When He Calls (Moons of Nibiru - Book #1)

chpt - 36: the call of duty

FAUSTUS DAVIDS SMELLED LIKE AN ASHTRAY with Old Spice whispering faintly around the odour. When his daughter opened the front door for him, he smiled at her and overwhelmed her with the smell as she embraced his hug. He was much taller than her, so his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"Hi dad," said Caitlin, choking on the smell basically clinging to the coat he had on. It was chilly outside, even though the sky was cleared of clouds.

"Hi Bubblegum," her father greeted her by the pet name she'd been given at age seven when she used gum as a scrunchie to tie her hair.

Caitlin closed the door behind her father as he made himself welcome by heading to the kitchen to fix himself something to drink. His daughter had informed him beforehand that Suzy and Manfred would not be home to be the first to welcome him, so Faustus did as he pleased; not that he wouldn't have been able to do so with the parents of the house present.

"Where's your cousin then?" he asked as he searched the inside of the fridge.

"In his room upstairs," Caitlin answered, leaning against one of the cupboards.

"Mourning?" her father offered. "I heard about that friend of yours. Really a shame. She was your age, yeah?"

Caitlin nodded instead of answering with words, because she noticed that her father had not arrived with luggage. It meant one of two things: his luggage was at a nearby room he was renting and the plan was to leave with Caitlin the following day or so, or he was planning to help her pack and the two leave for the airport that day.

Caitlin cleared her throat when she asked, "Where's Mom?"

"Had to stay behind to present our catalogue." said Faustus, closing the fridge after finding himself two cans of Dr Pepper.

"Oh," Caitlin breathed. "Where are you staying? Or are you gonna sleep here?" She recalled her father never slept over at the Parrish residence. Her parents had visited Marbel only twice, and in those occasions they always stayed somewhere close to the city and only dropped Caitlin off in Marbel.

"Didn't your mother call and tell you?" Faustus asked before sitting down by the kitchen table.

Yes, Brianna Davids did call Caitlin and told her that her father would be picking her up. She apologized for the delay; something about work and knowing that their daughter was in safe hands; and said Caitlin needed to start packing and be ready for when her father arrived.

It all seemed like a big joke considering the circumstances, so Caitlin didn't bother packing. She was glad her mother didn't accompany her father, otherwise persuading to have her stay a day more would never work.

"Yeah, she called." said Caitlin. "But I was thinking maybe I could stay a few more days?"

Her father had already opened one can of Dr Pepper and drew a sip before replying to his daughter, "Bubblegum, I'm only in this town because your mom wanted me to get you here, and with Suzy and Manfred at work there's no one who could have brought you to the airport."

"So we're leaving today?" Caitlin asked, disappointed.

"No, we're leaving tomorrow evening." her father answered. "But the earliest flight I could get was at eight, meaning you have to stay with me at the hotel I booked which is closer to the airport."

"How are planes even flying after what happened in the world?" Caitlin asked, partially to herself. "It's only been a month."

"The cause of the disappearances was determined unrelated to aviation safety, so they ungrounded planes." Faustus said casually.