Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
“What happened to your dad?”
“He was here to attend college. As soon as his parents found out about the pregnancy, they made him drop out and return to Korea.”
I asked, “Have you ever met him?”
“Yeah, once. He came for a visit when I graduated from high school, and it was painfully awkward. He’s not a bad guy, though. He paid child support for eighteen years like clockwork, and he always sends me a card for my birthday.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, he’s doing a hell of a lot better than my dad. He took off right before I was born.”
Anderson stopped walking and turned to me with sympathy in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Sam.”
“Don’t be. He was obviously a shmuck, and we were better off without him.”
“Did you ever try to find him?”
“My lawyer tracked him down after my mom died. I was eleven at the time. He still didn’t want anything to do with me, so fuck him.”
“What did you do?”
“My uncle moved in with me and took on the role of my guardian.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, not really. He ended up stealing most of the money my mom left me.”
“Oh, no!”
“It all worked out in the end. When I was seventeen, I became an emancipated minor. I’ve been taking care of myself ever since.” I grinned at him and tried to put an end to this conversation with, “Anyway, I’m sure that’s more than you ever wanted to know about Samaritan J. Miller.”
“Sam is short for Samaritan?”
“Yeah. Go figure.” I gestured at the sidewalk ahead. “Anyway, do you want to keep going, or—”
“We’re here.”
“Where?”
“My apartment.” He nodded at the compact, yellow building behind him. “Would you like to come in for some tea? I always make myself a cup after work.”
“Are you asking just to be polite?”
“I’m asking because I thought you might like some tea.” He was always so matter-of-fact.
“I’d love some. Thanks for the offer.” It wasn’t like I was in a hurry to get home.
I followed him upstairs, and when he unlocked the door and we stepped into his apartment, several cats came running. As I scooped a white cat into my arms, I asked, “Did you use your power to call them?”
“No. This group just gets excited when we have visitors.”
“There are more in here!” I hurried into a sitting room on our left, where five more cats were lounging on a large area rug. The room was cozy and welcoming, with pink walls, a fireplace with photos and tchotchkes on the mantle, and a bunch of mismatched, comfortable-looking furniture. I crouched down and held my hand out to the cats as I exclaimed, “Hi, buddies!”
Suddenly, two women appeared on the couch, literally out of nowhere. The white cat jumped out of my arms as I yelped and fell back onto my ass, and the rest of the cats scattered. Both women were adjusting their clothes, and their hair was tousled—especially the redhead, whose curls looked like she’d been in a wind tunnel.
From the doorway, Anderson exclaimed, “Oh my god, Mom!”
The woman with a graying bob grinned and told him, “You’re early. You usually don’t get home until nine-fifteen, nine-thirty.”
“You have a bedroom! Why are you two messing around out here?” He looked completely mortified.
His mother shrugged, while the redhead smiled at me and said, “Sorry to startle you.”
“No worries.” I shifted around so I was sitting cross-legged and asked, “Did you two just beam in from somewhere, or were you invisible? Either way, it’s a cool power.”
“Neither. My girlfriend has the ability to shift the perception of people who are nearby, so it’s impossible to notice her,” the redhead explained. “She can also apply it to anyone she’s touching.”
“The ability to hide in plain sight,” I said, and she nodded.
“We weren’t expecting company, so we had to duck out of sight while we got dressed,” the dark-haired woman told me, while Anderson lightly and repeatedly whacked his forehead against the doorframe. “I’m Linda Chen, by the way, and this is my girlfriend, Julie O’Hurley.”
“Sam Miller. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I leaned over and stuck my hand out, but both women hesitated. “We, um, we should probably wash up. We’re a little sticky,” Linda said, which caused a strangled exclamation to slip from her son.
They leapt off the couch and quickly left the room, and Anderson mumbled, “I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s totally cool. And good for your mom, right? Way to make the most of a Monday night.” I got up and told him, “I guess I should probably go, but let’s do this again sometime. Not the part where we walk in on your mom having sex, obviously. But the tea, that part.” I hurried to the door, before I discovered it was possible for someone to actually die of embarrassment.
It was only about a ten-minute walk from his place to mine. I lived in a cute little house with a vaguely Art Deco style, which was almost the same shade of yellow as Anderson’s building. On my way up the front steps, I noticed the paint on the windowsill was starting to chip. I’d have to take care of that soon.