Jude

"Hello?" I answer the call.

"Hey, Jude. I'm sorry to call so soon," Rayna, the nurse who is staying with my dad's voice is quiet in my ear.

"Of course, not a problem. Everything okay?" I ask, my heart pounding. I've only been gone half a day.

"Yes. I mean nothing too bad. Your father has a lot of questions today. He doesn't seem to be... here."

Damnit.

"Is he being violent?" I ask, already running through the options in my head.

"Oh gosh no. He's just confused. Sad. He tried to leave to find his wife, and you."

I'm glad he's not being angry and lashing out on her but I hate that he's sad today, when I'm not there.

"Okay. Do you want me to talk to him?"

She sighs. "I was thinking it might help."

"Of course. Put him on."

There's some shuffling and background noise and then my dad's confused voice. "Jude? Where are you?"

"Hi, Dad. How are you?" I ask instead.

He's silent. He's so confused.

"Dad. It's me, Jude. I'm just out of town with my girlfriend. I'll be back soon."

"Jude?" Now his voice sounds a bit more normal. He recognizes my voice. "Okay, sure. See you when you're back."

Finally I feel a bit better. "Yes. Be nice to Rayna. She's there to help."

He grunts and then agrees and then I hear her voice once again.

"Thanks Jude. I think he needed that."

"Anytime. Things are okay, otherwise?" I ask.

"Yes. Julie's coming this evening to stay overnight."

"Great. Thanks."

When I end the call and slide my phone back into my pocket, I feel guilty once again. I'm putting a lot of stress on everyone - myself, my dad and the nurses - by being away. By keeping him in my house. I really need to look into those nursing homes. And I feel guilty that I still haven't told Kinley about any of this.

Crossing the room to go find her, I open the door and find an empty hallway. I head downstairs and hear some music playing so I follow my ears to the living room. Kinley is there, along with her dad. They are both looking at the TV, where some movie that I don't recognize is playing. Kinley looks over at me and half smiles.

"Join us, Jude! I'm showing Kinley the newest Fast and Furious movie," her dad says to me.

Kinley smiles as I walk closer to her. "He's obsessed with these movies."

"Not obsessed. That's a strong word. I could live without them," her dad says and then laughs. "But I do like them a lot."

"I've only seen the first two, I think," I say, and then am surprised by Kinley's dad's reaction.

"What? That's a tragedy!"

"Dad, that's dramatic. Jude is busy," she comes to my rescue.

"I don't watch a lot of movies," I say.

"Well, I have today off and we have at least an hour before Jack will be home. We should be able to finish it." He says this as if we have no other choice but to watch this movie with him.

It's not bad. It's a lot of action, loud, car chases and racing. I don't even have a favourite type of movie because I don't watch many, but this type of movie is just okay, to me. I get to sit close to Kinley, so I don't mind. I pretend to enjoy it anyway and it ends just before Kinley's brother and his girlfriend come in.

Jack is tall and thin and looks a lot like Kinley. He's staring me down right away, as he enters the room. I stand up, following Kinley over. His girlfriend is small and young and blond. She's wearing overalls and a grey t-shirt.

"Hey," Kinley says to them, moving into the hallway where they are standing. "Jack, Britt, this is Jude."

She doesn't say my boyfriend, Jude, and for some reason that annoys me. She smiles at me and I lift my hand to wave.

"Jude, this is my brother, Jack, and his girlfriend, Britt," Kinley goes on.

"Good to meet you guys," I say and give them a smile.

Jack nods in my direction. "You too. I can't believe Kinley brought you here. She's never done that."

Kinley clears her throat, embarrassed. I step in and wrap my arm around her waist and she relaxes a bit. "Dinner at Monty's at 7PM," she says.

"Killer. We going together?" Jack asks.

Kinley shrugs. "You guys can go with mom and dad. We have Jude's car."

Jack gives me another look before nodding and then he grabs his girlfriend's hand and they walk through to the kitchen. Kinley looks at me and then steps out of my arm and turns.

"I'm just going to change and get ready for dinner," she whispers to me.

"Yeah. Okay," I tell her and let her go, even though I want to follow her.

"Jude?" I hear Kinley's mom calling my name just a moment later.

I follow the voice and go down to the kitchen, where she's sitting at the table drinking a coffee. I yawn instinctively and she smiles.

"There's a pot of coffee there, help yourself," she says, looking over at the counter where the coffee machine is.

"Thanks," I answer and cross the room to get a mug and pour some black coffee. Leaning against the island, I realize how comfortable I actually am here. "Kinley's just getting changed for dinner."

"Oh, good. I wanted to talk to you anyway," she goes on, like this is not big deal. I wait. "I know I said it before, but Kinley hasn't brought any boyfriends home in the four years since she's been up there in Bay City. As far as I know she hasn't dated much. This is a big deal and I just... I wanted to thank you."

She's thanking me for coming? Or for being with Kinley?

"Oh, of course. I'm glad I could make it work. I was able to switch a shift with someone for tomorrow-"

   "You're a fire fighter, right?"

   I force a smile. I never know what people's reactions will be to this. Most people think it's an unsafe job. "Yes, ma'am."

   "That's an honorable job, Jude. Just be safe," she goes on.

   "I always try," I say, then nod. 

   Five minutes later the kitchen is filled with everyone else - Jack and Britt, Kinley and her dad - and we are getting ready to head out for dinner. I get into my car with Kinley by my side and she slips her hand into mine, quiet. The drive to the restaurant only takes ten minutes but there's a very serious feeling in the car, for some reason. Maybe it's because her parents approve of me. Maybe it's how comfortable we are together. When I turn off the car and undo my seat belt, Kinley's eyes are on me.

  "You're so beautiful," I tell her before she can say a word.

  "Jude," she breathes out, but doesn't say anything else.

  "Let's go eat?" I suggest and she nods before pushing open the car door.