Stranger in Dadland by Amy Goldman Koss Read Free Book Online Page B

over to another huge door, and opened it onto a room that looked more like a living room than an office. Then she
finally
said, “Second door on the right.”
    I ran.
    It wasn’t until I was finished that it occurred to me to be embarrassed. Now I had to go back out there and thank the receptionist and have her know I had just peed.
    That done, I slunk down to the lobby to count plants again. I had no idea if I’d been there four hours or four years.
    When Dad finally stepped off the elevator, I practically lunged at him, like Ditz does when I come home. Like Ditz
did
, not
does
, I reminded myself. That slowed me down, and it’s a good thing, because Dad was with another man and it-would’ve looked very undignified if I’d hurled myself at them with my tongue hanging out all slobbery and my tail wagging.
    The other guy said, “So this must be your son.” He was grinning broadly, probably thinking, The son who pees.
    Dad introduced us. It wasn’t Frederick, it was some other mister. He and my dad stood around yakking for a while. I was afraid one of them was about to ask the other if he’d like to get some lunch, and the other would say, “Sure!”
    I straggled after them, down through the parking pit. But eventually, they shook hands and Dad led me toward his Porsche. The other guy got in a huge black Benz.
    I waited for Dad to say something about my coming up to Louis and Frederick Enterprises Inc. But he didn’t, so I didn’t either. Instead, I asked what A.I.A. stood for and he said it was an architectural firm.
    Then he told me his presentation had gone longer than anticipated, so now he had to get to his next appointment and there wasn’t time for lunch.
Grrrrrrr!
went my stomach,
    Same thing—underground parking garage, down, down. Then rush up another metal-and-concrete stairwell, and hurry into a lobby. I bet it was possible in Los Angeles to live in one place and work in another and not have any idea what either building looked like from the outside.
    Dad wasn’t out of breath, but I was. I patted my pocket to make sure my inhaler was still there.
    “Do you have to use the toilet?” Dad asked me. Sheesh. Was he gonna ask me that all the time now?
    “No,” I said, and Dad sprinted through a door, calling, “Catch ya in a bit.”
    “Define
bit!
” I wanted to shout out after him. But he was gone.
    This lobby had a little shop in it, at least, so I went in and bought myself a Milky Way, wishing I had more money on me. I poked around and looked at magazines until I got tired of the way the guy behind the counter eyed me like I was going to steal something.
    I went back out to the lobby and slumped in a chair,feeling sorry for myself. Very, very sorry for myself. Bored, lonely, mad. Why had I thought going to work with Dad meant he’d be with me? That he’d pay attention to me. I was so stupid!
    If I had any idea where I was, maybe I’d have grabbed a bus and gone back to swim with Beau. Or what if I just walked out the door and disappeared for a while? I’d like to see my dad try to explain
that
to Mom! Ha!
    Or why not just get myself to the airport and fly home? Not warn anyone. Just turn up.
    I thought of my friends Theo and Brad. Wouldn’t they be surprised to see me back early? They said a week in California sounded so great. But they didn’t imagine me left to rot in the lobby of one stupid office building after another. Leaving me is what Dad does best, I thought. He’s been doing it one way or another my whole life.

chapter eight
    There was a clock on the wall, so I knew it took forty-seven minutes for my dad to reappear. This time I didn’t want to run up to him; I wanted to
kick
him!
    “Sorry, Big Guy,” he said, not sounding nearly sorry enough. “Hungry?”
    Yes yes yes yes yes!
I thought, but all I did was sorta shrug and kinda nod.
    “We could pick up a bag of burgers and take it back to the pool,” Dad said.
    I did another shrug and nod. “Whatever.”
    He didn’t seem