"Juliana, Robbie..." Mr. S looked at us. "You guys can come get your project grade."
Jules leaned into me and whispered in my ear, "You go get it. I'm too scared to see the grade."
I slid my chair and walked up to the front. I got the poster from Mr. S then walked back to the lab table.
I sat back down and set the paper and grade on the table. Juliana's jaw dropped.
"A jerk would say I told you so." I winked at her.
"How'd you? ...But it's... it's... pink!"
"Simple." I grabbed a pen and started writing on the corner of a page in her notebook.
Pink = Confidence = Good Grades ;)
"No." She shook her head. "You just got lucky. It's beginners' luck."
"Whatcha call this then?" I pointed to the note that Mr. S had left on our grade sheet.
Perfect job! Love the pink board. It made the project even more surprising and not mundane. +5 points for creativity. Moving onto the next round of the competition.
"I can't believe we got a one hundred and five."
"Believe it, Blondie! You and me did it!"
***
"So are we gonna work on the new project today or what?" I caught Jules at her locker before leaving for the day.
"Well, I guess we can." She clutched her binders to her chest. "I was just hoping to maybe see Daddy today."
"Oh, that's cool. You need a ride?"
"Actually, if you could, like if it's not any trouble to you, that'd be great."
"Sure. I got time, and I don't mind." I saw Juliana struggling to hold everything. "You need help with your books?"
"No..." She groaned and nearly dropped the things all over the floor.
"Alright then."
We walked out to my truck, and I tossed both of our backpacks in the truck bed.
I opened Jules door for her, and then got in my seat.
"Sorry 'bout the heat. It's been on and off here lately. I don't understand it. My brother is a gazillonare, and I still drive a piece of junk."
She smiled. "It's okay. I'm just grateful to get to see Daddy."
"There's a blanket in the backseat if you get too cold, okay? It may stink. I left some fries in here for about a week, and it stunk up my truck. But I know that blanket will be nice and warm."
"Alright.... Turn here, by the way!"
I made a sharp left turn, and the whole car shifted to the left a little.
"Robbie! Slow down... You're going to kill us!" Juliana grasped helplessly at the air. I guessed she was looking for something to cling onto. "You're driving like a maniac!"
"Well, next time, someone should give me a little more warning than that."
"You could have just made a u-turn. It would have been more safe."
"True. Anyways, Jules." I turned down the radio. "I'm sorry if this seems like I'm intruding on y'all's privacy or something, but I just have to know this. Isn't hospice usually in the house?"
"Yeah." She swallowed. "Back when we were told that Daddy was terminally ill, we had the choice of in house or inpatient hospice care. I wanted Daddy home, but he thought that the inpatient would be the best option because it'd slowly help me adjust to living with Aunt Grace and not with him anymore."
"I see. So does he like it when you visit?"
"Robbie. Really?" She looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in the world.
"What?"
"What kind of question was that? I'm his daughter!"
"Well, I thought that maybe since ya know that you know he'd well... ya know." I shrugged my shoulders.
"I'm not quite sure I'm following you?" She looked at me, puzzled.
***
"Hey, Daddy." Juliana said, pushing the door to her dad's room open. She was pulling me by the hand with her.
"Sweetheart," He sat up in his bed. "I wasn't expecting you today." His voice was raspy. "You usually only come of Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays."
Juliana gave her dad a kiss on the cheek, and he gave her one back. I just stood in the middle of the room, looking like an idiot.
"You still happy to see me?" She took a seat in the chair next to his bed.
"Always happy to see my little girl. Always." He grabbed her hand and held onto it.
Jules smiled. "This is Robbie, Daddy. He's my lab partner this year."
I held out my hand and shook his. "Nice to meet you, Sir. You have an awesome daughter."
"I know I do." Mr. Keating shifted his weight. "I'm consider myself lucky to have someone who wants to see me in my last days."
I just nodded my head and looked over at Jules. I could see the tears starting to form in her eyes. I could only imagine how hard all of this was for her.
"I'll be back in a minute. I gotta use the bathroom." Juliana got up from her chair and walked swiftly out the door.
Bouquets and bouquets of flowers giving well wishes to the Keating family lined the shelves in the room.
"So, Robbie," I stopped looking at all the flowers and focused my attention on Mr. Keating.
"Yes, Sir?"
"Tell me what you like to do in your free time."
"Well," I cleared my throat. "I like to do, well, stuff."
"Such as?"
"Um, be with my family, friends... play video games and football... stuff like that."
"You seem to be a well-rounded, respectful young man."
"Thank you, Mr. Keating. That means a lot." I nodded my head. "My family and I have been praying for you, by the way."
"They're greatly appreciated, Son. I've learned to accept that this is God's plan for me. I know it is going to be hard on Juliana, and maybe God placed you in her life to make it all easier. I'm ready to go when He wants me home."
***
"Thanks once again for taking me to see Daddy, Robbie."
"Anything for you, Jules. You okay, though? I saw that you were about to cry earlier."
"It's hard, Robbie. It's hard to go and see my dad dying. Each time he is a little worse. And one day, I'm going to go, and it's going to be my last day with him. I can't even imagine that day. Yet, I know it's coming, and it's coming rapidly."
I reached across the table and just held her hands. "That's when you lean on God, your family, my family, and me, Juliana. I'm here for you, and I don't want you to ever forget that, okay?"
"Thanks, Robbie." She smiled and took a bite of her waffle. "Can we just change the topic?"
"Yeah, sure. You planning on going to the festival Saturday?"
"I wasn't planning on it. Why?"
"Well." I played with my fork. "I'm going. Allie, one of Sam's best friends, is going to be playing a set. Our family always goes to everything to support her. So, I was wondering if you'd come with me, as like my date...?"
"I don't know..." She looked down at her plate. "I was planning on seeing Daddy."
"We can go beforehand and even after too if you want. Seriously though, Jules, how can you resist the festival? They got funnel cake." I winked at her. I knew that funnel cake was one of Jules' weaknesses. She loved it.
"Promise that I'll still get to spend time with Daddy?"
"I promise. If it's important to you, it's important to me."
She blushed a little. "Okay." She nodded. "I'll go."