"Oh … er … sorry," Vee stammered backing up quickly. "You're dad is in there. I'll get out of your way." She tried to take off but Frankie stopped her.
"Wait. My sisters wanted to meet you."
Vee slowly turned back to face them after a quick glance at the curtain. "Um, hi, nice to meet you. Look, I promised your dad that …"
A girl that was nearly as tall as Frankie and well on her way to being a beauty said, "We heard. All of it. It's cool," she said off-handedly as she elbowed the youngest of the three, the one that had to be Shelly, when she seemed to want to say something contrary. "And, I think dad should call you when he gets out of here. Or better, give me your number and I'll call you. We have to go back to Cape Coral for school and Dad is going to need someone to make sure he doesn't start swinging from the chandelier. He's supposed to stay in bed a week and that isn't going to happen unless there is someone willing to sit on him. Frankie was kinda impressed that you got dad to even come to the hospital."
"Uh … well … you noticed how sick your dad had to be for me to accomplish that. So … yeah … I'll give you my number in case of an emergency but maybe you should ask your dad before you call. He might have other ideas."
She rolled her eyes and said, "I'm sure he will. He wouldn't be Dad if he didn't. But it isn't healthy to get your way all the time. Totally not. It creates unrealistic expectations."
Vee hurried off after that, trying to escape before she got any closer to breaking her promises to Frank. She also thought privately that she might need to apologize to Ryan and Tony if she was anywhere near as bold and pushy as Frank's daughter had been. Man, when Frank had said she was fifteen going on forty-two he wasn't kidding.
# # # # # # # # # #
The next day Vee had to answer her phone with grease-covered hands when she saw that Frank was trying to call her. She answered only to hear Frankie's voice. "Can you talk to Dad? He and Francy are getting into it."
Before she could decide how to react there was a curse and a growl. "Dammit. My daughter somehow thinks that I need a caregiver."
"Well … no … not really. She thinks you need a zookeeper. Apparently when you feel particularly ornery you have a tendency to swing from chandeliers. Of course, if you are roaring at them the way you are snarling at me we might need to reconsider and I can come over dressed as a lion tamer. I'm sure I can find a whip and chair someplace. That ought to get your attention. And I know I've got some nice, heavy-duty chains in a box under my bed. I shoved them under there after pulling my engine … but hey, nothing like repurposing something to save a couple of bucks. You'll never notice the difference."
There was stunned silence on the other end of the phone and then a gasp and then the sound of deep, nasty coughing. The phone dropped and Vee was just shy of being worried when Frankie picked up and asked, "Uh … you still there?"
"I'm here. Is your dad okay?"
"Yeah. He just tried to laugh and it knocked some of that crap in his lungs loose. It's disgusting."
"Been there, done that. I take it you guys are leaving."
"Yeah, in a couple of hours. But Francy and Shelly are clucking …" Which was followed by what sounded like a pillow hitting him in the head. "Hey! Watch it! It won't be my allowance paying for Dad's phone if you break it. And saying they won't until they know someone is here with Dad."
"Uh … huh. And is your father cool with me coming over? Or … your grandparents?"
"Grandmother is kinda iffy but Poppa thinks it is a fine idea … seriously, that's what he called it. A fine idea. With a smile so he wasn't being sarcastic or anything. Just don't ask what Aunt Coral has to say unless you have a flame retardant suit on."
"Frankie!" said three voices in unison.
Vee smiled and then chuckled. "You are not long for this world old son. Don't you have more sense than to make yourself a target of more than one person at a time?"
"Hey, gotta get my excitement some place."
Oh my lord thought Vee. He is definitely Frank's not-so-mini-me. "Groceries in the house?"
"Uh … yes … no … I don't know."
"Put your sister on please."
After a few questions answered quickly and proficiently by Francine, Vee told her that she'd be there before they left, that she needed to wash off the grease and run by the market first. She was perfectly calm until Francine added, "Great! You can meet our grandparents and our Uncle Dan before we leave. They kinda missed out last night when you wouldn't do anything but lurk in the hallway and then left so fast."
# # # # # # # # # #
"You can stop laughing now Ra-Ra."
"You're getting your just desserts and you know it. She sounds just like you did at that age."
"Watch it or I'll hope you get the hots for a woman with five kids, all of them teenagers that think you are perfect for their mother and have decided to take you in hand and make sure you come up to scratch."
"At this point I would take it."
"Aw Ra-Ra."
"Hey, relax. I'm happy for you … and Tony. I really am. Just wish … uh, never mind. Seriously, sounds like things are getting back on track."
"I … I'm not going to worry about it. Right now this is just … reciprocity. You and Frank finally helped me to find my equilibrium. I get to do for you all the time because you let me. And now Frank … well, he isn't exactly letting me but you know what I mean."
Ryan snickered a bit and said, "Poor ol' Frank."
"Hey Goober! Don't say 'old'. I think Frank might be a little sensitive about the age thing."
"I know he is a little sensitive about the age thing. You need to deal with it and so does he before it becomes a real issue and not just an imagined problem. And listen to me jacking all this advice like I actually know what I'm talking about. Look Pug, gotta run, the results I have been waiting on are in. Let me know if you need anything. Bleach, hand sanitizer, face masks …"
"You're impossible," V said laughing as they both made light of Ryan's very real germaphobia. Ryan fought it every day but being around legitimately sick people was just a step over his ability to keep his cool.
Ryan rung off and headed towards the lab but was stopped by Horatio along the way. Natalia was standing there as well.
"Heard anymore about Frank?" Lt. Caine asked.
"Uh … yeah. My cousin is going over there so his kids can go back to Cape Coral without worrying. They go back to school tomorrow is what I understand."
Natalia shook her head. "Someone responsible needs to be keeping an eye on Frank. This isn't just a head cold we're talking about."
Ryan looked at her oddly then said, "Vee is responsible."
"I mean someone that won't panic if there is an emergency, someone that has some medical training."
The odd look slowly turning to confused Ryan told Natalia, "Uh, maybe you don't know but Vee is … okay, at the risk of sounding like I'm bragging or something let me explain a few things. Vee didn't just work overseas because her ex's family gave her the job … she earned it every step of the way. She started working for Porter International before she was sixteen … mostly in supply and procurement. The day of her eighteenth birthday she was off for her first nine-month contract … every year after that she was gone at least nine months of every year in various places around the world; she did this for six years."
"How could you allow her to do something that dangerous when she was so young?" Natalia asked disapprovingly.
"It wasn't my first choice but I wasn't her guardian at that point. Vee got her emancipation at sixteen and took over bossing herself and she did a damn fine job of it until too many things hit her at once. She's back on her feet, it just took a while. As for her qualifications, she's got all sorts of medical training … all the way up to emergency battlefield first aid and triage. She's done it all including things like crowd control and mechanical maintenance. She was being groomed by the Porter family to be their eyes and ears in the field, their representative in sensitive foreign markets. She was already doing that … and it's been a real shock to her pride that people won't take her seriously anymore. And that's primarily because of the smear campaign that the Porter family has done on her. I've come real close to taking legal action a couple of times but Vee just wants to put it all behind her; she's willing to earn her stripes all over again if she has to. Frank's someone she really respects because he's never made her jump through hoops to prove who she is."
Not realizing how she sounded Natalia said, "She should take all of that experience and go to college, get a degree; she'd be more likely to get hired."
Ryan snorted and Horatio tried not to smile since he knew what was coming. "You mean another degree in addition to the bachelor's in chemistry and the MBA she already has?" Natalia's mouth fell slightly open and she just blinked. "She had most of both bachelor's by the time she graduated high school and she finished the MBA online before she was twenty. The idea of going back to school just doesn't thrill her but she has considered it."
That's when Horatio added his two cents in by asking, "She left the last installment of the series on a cliff-hanger. When is the next one coming out?"
Ryan rolled his eyes. "If you think I get a sneak peek think again. All I get to do is read through the final edit before she posts it to Amazon. She combined the first two installments, added a few bells and whistles, and the paper version is going to be out in a couple of months."
"Let me know when the release date is finalized please."
"Sure thing … uh, results are waiting. I'll let you know if I hear anything else," Ryan said before finishing his walk down the hall to the lab.
"Horatio …"
"Natalia, Vee Wolfe is as surprising as Ryan himself can be. You should give her a chance."
"I'm … I'm not …"
Horatio gave her a knowing smile which only made her that much more uncomfortable. Thankfully for her peace of mind, Horatio's phone rang and he re-focused his attention elsewhere.