Voice of Desirae Part 8

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NoV: Well, minna-san (everyone) thanks for reviewing thus far! Sorry I haven't completely committed myself to this....but, I'm going to try harder, k?

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Malcolm expertly unlocked his apartment door without making a sound. He slowly took in a breath and opened the door. He stepped inside and surveyed the room, closing the door behind him. Seeing that there appeared to have been no major crises since he had been gone, he ventured out of the foyer and into the main hallway.

"Desirae?" he called through the silent walkway. "I'm back! You okay?"

He heard the distinctive sound of knocking on the wall to his left and walked inside the room he kept his three business computers in.

"Desi?" he wondered, squinting in the darkness of the room. He looked to the glow from a single desktop console and could make out his daughter's outline sitting poised in front of it.

She waved merrily and pointed to the screen. He looked at what she was pointing at: it was a 3-D model of a pterodactyl he had been working to replicate. He sighed and covered his face with a hand. She had discovered his dinosaur computer.

"You know, honey," he commented with a touch of brevity, "you really shouldn't mess around with my work computers. They have top secret information that you shouldn't get into."

She was looking at him with a face that said, "You never explain anything."

That was true. He still hadn't given her any insight to his work, his past, his exploits, his life in general. She had remained in the dark the whole time she had lived with him, and she had stayed, nevertheless. But, still, it wasn't like she had any choice. It wasn't like she could just go out into the world and get a job and support herself.

With another tumultuous sigh, he gestured toward the door. "Come on in here. I have something I want to talk to you about."

She followed him nimbly like an elf into the living room and sat down on the couch beside him. She fiddled with a fraying string on the bottom of her skirt and looked up at him expectantly.

"Well," he clasped his hands together, turning his thoughts over in his head, "A week from Tuesday, I'm leaving for Ecuador to lecture on physical math. I'm going to be in Quito for three weeks before returning to the states. Then, I'm going to Houston to lecture there."

She ran her finger along the design in the couch, confused at what he was trying to get across to her.

"Originally," he continued, "I had planned for you to stay with my old friend Sarah Harding, but she's also going out of town." At this point, the two of them locked eyes with a tenderness that should have only been mastered through years of living together and finally coming to understand one another. "So, I've decided to let you choose what you want to do: I can either find another friend for you to stay with, or I can take you with me. Now, I have to tell you, you may find Ecuador kind of boring. The weather is always unpredictable and there isn't a lot to do other than watch Spanish soap operas in the hotel room."

Without having to give her decision a second thought, Desirae flung her arms around her father and squeezed tightly. Releasing him, she made a motion pointing from the wall to the ground then to herself.

Malcolm was understandably confused. "Does that mean you want to stay here?" he asked.

Desirae's face grew significantly more morose. She shook her head and pointed at Malcolm.

"Oh, so, I guess you want to go, then?" he said, not pleased with this decision.

She nodded and the cheerfulness reappeared on her cheeks.

Malcolm stood up and smiled, then left the room, leaving Desirae to begin plotting what she would pack for the trip.

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NoV: YAY! Chapter eight is over! WOO!!