“Memo and I can do it for you,” she offered.

He hadn’t said yes or no yet when the emergency room attendant had come in and had begun stitching him. Neither had mentioned it again, but Ella was certain that he just needed a little push. She’d seen it in his remorseful eyes. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to her or Memo because of this.

She’d talk to her brother, but she already knew what he’d say. Do it. The trick was going to be getting her dad out of there long enough, though Grayson had said it should only take a day or two. Maybe she could even get this done before Felix was witness to it.

She’d never been ashamed of her father, but she knew people’s perception of her dad’s issues were typically not positive. Most didn’t understand and assumed the worst. If she was thinking of doing this anyway, maybe she could hold off having Felix over to her place just a little longer. She could tell him about it afterward, but she could spare him the shock and awkwardness of having to see it firsthand.

~~~

The next morning Grayson stopped by in his squad car to check on them again. Ella walked him out, needing to talk him alone. She didn’t want her dad to hear.

“I’m gonna talk to my brother today about what you mentioned last night. But I’ll need a ballpark figure on how much this is gonna cost me and how long you really think it’ll take, because we’re gonna have to get my dad out of here while it gets done. He’ll never let it happen otherwise.”

Grayson was already shaking his head. “Don’t worry about the cost. I’ll handle that and—”

“No, wait, wait! You can’t pay for this. I’m sure it’s not cheap.”

“Nope. The guy owes me. I won’t have to pay anything. And I got the perfect idea on how to get your dad out of the house for a few days too.”

She listened without interrupting about the Cold Duck cruise he’d mentioned to her a long time ago. It was coming up in a week, and his cousins had booked it over a year ago. “They have extra tickets they’re trying to get rid of.” He made a face. “My cousin knows I’m not into that band nor am I big on cruises, but he remembered me asking about the tickets for your dad a while back. So I was gonna tell you about it anyway. Your dad likes Cold Duck, and he did want to go, right? This would be perfect.”

“But that’s such short notice.”

“It’s totally casual,” Grayson explained. “He doesn’t have to buy anything special for it. Just have him take clothes to kick back and relax in and maybe one dressier outfit for the night of the party, but my cousin’s gone the last two years in a row and says that’s what he likes most about it. It’s a completely relaxed atmosphere.”

Ella thought about it. Her dad would probably be all for it. When she’d mentioned it once before, he said it sounded cool and even asked her to look into maybe doing it next year since Grayson had said at the time this year’s was sold out.

“I’m working full-time at the gym now. I don’t know if I’d be able to go with him, and I don’t think he’d want to go alone. Maybe my brother—”

She stopped talking when she saw the look he was giving her. “Ella, even if you are full-time now, don’t you usually get two days off anyway? This would only be one extra day. I’m sure Carmen and Sonia could handle your being gone an extra day especially when you tell them why you’re doing it.”

It was all happening so much faster than she’d expected. What if her dad really freaked out about this? She needed to think it over a little more. Ella knew perfectly well what Memo would say, but she needed an excuse. “I’ll talk to my brother and let you know.”

“Let me know soon. Like by tonight, babe. This thing is next week, and my cousin is selling them to whoever pays him first so he doesn’t get stuck with the tickets.”

Ella nodded, ignoring the fact that he was still calling her babe. She hadn’t said anything last night because she thought that under the circumstances he was just trying to be extra nice and sweet to her. It felt inappropriate now, but she felt bad saying so especially since he was being so helpful with this. “I will. But if I do this, I’ll be paying for the tickets.”

He smirked, opening the car door. “Sure,” he said as he got in.

His response wasn’t at all convincing, and she bent over into the open passenger side window. “I’m serious, Grayson. I won’t let you pay for this.”

“And I said okay.” He laughed. “Just let me know ASAP.”

On her way back into the house, her phone rang. It was Felix, and though just seeing his name on the screen made her all giddy, it also made her nervous. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to get into what felt like a very heavy subject. But ready or not she answered.

The first thing he asked about was her dad. She explained about the gash and that she’d been afraid he might have a concussion but thankfully he hadn’t. “But he did need seven stitches,” she added.

She was only glad he didn’t ask why there’d been a microwave on top of the refrigerator. Then he started apologizing again.

“Ella, I can’t say this enough. I’m so sorry. I feel like a total asshole for having treated you like that last night. I’m really not like—”

“Look,” she said in a stern voice as she walked into her room. “I’m gonna be honest with you, okay? My gut told me maybe I shouldn’t be looking through your photos. I should’ve gone with it. But I gave into my curiosity instead. So you reacted like you did. We’ve all said or done things in the heat of the moment we maybe later regret a little.”