Chapter 3

Another three years passed, Cal had kept his promise to his wife and had taken over most of the domestic chores.

It was early on a Saturday morning when he walked into the house with his arms loaded down with groceries. Seven year old, Emily followed close behind him carrying just as many bags.

"Dad, it would be a lot easier if we shopped once a week and bought a few things instead of buying the whole store once a month."

Cal rolled his eyes as he pointed at the bags. "Put away or carry more?" he asked as he gave her the option of which chore she'd like to do.

"Put away," Emily grumbled as she started sorting through the bags of groceries.

Cal walked back to the garage for another load of grocery bags. Laden down, he made the trip into the kitchen then closed the garage door with his foot.

Emily had all the cabinet doors opened and was making quick work of putting the groceries away. She opened the refrigerator door then made a face at the lack of space available. "Dad it's packed…there's no room for any of the stuff we bought!"

Cal walked to her side and looked at the shelves. He realized that most of space was taken up with leftovers that had never got eaten. "All right then…clean out the fridge or start cleaning in the living room?"

"Are you kidding me? This thing is a toxic dump. I'll dust the living room."

"Okay, hazmat suit for me…lemon fresh polish for you!" Cal kissed her head. "Don't vacuum…I want to move the furniture and get behind all of it."

"Wow, we are cleaning today!"

"Yeah, well, Mum's been busy lately and I promised to help."

Emily learned a long time ago that her mother hated anything to do with household maintenance and her dad was the one who took care of everything. "Yeah, well, you're busy too."

Cal smiled as he shrugged indifferently. "My jobs a little easier than mum's."

"Why's that?"

Zoe walked into the room. "Because Daddy gets to sit in a chair and ask people obnoxious questions to try to get a rise out of them so he can see what they're feeling. I'm trying to prove myself in a male dominated field where everyone is just waiting for me to fail." She looked at the groceries still on the counter. "Who's going to eat all of this food?"

Emily was put off by her mother's light reprimand and snapped back. "Dad and I. He uses this stuff when he cooks dinner every night then we sit down and eat together." She pointed at the bowls Cal was pulling out of the refrigerator and setting on the counter. "Those are your dinners, the ones that you're never home for."

Cal's eyebrows rose in surprise at the sass that was coming from his daughter's mouth and he looked at his wife to gauge her reaction.

Zoe closed her eyes against the pain her daughter's words had caused and when she looked back at her, she had her lawyer's mask firmly in place. "I'm sorry if my earning money for you to buy those $70 jeans you wanted is interfering with your dinner plans! Now, can you possibly start dusting in the living room? I need to talk to your father."

"That'll be a first…" Emily grumbled under her breath as she walked from the room.

"Oi!" Cal reprimanded her.

Emily looked at him in defiance and Cal flashed a look of annoyance until she looked away sheepishly and left the room.

Zoe smiled weakly at him. "She's right, you know."

Cal shrugged as he looked at her. "We're doing the best we can; it's not your fault."

Zoe took a deep breath. "No, neither is my having to go away next week."

Cal frowned as he set the bowl he was holding back down on the counter. "What?"

"I have to fly to California to meet with some clients and get their depositions."

"Bloody hell! How long are you going to be gone?"

"A week…maybe…"

Cal sighed as he opened the bowl and looked with disgust at the layer of mold on the food. He dumped it into the garbage and set the bowl in the sink to be rinsed. "Maybe Em and I could go with you…hang out at the pool for awhile…"

Zoe's face flashed a look of annoyance which she quickly covered up but of course Cal had seen it. "Hey, what's that for?"

"Cal, its work. No one else is bringing their husband or kids."

Cal was intrigued by this bit of news. "Oh, yeah, who else is going?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Deflection!"

"Don't read me!"

"Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not lying!"

"So who's going?"

"Do you remember a guy named Dave Grouper?"

"Grouper…wasn't he in school with you?"

"Yeah, well…he started working for the state department right after school."

"Huh…I didn't know that…"

Zoe looked guilty. "Yeah, well, he remembered me from school and back before I was hired he put in a good word for me."

Cal frowned as he continued to dump the spoiled contents out of the rest of the containers. "Hmmm…"

"Who else…"

"Who else what?"

Cal rolled his eyes. "Who else is going?"

"Um…no one just us…"

Cal stopped and looked intently at her face for several seconds. Zoe kept her face blank as she stared back at him defiantly and Cal finally gave up and shrugged. "Ok…I've got Em…no need to worry about the home front."

Zoe hugged him gratefully. "Thanks honey, I knew I could count on you to take care of Emily."

Cal hugged her back. "Yeah well, like you always said it's pretty easy with one."

Zoe immediately felt he was bringing up the age old argument of her choice not to have more children. "Really?! You're going to do this now? I have to leave tomorrow, Cal!"

Cal's face showed his surprise at her sudden tongue lashing then thought quickly about what had brought it on. His face fell with exasperation. "I didn't mean anything by it Zoe!"

"Yeah right!"

"I swear I didn't!"

"It always comes back to me not wanting more kids doesn't it?! It always comes back to you wanting to tie me down with responsibilities!"

Emily turned on the vacuum cleaner to drown out her parents fight. They knew immediately they had upset her and Cal made a face as he looked at Zoe. "Can you handle this?" he asked as he pointed towards the mess in the kitchen. "I'm going to move furniture so the house will actually be clean…"

Knowing she would do it, Cal walked away without an answer. Zoe sighed as she looked at the mess and began to vigorously scrub the shelves and drawers in the refrigerator.

Cal came in a short while later and wordlessly emptied the garbage bin before the expired food started to really smell.

Few words were spoken as the family worked together. Emily walked upstairs and started to clean the tub and shower in both bathrooms and Zoe followed behind her to clean the toilets, mirrors and wash basins. Cal followed behind them with a bucket of soapy water to mop the floors.

Emily stripped her bed and carried the sheets to the laundry room then dumped the first load in. She went back upstairs and started dusting her dressers and book shelves. Cal carried the vacuum up from downstairs and began to vacuum while Zoe set about making the bed with fresh sheets.

Emily took the vacuum cleaner from her dad to finish so Cal walked to the master bedroom and stripped the sheets from the bed then hauled them to the laundry room. Zoe walked in and began to dust the dressers while Cal came back up and began to put all of the clothes for the dry cleaners in a bag to put in his car. He hauled that down while Emily vacuumed the hallway and made her way down to their room.

Cal came back up and smiled at her as he took over the vacuum. He kissed her forehead then nodded towards her room to show her that she was free to do whatever she wanted.

Emily skipped down the hall and shut her door as Cal maneuvered the vacuum around their room. It was quiet when he turned it off and started to wind the cord around the little levers.

He looked up to see Zoe starting to put clean sheets on. He walked to the other side and together they made up the bed.

He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Wanna get these dirty again?"

Zoe rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Maybe later…" not wanting to bring up a sore subject she hesitated. "I…um…need to pack."

Cal sighed as he headed downstairs. He looked at his typewriter and cocked his head thoughtfully then sat down. His hands flew over the keys as his thoughts poured from his mind. Six hours later, Zoe walked a plate of food over to him and set it down.

Cal glanced at it and distractedly took a bite out of the cheeseburger she had placed there. His hands hesitated only a few times while he ate another bite of food.

Another six hours past before Zoe came over to him again. "Cal, it's almost midnight."

"Oh, yeah?"

"I'm leaving in the morning and I'll be gone for over a week…"

"Oh yeah…"

"Isn't there something you'd rather be doing than talking about facial ticks?" she hinted suggestively.

She had been kissing his neck and came upon the sensitive spot. Cal felt the sensation shoot right to his groin.

"Oi, I can think of one thing!"

"Good me too!" Zoe grinned.

She ran up the stairs as Cal followed her. Wondering if he smelled bad he grabbed a towel and jumped in the shower. Zoe came in a few minutes later and slipped in behind him. He jumped when he felt her hands slide around on him.

After a quick rinse they stumbled onto their bed and made love. Four hours later, Cal woke and frowned as he looked at the clock. His mind was racing as he slipped from the bed and headed back to his typewriter.

Knowing Zoe had to be at the airport by eleven it was eight o'clock when he started a fresh pot of coffee then started to warm a pan to fry bacon in. Fifteen minutes later, the bacon was cooked and staying warm in the oven when Emily came down.

"Hi, Dad."

"Good morning, darling."

"Why are you up so early and cooking breakfast on a weekend?"

Cal realized that Zoe hadn't told Emily she was going to be gone and he frowned. "Did your mom tell you she was going to go away for work?"

Emily's eyebrows rose. "No!"

"Oh…" Cal sighed. "Well, your mum has to go away for work."

"How long?"

"A week, maybe…"

"A week?! She's leaving me alone for a week?!"

Cal rolled his eyes at her. "What am I chopped liver?"

Emily rolled her eyes in an equally exasperated gesture. "You know I didn't mean it that way, Dad!"

"Well, what do you mean, Em?"

"Why can't she be like other moms…why can't she take care of me…you know…cook for me and braid my hair and iron my costume for play practice…take me to soccer!"

"You don't play soccer, Em…"

"Come on, Dad, you know what I mean!"

Zoe had stopped midway down on the stairs as guilt washed over her at her daughter's words. She smiled when Cal rushed to her defense.

"Em…your mom does all kinds of things for you that you have no idea about."

"Oh yeah, like what?!"

Cal frowned. "Well…she buys you that shampoo and conditioner you need to get that mop on top of your head all beautiful…and she buys you cool clothes and stuff…"

Emily cocked her head to the side. "She does have good taste in clothes. If it was up to you I'd be wearing black t-shirts with pants that don't fit."

Cal looked down at his clothes. "What's wrong with that?!" Emily raised her eyebrows as Cal looked confused. "What?! They're clean!"

"That's all they are…" Emily said as she jumped down to walk to get some juice from the refrigerator. "Sometimes, I wonder how you even got Mom to give you a second glance…I mean…"

Before Emily could say another thing Zoe walked into the room and put her arms around Cal's shoulders. "Are you kidding me, Em?! You're Dad was the hottest guy on campus…"

Emily smiled as she looked at her mother with disbelief. "I didn't know you went to an all girl school?"

"Hey!" Cal pretended mock offense.

Zoe poured herself a cup of coffee as Cal dumped the eggs into the pan to start to fry. "You know I went to Harvard…"

"Doesn't Harvard have a lot of suit and tie types of guys who actually know how to use a razor?"

"Still here…" Cal pointed out sarcastically.

Zoe leaned in and kissed him. "Yeah, well, none of them held a candle to your Dad here…"

Emily grinned at the honest expression of love her parents were giving each other and her gazed softened. "Yeah…that's cool," she said as she pushed the button down on the toaster.

Cal pushed the eggs around in the pan while Zoe grabbed the bacon from the stove. She placed it on the table on a hot plate while Emily put new bread in the slots of the toaster then buttered the warm toast.

Cal carried the frying pan to the table then divided the eggs amongst the three plates. The little family worked like a well oiled machine as they got their breakfast.

After they ate, Emily dutifully started to clean up while Cal followed Zoe upstairs. Zoe brushed her teeth and packed the last minute essentials then sat on the edge of the bed.

"I was on the steps earlier when Em…" her voice trailed off.

Cal knew she had overheard Emily's unkind words. "I know, luv. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, I'm such a failure as a wife and mother."

Cal grinned at her. "After last night I don't know if I have any complaints in the wife department."

Zoe knew he referred to their lovemaking and realized it had been pretty intense. "Yeah, well, I have to be good at something right?"

"Yeah, well, I'm happy that you happen to be bloody brilliant at that…"

"You're a pig," Zoe chuckled until she realized he didn't say anything about her mothering style. "So, I'm great in bed but not so great as a mom."

Cal wanted to avoid a fight so he looked away. "I don't know about that…"

"Yeah, you do…so why don't you tell me the truth?!"

"What do you want me to say, Zoe? That I don't think you put Emily's needs in front of your own enough? That I think sometimes you're selfish with your time?"

Zoe blinked in surprise before she grew angry. "Well, I'm glad you didn't hold back…"

"You told me to tell you the truth!" Cal blasted.

The door bell rang and Cal threw up his hands in disbelief. "Who in the hell can that be on a Saturday morning?!"

Zoe glanced at the clock as she rushed around the room checking for last minute items. "That's probably Dave Grouper."

"Why's he here?" Cal asked.

"He's taking me to the airport."

"I would have done that!"

Zoe looked at him and shrugged. "Well Dave is driving anyway and our house was on his way and I thought it would save you and Emily the trouble."

She raced downstairs and Cal looked at her suitcases and knew she had assumed he would carry them down for her, which he did.

Cal walked in to find Dave and Zoe hugging in the front hall. Dave's hands were precariously low on her back.

"Is there a reason your hands are almost on my wife's bum?"

Dave snatched his hands back guiltily while Zoe rolled her eyes as she made the introductions.

Cal looked at Dave suspiciously then back at Zoe to watch how she interacted with Dave. Emily came in and Zoe introduced her as well which gave Cal a chance to see how Dave acted around children.

Zoe realized he was reading all of them and turned her back. "Dave, I'll meet you in the car in five minutes…would you be a dear and carry out my suitcase?"

Dave smiled at Emily and Cal, then did as Zoe asked.

Zoe turned and gave Emily a quick hug and kiss then turned to Cal and did the same. "I'll miss you guys!" she said as she turned to walk outside.

Emily watched her leave then turned to Cal and looked at him in disbelief. "Did Mom just do that thing with the eyebrows that a person does when they're lying?"

Cal looked at her then looked away. "What do you want to do today?"

"Deflection!"

Cal frowned and schooled his features before he looked at Emily. "I don't know what you're talking about Em, I didn't see it and I think your Mom is going to miss us horribly while she's away."

Emily watched him for a long time then frowned as she was unable to tell if he was lying to her or not. "Huh," she said unconvincingly. "I'm going to go to Hannah's house if that's all right. Her mom was going to take us to a movie."

Cal sighed with sadness that his little girl was growing up and wanted to spend time with her friends instead of him. "Yeah, go on then."

Emily looked at him uncertainly. "Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

Cal rolled his eyes. "Do you want to call Megan and see if she'll babysit me?"

"You're so odd…" Emily sighed when he referred to her old babysitter who was away at college. "I just don't want you to be alone, Dad."

Cal shrugged indifferently. "It'll be so quiet maybe it'll finally give me a chance to write my book."

"The same one you were writing like two years ago?"

"No! That one was already published and made us like a trillion dollars… this is a new book!"

Emily rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. "If you made a trillion dollars on that book can I have ten dollars to go to the movies?"

Cal dug in his pocket and handed her a twenty. "At's all I got."

"That'll work. Thanks, Dad," Emily said as a car began to honk out in front.

Cal walked to the door and waved to Hannah's mom as Emily raced passed him to go to the car.

When they drove away, Cal went back inside and looked around the room. Realizing it was too quiet; he plopped on the couch and turned on the television. After surfing through the channels twice, he finally shut it off and looked at the typewriter.

He walked over to read the last line he had typed then went into the kitchen and made himself some tea. He walked back and placed the mug on the side of the typewriter and soon became lost in his thoughts. The only sound for the next few hours was the clacking of the keys.

Emily had called and asked if she could spend the night and distractedly Cal agreed. After she hung up, he went right back to his typing. Eight hours later, Cal leaned back in his chair and looked at the final page.

He warmed up a pot of beans on the stove and then shoved bread in the toaster. Within five minutes, he was pouring his beans over his toast and making his way back to the book.

He gathered the pages and plopped onto the most comfortable chair in the house. He flipped over page one and began to reread his work. It was two in the morning when he set the last page down.

He flipped the book over and sat back and looked at it. "I wonder if it's good enough?" he thought.

He wanted to ask Zoe to read it but she was always so busy and he didn't think she would take the time to give it the attention it deserved. With a frown, he got up and shoved it into a manila envelope and placed it back on the table by the typewriter.

He went upstairs, climbed into bed and was sound asleep within minutes.

The next day he looked at the envelope containing his book. He cocked his head as he debated what to do with it. Making an instant decision, he grabbed it, threw it in his briefcase and headed to work.

He sent an email to an old professor who recommended a colleague he knew at the local college. That afternoon, Cal met with the woman who was the head of the English Department.

The woman read the first few pages then turned her back and practically ignored Cal as she walked over to the sofa in her office. She sat down and read several more pages then looked at him with surprise.

"You wrote this?"

Cal shuffled nervously as he tried to read her. "I did."

"Is this supposed to be fiction?"

"No…at's all true."

"True? Really, I'm supposed to believe that you can tell what a person's feeling or thinking based on little micro-somethings?"

"At's right."

"And this is based on whose research?"

"Mine."

"Yours?!"

Cal shrugged with indifference then settled into doing what he did best as he pointed at her. "Yes, and you're torn between believing that someone like me has come up with a way to read people and throwing me out the door because you think it's a crappy scientific finding. Now you've only read half of the first chapter and you're intrigued about the rest of the book but something's holding you back…can I ask what it is?"

The woman schooled her features but not before Cal realized he had nailed it on the head. "Can I keep this overnight? Will you come back tomorrow at this same time and we'll talk?"

Cal reached out his hand. "My name's Dr. Cal Lightman."

"Dr. Lightman, it's nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Louise Hallman." Cal looked at her eyes as she started to smile. "I realize you don't know me and have absolutely no reason to trust me but I can tell you right now, I'm hooked and I actually can't wait until you leave so I can read the rest of this."

Cal saw the honesty in her face and nodded. "Okay, I will come back tomorrow."

Cal left and Louise opened the book and began to read again. Three hours later, she turned the last page. "Wow!" she said to no one in particular.

She walked over to her desk and grabbed the phone and called a publishing friend of hers.

"Rita, what are you doing tonight?"

"Louise?"

"Yep."

"Um…nothing I didn't have any plans…"

"You do now…I'm on my way over, I'll grab some Chinese take out and a bottle of wine, get your cork screw ready."

Louise hung up and Rita stared at the phone as it droned the disconnect signal. Thirty minutes later, Louise pulled up in front of her house.

Rita opened the door as Louise breezed past.

"Here," Louise said as she handed Rita the envelope then headed to the kitchen.

Rita's eyebrows rose in surprise as she looked down and took out the manuscript. She realized Louise meant for her to read it and she frowned as she made her way to get comfortable on the couch.

Ten minutes later, Louise walked in and set a plate in front of Rita then handed her a glass filled with wine.

Rita barely acknowledged her as she took a sip of the wine then set it down and reached for the plate.

She ate and drank and rarely looked up from the pages. About half way through she turned a page then looked at Louise. "Fact or fiction?"

"Fact."

"Sources?"

"Himself."

Rita grunted then looked back down at the pages. Two hours later, she looked up again. "Who the hell is this guy?"

Louise shrugged. "Steve Ripley recommended him to me. Dr. Cal Lightman showed up in my office this afternoon and handed me this. I read two chapters and told him to contact me tomorrow."

Rita's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Is this guy for real?"

"I think you need to find that out for yourself."

Rita nodded her head as she waved her hand dismissively, "Call Steve…I want…Dr. Lightman is it?" Louise nodded. "...In my office tomorrow afternoon at 4:00. That'll give me some time to show this book to a few other people and get their take on it."

"I was pretty sure you we're going to feel this way about it."

"Louise, if this guy can do what he claims we're going to make a lot of money on this book."

"So is he."

The next day, Cal showed up at the address he was given and blinked in surprise to find he was at the front door of a well known publishing company. Louise was standing out front waiting for him.

"Dr. Lightman!"

Cal reached out to shake her hand. "Dr. Hallman."

"Thanks for meeting me down here."

"At's no problem."

Louise directed him towards the door. "I took the liberty of showing your book to my best friend Rita. She wanted to get a chance to meet you and talk about your book."

Cal frowned wondering if he should be excited or not. "Okay…"

On the fifth floor, he followed Louise into a conference room.

Seated around the table were eight impeccably dressed people, three men and five women stared at him and Cal nervously looked down at his wrinkled black t-shirt and frowned.

The middle aged brunette sitting at the head of the table stood and walked over to him and offered her hand. "Dr. Lightman, my name is Rita Collins."

"Nice to meet you," Cal said as he shook her hand.

Rita waved at the rest of the table. "My colleagues and I have all had a chance to read your book and quite honestly are fascinated by your science."

"Thank you." Cal said warily as he scanned the room.

Rita offered him a seat and Cal leaned forward and settled his head against his hand and looked at them feigning boredom.

Rita looked at him with a smile. "We'd like to ask if you can possibly give us a demonstration of your expertise."

Cal glanced quickly around the room and then sighed as he stood up. "Okay, this guy is barely holding it together because he's got a bleeding headache, probably from a hang over." The man's jaw dropped open in shock as Cal continued. "This woman is only interested because she thinks she needs to be…probably worried about keeping her job. This guy has the hots for this woman and she can't stand the sight of him although this woman would jump in the sack with him in a heartbeat." The three people he spoke of all looked away while Cal turned to the other side of the table. "This guy…" he paused and then smiled at the man, "Well…thank you for the opportunity...and you two…" He said as he addressed the other two women in the room. Cal's eyebrows looked at the blonde one and he smiled wickedly and wagged his eyebrows. "I would consider it if I wasn't happily married…" The woman blushed profusely as he looked at the last woman. Cal bowed his head graciously. "Thank you as well." he said.

Rita let the shock of his words settle as she looked around the room at her colleagues and knew he had guessed correctly what each person was feeling. "Does anyone have any questions?"

"No" could be heard in grumbles from around the room. Rita sighed as she pointed towards the door. "You can all leave."

The people in the room shot Cal glances ranging from embarrassment to anger to shock to appreciation.

Rita waited until the room cleared out until she leaned back in her chair and laughed. "That was awesome."

Cal smiled with relief. "Thank you for thinking it was good enough."

Rita pushed a contract at him and shrugged. "This is our offer to publish your book. I recommend that you bite the bullet and pay whatever fees it takes to have your lawyer look it over but I have to be honest with you Dr. Lightman. We want to publish this book and instead of the usual games we've given you probably the best offer you're going to get."

Cal glanced at the sizeable offer and tried to school his face. "My wife is a lawyer so I'm going to get off pretty cheap. She's out of town but I'll send this to her and we'll go from there."

Rita waved her hand dismissively. "Give her email to my secretary. She'll send it right away. As soon as you've had a chance to talk it over, sign it and come back here for your check."

Cal's mind was reeling at the speed this had happened and he took a deep breath. "I don't know how to thank you."

Rita stood and offered her hand. "Are you kidding me? With the royalties and the sales we're anticipating we're both going to do pretty damn well."

Cal shook it and smiled warmly. "I'll get back to you soon."

Cal left and headed home with a spring in his step. He walked in the back door to hear the phone ringing.

"Ello…"

"Cal?"

"Hello, luv."

"Cal, I just got a contract sent to my email from a publishing company …"

"Did you read it?"

"Yeah, honey, I did."

"And?"

"And what the hell is going on? Did you take them the first couple chapters to your book?"

"No…I took them the whole book."

"You finished it?!"

"I did. Em spent the night at a friend's and I sat down and the words just poured out. I called Steve and he recommended me to a woman he knows at the University and I went to see her yesterday. Today she had me meet with her friend from the publishing company and they gave me the offer."

"Cal?! Honey, that's awesome. I'm so proud of you!"

"Not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"I always thought you'd be the first one to read it."

"Well…I'll be the second one then."

"Uh, Zoe, probably about the tenth one to read it…they made me prove my science to a room full of execs."

"Oh, no…" Zoe closed her eyes knowing Cal had probably torn down everyone in the room.

"What?! I just said the truth."

"Yeah, I can only imagine how well that went over."

"They still made me an offer."

"Which was?" Zoe gasped when he said the amount. "Oh my God, Cal!"

"Yeah, luv, I know it'll pay off all of our debt, huh?"

"Yeah, and then some."

"So should I sign the contract?"

"Honey, it looks good to me."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll go sign the papers tomorrow and pick up the check."

"I wish I was there to celebrate with you!"

"Yeah, Zoe, me too."

"I'll try to get home early!"

"I'll be here."

"Yeah, I know you will. Congratulations Cal."

"Love you, see ya soon."