switch from the endearing how’s my baby girl tone to the authoritative August Ray Stonefield get your butt home now tone in one breath. It was probably the reason he was so awesome in the business world, but it wasn’t terribly effective on me anymore.
“Sorry, Dad, not happening. Professor North has hired me to do some work cataloguing antiquities, so I’ll be spending the break at his house.”
“What are you talking about?” Now his more severe business tone crackled through the phone. “Who the hell is Professor North?”
“He’s one of my favorite teachers, and he has artifacts to classify. Frankly, I’m excited as heck. So, you guys have a good time, and we’ll talk soon.”
He chuckled. Just like my mom was not a hesitator, my dad was not a chuckler. “Enough of this nonsense, August. I’ll have Charles pick you up at the airport.” Both my parents were so eager to see me that Dad’s driver was picking me up in Los Angeles. Truthfully, I looked more forward to seeing Charles than either parent at this point, but I was going to stand my ground this time. It was something I’d started doing after I’d moved away to college, and it was well worth the tension it caused. After being under complete control of my parents and three older brothers, who’d always been overprotective and bossy, being on my own had brought a glorious sense of freedom.
“Dad, working with Professor North is a great opportunity, and I’m not going to miss out on it. I’ll travel home at the end of January for Mom’s birthday. Have a good time and tell everyone hello for me. And tell Mom not to worry.” A tiny sound came through the phone that I’m sure had to have been my dad’s jaw dropping open.
After a chilly stretch of silence he spoke. “Your mother is not going to be happy, and I’m disappointed too.” The problem was, I couldn’t tell if he was more disappointed about not seeing me for the holiday or that I’d blown off his command to come home. I was leaning toward the latter. His phone beeped with another call.
“Bye Dad. I’ll call you when I have time.”
Chapter 3
The farther I got from campus, the frostier and slicker the roads became. It wasn’t long before I was driving along a nearly empty two lane highway that took me to a higher elevation with every curve. As a California girl, it had taken me some time to get used to
I unpacked my giant duffle, a purchase I’d made after enduring incessant teasing from Rylie over my designer suitcases. I walked over to my dresser where I’d stacked my t-shirts and dresses and the disappointment of my situation struck me. I picked up my cell phone and turned it on. I’d turned it off to avoid my mom’s relentless calling. The second service had returned, the phone rang. I glanced at the number. It seemed my mom had called in her strongest ally— my dad. I would never consider myself to be a daddy’s girl, but I’d grown up with three brothers and so my dad had, of course, treated me differently. I took a deep breath to strengthen my resolve and answered.
“Hey, Dad.”
“How’s my baby girl doing?”
“I think you know.”
“Now Auggie, you know how much your mom has been looking forward to you coming home for the holidays.”
“I looked forward to coming home . . . to our home. She promised that we could stay home and cook and bake together. I’m not going to France, Dad.”
“You can’t stay on campus alone. No one will be there. It won’t be so bad in France. You and I could try and get away for a few days and travel to Germany or Spain.” Just like Mom, Dad had the same rotten knack for making charming, intriguing promises that he knew he’d never keep. “Now pack up and get over to the airport.” My dad could switch from the endearing how’s my baby girl tone to the authoritative August Ray Stonefield get your butt home now tone in one breath. It was probably the reason he was so awesome in the business world, but it wasn’t terribly effective on me anymore.
“Sorry, Dad, not happening. Professor North has hired me to do some work cataloguing antiquities, so I’ll be spending the break at his house.”
“What are you talking about?” Now his more severe business tone crackled through the phone. “Who the hell is Professor North?”
“He’s one of my favorite teachers, and he has artifacts to classify. Frankly, I’m excited as heck. So, you guys have a good time, and we’ll talk soon.”
He chuckled. Just like my mom was not a hesitator, my dad was not a chuckler. “Enough of this nonsense, August. I’ll have Charles pick you up at the airport.” Both my parents were so eager to see me that Dad’s driver was picking me up in Los Angeles. Truthfully, I looked more forward to seeing Charles than either parent at this point, but I was going to stand my ground this time. It was something I’d started doing after I’d moved away to college, and it was well worth the tension it caused. After being under complete control of my parents and three older brothers, who’d always been overprotective and bossy, being on my own had brought a glorious sense of freedom.
“Dad, working with Professor North is a great opportunity, and I’m not going to miss out on it. I’ll travel home at the end of January for Mom’s birthday. Have a good time and tell everyone hello for me. And tell Mom not to worry.” A tiny sound came through the phone that I’m sure had to have been my dad’s jaw dropping open.
After a chilly stretch of silence he spoke. “Your mother is not going to be happy, and I’m disappointed too.” The problem was, I couldn’t tell if he was more disappointed about not seeing me for the holiday or that I’d blown off his command to come home. I was leaning toward the latter. His phone beeped with another call.
“Bye Dad. I’ll call you when I have time.”
Chapter 3
The farther I got from campus, the frostier and slicker the roads became. It wasn’t long before I was driving along a nearly empty two lane highway that took me to a higher elevation with every curve. As a California girl, it had taken me some time to get used to
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