Book of Luke (Book 2) (2 page)

“Mom,” I growled. “I’m not pregnant. They’re
menstrual
cramps.” I never admitted Luke and I even
did
stuff—she was assuming a bit much!

She sipped her coffee and glanced at me. “It
doesn’t hurt to double check!”

I rolled my eyes. To think a few months ago
I actually
missed
this woman as she wandered the desert with
the Aborigines.

My hands rested on my hips. “Can we please
cancel it?”

She waved a hand at me. “No time, Adonia,
the appointment’s been made. And I don’t think you need a baby
ruining college for you, so getting on the pill is a good idea.”
She looked at me. “How’s Luke?”

I sat in the seat beside her. “He wants me
to meet his dad.”

Her eyes widened. “That sounds big!”

“Yeah, that’s kind of a weird thing for a
guy to do,” I said. “What do
you
think it means?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. “It can
mean a lot of things. Maybe his father requires to meet you, with
the two of you moving out… or… well,
you know
.”

My face hit my hands. “Mom, we haven’t
done
that,” I lied, red as a lobster. “And now I’m even
more
nervous.” With the way I was feeling, I knew I’d end up
thinking with my mouth sooner or later—with his dad there!

She tapped my hand. “It’s okay, sweetheart,
I doubt his dad will care. About
that
.”

Clearly I need to work on my lying
skills.

On television guys get pats on the back, and
congratulated for scoring. I hoped that wouldn’t happen with me
right there. Realistically, though, Luke would probably just get a
weird look, and his dad would say,

“You can’t get better than this
Amish
girl?”

Yes, I
do
feel that plain.

When Luke picked me up at a quarter to noon,
I was a bit shocked that Lilly was not with him. Okay, I was more
than just a bit shocked—I was
devastated
.

I thought, if this man does not like me,
surely my best friend would come to my rescue, or at least offer
some distraction. I was too worried about Luke wanting approval,
and dumping me when his dad doesn’t like me; because when it comes
to approval, guys are different.

At least,
I
thought so.

Luke gripped my knee as he drove. “Are you
okay?”

“Yeah,” I said simply.

“You don’t
look
okay…”

“I’m afraid he won’t like me,” I
confessed.

“Your dad doesn’t like
me
—yet, here I
am.”

But you’re hot. And sweet. And perfect.
I’m just
me
.

We were meeting him at a seafood restaurant,
one of the upscale ones in our town. I trembled as I left the car,
and it wasn’t because of the cold.

A minute later we stood before him, and it
was too late to turn back now.

Mr. Pawlak sat at a table in the center of
the restaurant, wearing a crisp black suit, a partially unbuttoned
white shirt, and loosened tie. From the look of him, I wondered if
that suit tears right off. Clean-shaven, blond, Lilly’s shade of
aquamarine eyes, a strong chin, and a hot body.

“Wow!” I blurted. “The apple doesn’t fall
far from the tree!”

Both Luke and his dad stared at me in such a
way that I wanted to turn around, walk outside and
freakin’
DIE
.

Mr. Pawlak glanced behind him, maybe to see
what I was talking about.

And I thought I had problems breathing
before
…

Luke cleared his throat and gripped my
waist. “Dad, meet my girlfriend, Adonia Morrison.”

I don’t think I took a single breath that
whole time. The man just stared at me, occasionally chewing
something.

I looked to Luke, who looked at him in the
most demanding way.
“Dad,”
he growled.

Mr. Pawlak cleared his throat. “Just this
one?” he asked in a hot, accented voice, with a small hand
gesture.

I cringed just a bit, and bit my tongue.

“Yeah, Dad, how many do I need?”

After a small shrug his dad put his hand out
for me to shake. “Apoloniusz Pawlak.”

“
Apollo?”
I shrieked. “Like the Greek
god?!”

That just made too much sense—I must have
misheard.

Mr. Pawlak’s eyes slid over to Luke for a
moment. Luke pulled out a chair for me and then sat himself,
dragging his inches from mine.

“Apoloniusz,” Mr. Pawlak repeated. “I was
actually named for the Polish painter, Apoloniusz Kedzierski.” He
frowned, solemn. “Best known for painting a peasant lady carrying a
water bucket.”

“But sure,” he continued, his spirits
lifting. ”We can say I was named for a god! That’s all right with
me.”

Luke squeezed my hand and leaned into my
ear. “It’s okay, Beautiful.”

I exhaled. Luke winked.

“And what’s your name?” Mr. Pawlak asked,
finally smiling.

Again I looked to Luke, confused. I thought
Luke had already said my name. “A-Adonia Morrison,” I
stammered.

Mr. Pawlak snapped his fingers. “Ah, that’s
right! Sorry, I forgot.”

In three seconds?

“So how’s my son treating you?” Mr. Pawlak
asked a few uneventful moments later.

“He’s wonderful!” I gushed, growing slightly
more comfortable.

His smile evaporated. “Hmm. Well I see you
like him more than I do.”

I was taken aback.

Luke chuckled. “Thanks, Dad.”

Mr. Pawlak nodded and raised his hand for
the waitress. “Hey, gorgeous,” he called. “I’m starving here!”

Luke breathed into my ear again. “My dad’s a
ladies’ man.”

“I can see why!” I blurted, and they both
looked at me.

“You can see why, what?” Mr. Pawlak asked
with a weak smile.

I bit my lip. “I can see why you’re
starving?”

He looked confused.

Luke wrapped an arm around me. “So, Dad,
how’s Shelly?” he asked to change the subject.

“Her name’s Stacy.”

Luke furrowed his brow. “Her name wasn’t
Stacy
before
…”

“Well,” Mr. Pawlak said, checking his cell
phone. “It’s Stacy
now
.”

“Oh, I remember,” Luke said. “Stacy came
before Shelly.”

Mr. Pawlak rubbed his chin, still looking
through his phone. “Different Stacy. And hell if I know, I’m always
working.” He glanced at Luke and shrugged. “I assume she’s all
right.”

The waitress finally appeared, a petite
twenty-something brunette with long hair, gray eyes and a soft
complexion. She checked out the gods I was dining with, and took a
breath through her teeth. “And where are
you
gentlemen
from?” she asked cheerfully, puffing out her chest.
“Hollywood?”

Mr. Pawlak held his chin. “Pretty close!
Good guess!”

Her eyes lit up. “Really!” She positioned
her clipboard so she could write. “I could tell! What brings you to
Alaska?”

“I finally took a few days’ vacation and my
son here wanted me to meet Donna,” Mr. Pawlak said, gesturing to
me.

“
Dad,”
Luke breathed.
“Adonia.”

“Adonia!” His dad laughed nervously. “So
sorry, I’m bad with names.”

“It’s okay,” I peeped. “I can kind of
relate.”

Luke’s grip on me tightened. “I love you,”
he breathed softly into my ear.

I touched his hand, afraid to turn to him.
If he kissed me like I sensed he would, it’d be awkward.

Before long, I was phasing out. I could see
Apollo’s lips moving, and the waitress laughing, but I couldn’t
make out a thing they were saying. Luke’s cologne was clouding my
head—flooding my mind with certain thoughts. Thoughts that didn’t
belong at a lunch date with his dad.

The next thing I knew, everyone was staring
at me. I looked about, panicked. “What?”

“What would you like to eat?” Mr. Pawlak
asked, slightly annoyed.

I realized I hadn’t even checked the menu.
“I’ll just have what he’s having,” I said, pointing to Apollo.

The waitress’s eyebrows pinched, and she
smiled. “Got it!” Then she stared at him for a few moments. “Do you
want a drink?”

Mr. Pawlak grinned. “I was hoping to ask you
that!” His eyes moved to her name tag. “Amber…”

Her mouth dropped, and she gripped her
heart. “Oh my God!”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Dad, what about
Stacy?”

Mr. Pawlak’s eyebrows knitted. He still
gazed at the brunette.
“Who?”

My boyfriend was raised by
this
guy?!

I couldn’t understand for the life of me how
they were so different! It was like night and day. The only thing
they
shared
was a gift to the gene pool!

Although this man came across as a total
womanizer, I didn’t know whether I liked him or not. I guess I just
wanted his approval, so my boyfriend wouldn’t have to dump me.

A small part of me wondered if he’d always
been like his, or if he’d turned
into
this; and if Luke
would end up like him, too.

That would be unfortunate.

The waitress had left. They were staring at
me again, so I snapped back to reality. “My mind wanders,” I
explained, half hoping he didn’t hear me.

He looked to Luke. “So did you decide where
you’re moving?”

“Not exactly,” Luke said, checking his
phone. “I‘m waiting for a Realtor to email me; but we’re planning
to move to Prince George, British Columbia.”

Mr. Pawlak nodded. Then he smiled at me—kind
of an awkward smile. “Are you going to college?” he asked.

“I’m supposed to, but I’m getting cold
feet.” It made me kind of uneasy that Mom sent in my deposit—it
meant that I’d committed to going, when I really hadn’t.

Mom
did the committing for me!

“Cold feet! The story of my life!” Mr.
Pawlak said with a laugh.

“I want to be a writer,” I added softly.

He raised his eyebrows. “Really! Sounds a
bit more realistic than being a professional alpine skier!” That
one, of course, was directed at Luke.

Luke either didn’t hear, or didn’t care. He
leaned across the table and showed his father the screen. “Dad,
this is the place I’m looking at.”

Mr. Pawlak peeked at it for a moment. Then
he cleared his throat, raised a finger, and said, “Where’s my
coffee?”

“Workin’ on it!” Amber assured, as she ran
off to the kitchen with someone else’s order.

He smiled and checked his watch.

“Dad,” Luke said. “What do you think about
the house?”

Mr. Pawlak looked around. “Sure, Lukasz,
it’s great. I’ll cut you a check.”

Luke’s face fell. “Oh. I just wanted some
input, actually.”

His father looked irked. “Lukasz, do what
you want. I’m not living in it, you are.”

Luke’s arm tightened around me. “Right.”
Then under his breath he uttered, “Not sure why I bother.”

Mr. Pawlak leaned forward, like he wanted to
hear better. “Hmm?”

Luke shook his head. “Never mind.”

A few awkward minutes later, the waitress
returned with our meals. She walked off after checking out my
boyfriend and his rich dad a bit more.

Because one glance just wasn’t enough!

Oddly enough, I sensed an odor.
Did she
piss her pants?

“How’s school, Lukasz?” Mr. Pawlak
ordered.

“Good. I’m taking calculus three this
semester.”

“I thought you finished core math in
California.”

“It’s an elective,” Luke said. “Just for
fun.”

I think it’s crazy to take calculus for fun;
but then, he’s taking writer’s workshop with
me
as an
elective, so I felt pretty damn important.

I grabbed a fork and dug into my food.

And once it hit my tongue, I gagged.

My stomach clenched. I threw my chair aside
and stood up, leaning over the table. “What the
hell
am I
eating!
”

A salty, putrid taste coated my mouth. The
smell was
horrid
. Seriously, it smelled like
urine!

My stomach did a somersault.

And I puked.

Everywhere.

I grabbed napkins. I tried to stop.

So.
Bad.

“It’s Hákarl,” Mr. Pawlak said, looking
repulsed by me. “An Icelandic dish. Essentially, it’s rotten shark.
It’s an acquired taste.”

I threw up in my mouth a bit more.

I couldn’t hold the rest back. Sick and
humiliated, I rushed to the restroom.

That’s the last time I’m ordering what
someone else is having—I should have looked in the damn menu!

~ ~ ~

Mom took me to the gynecologist's at four.

Because my day wasn’t going bad enough!

I was half naked beneath the sheet, and
rather nervous. I’d never seen a gynecologist before, and for a
forty-something blue-eyed brunet, this one wasn’t bad looking.

Mom stood beside me in the small examination
room, which reeked of rubbing alcohol. Sporting a suit and heels,
she tapped my hand for emotional support and attempted a smile.

The doctor seated himself before me. “Hi,
Adonia, my name’s Dr. Miller. I see you’re here for birth control.”
He looked at my chart. “How old are you?”

“I just turned eighteen,” I said
nervously.

“Out of high school?”

“Almost. I’m graduating in May.”

“And you have a boyfriend?” he asked,
scribbling chicken scratch onto my chart.

“That’s why I’m here,” I uttered.

He glanced at me, then turned pages in my
chart. “Right,” he said. “Well, here’s how it works. Before I can
prescribe anything, I’d like to do a pelvic exam to make sure
you’re healthy. Your mom said you’ve been complaining about some
odd cramps, so we’re going to do a brief ultrasound, just to rule
out some things.” He rolled his chair over to the sink, washed his
hands, gloved them, and began lubing a medical device that looked
like a penis. “This is an ultrasound wand,” he added.