Priscilla Sum

Part 9--Finding Fourtouna

I slipped through a side door, in case my parents were already waiting in the main part of the house. Everything was still dark, as I'd left it. I slipped off my shoes, flipped on the house lights, and curled up on the couch, pulling out my phone so it would look like I'd been waiting for them at home the whole time.

On a whim, I searched for Acropolis Urban Developers. There was my dad, grinning larger than life, posing with a team of foremen. They were all pretty bulky guys, but my dad was still about a head taller than the tallest one in the group. It was like the "big boss" at the end of a game of Grand Theft Auto, surrounded by his generic-looking henchmen. I found the listing of different buildings Acropolis constructed. It wasn't "half the skyline," Kayce had been exaggerating... But there were about a dozen now-famous buildings that owed their existence to my dad's company.

God-like? Hardly.

I heard the front door knob click, and hastily closed the browser window, out of habit.

Mom gave a sigh and I heard a pair of thuds as she kicked off her shoes.

"Oh, my feet were killing me in those awful pumps!" she moaned. "It feels so good to free my toes!"

"Honey, I thought you were over putting yourself in pain just to impress me," Dad murmured in return, over the susurration of the plastic bags. "Though I will say, you looked divine in that outfit--so it wasn't for nothing."

They were still kissing, in each other's arms, as they walked into the room behind me.

I popped my head up over the back of the couch and grinned. "Did you have a nice time at the Fishers'?"

Mom broke the kiss and smiled at me. "Oh, Priscilla--yes, Don and Kate's was lovely, and then we had a Grand Opening for the new high-rise downtown, so there were photos and a reception."

"Lots of reporters," Dad muttered, setting the bags of paper-wrapped sandwiches and cartons of sides from Great Steaks on the table. "Naturally, we couldn't take it too casually. Dinner's up!"

We sat around the table with our cheesesteaks and fries, and Mom gave me a sly smile and a wink before prompting, "So... Priscilla, you have something to tell your father? About a recent application exam?"

Dad gulped down a fry and wiped his beard. "Oh yeah, how did that go, honey?"

I hadn't been feeling very good about it before, but now I felt a small surge of pride to be able to say, "They already tallied the results, and I got accepted as the historian for the student team led by FRED."

Mom replayed her supportive excitement with a huge smile and a small squeal. "Oooh, how exciting!"

"That's great!" Dad put up his hand and I high-fived it. "Wait, hold on--FRED?" He looked at Mom. "You told me this Macedonia trip was being sponsored by Daeva-Staite," his thick eyebrows bent in confusion.

"They're footing the bill to bring students along on the dig," I filled in, "but the organization actually doing the digging is called Fortune Research and Educational Development, or FRED. And we're not going to Macedonia, exactly--it's a small island off the coast of Greece, called Fortuna or something." I dimly recalled mentioning it when the exam was first announced. "Chelsea Perrit's on the team, too--she's been doing research on them already."

An awkward pause hung in the air for a few moments. A look passed between my parents, as if Dad had something he wanted to say, but Mom froze him with a glance that said not now.

I could see his neck muscles bunching, and I was feeling a little tense, myself, so I stood up. "Well, I have some homework to do for a Chem lab on Friday. Good night, you guys." I gave them both a quick hug and retreated upstairs.

On the balcony, I heard them talking in rushed, low voices, so I stopped to listen.

"... After all this time..." Dad muttered, as he finished saying something.