CHAPTER ELEVEN
I call Nova from the car.
“Josh has just taken the first step,” I say. “He and Dr. Lu have gone into his house to talk to Josh’s mother. It’s a beginning.”
Nova’s voice is tight.
“It could have been an ending. Charlie, I was so scared.”
“Howard and I listened to you on the way over. You sounded great.”
Her laugh is strained.
“Fake it until you make it,” she says. “But I’m going to stick to the control room. I don’t have to fake it there.”
“You’re the best producer in the business,” I say.
“And I still have a job,” Nova says. “So do you. Henry Burgh called a few minutes ago. He made Evan an offer for CVOX that Evan couldn’t refuse. And guess who our new boss is? Misty de Vol. Henry is giving Misty CVOX as a wedding gift.”
I laugh. “Now that is kick-ass news. Howard and I are going for coffee. Want us to swing by and pick you up?”
“Thanks,” she says. “But I think your coffee date with Howard should be a father-son thing.”
“You’re probably right,” I say. “Howard and I have a lot of ground to cover.”
When we pull out of the alley, my father turns on the radio, and we hear “Cat’s in the Cradle” again. We listen to Harry Chapin’s sweet melodic voice without speaking.
When the song is over, Howard says, “That’s a good song. Did he write anything else?”
“Nothing anybody remembers,” I say. “He was killed in a car accident when he was thirty-eight years old.”
“We never know how much time we have, do we?” Howard says.
“No,” I say. “We never know.” And then I reach over and touch my father’s hand.
GAIL BOWEN
