White Space Season 2

together, he realized that he wouldn’t be able to bear their separation. It would hurt them, and him, far too much.
    Jon considered calling Marty back immediately, telling him not to waste the Brothers’ time. That way Jon could avoid pissing them — and the studio — off when he eventually turned them down. Marty would be upset, but he’d get over it.
    Jon pulled out his cell, thought of Father and the unfinished business they had yet to settle, then dropped the phone back in his pocket.
    He still had to confront Blake about his part in keeping Emma — and the truth — hidden. That conversation could go horribly wrong, and if it did, the fallout could be horrible not just for him, but for Cassidy and Emma as well. Perhaps the aftermath of their battle would see the girls welcoming any escape from the island.
    Cassidy looked up and caught Jon’s eyes through the glass. He wasn’t sure how much of him she could see, since the inside was bright and the balcony opposite, but she smiled at him just as if he were standing three feet away. He opened the door and slipped inside, making his way toward his two favorite girls on the couch. Before he made it five steps, the cell buzzed in his pocket.
    Jon looked at the screen: Blake Conway.
    He swiped the glass, turned back toward the balcony, and said, “Hello?”
    “Hello, Son, I heard you stopped by looking for me?”
    Jon kept his back to Cassidy and Emma, but didn’t step out onto the balcony. “Yes, I was hoping to see you.” He wanted to ask why he had a photo of Emma in his office, and why her name was his password, but figured it better to wait until they had their conversation.
    Blake asked, “I heard you’re back in town, that you even bought a place. Are you planning to stay?”
    “I don’t know,” Jon said, trying to suss out whether he wanted him on the island, though the tone of Father’s voice didn’t always tell him the tune. “I’m here for now.”
    “How would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow?” Blake asked. “I’d love to see you.”
    “Tomorrow?” Jon said, looking back at Cass and Emma, whom he’d promised he would take to The Walrus and the Carpenter, his favorite restaurant in Seattle. “No, sorry. Not tomorrow. I already have dinner plans in Seattle with Cassidy and Emma.”
    “Ah,” Blake said. “Then change them. Bring them both. They are family, after all. I’ll have Carmen cook whatever you’d like.”
    Jon looked at Cassidy, “How do you feel about going to dinner at my father’s tomorrow?”
    Jon might as well have asked Cassidy if she had any interest in eating from Shipwrecked’s crusted restroom floor.
    “Ooh,” Emma said. “I wanna go! Please, Aunt Cassidy?”
    Cassidy sighed, Jon shrugged. He said, “Yeah, we can do that.”
    “Great,” Blake said. “Can’t wait to see you.”
    “Me, too,” Jon said, though his reasons weren’t what Father would likely suspect.
    Jon slipped the cell back into his pocket, then sat on the sofa beside Emma, with Cassidy on her other side.
    “So,” he said smiling, “What are my two favorite girls up to?”
    “Aunt Cassidy is reading Unicorn Apocalypse ,” Emma said. “Want to sit with us?”
    “OK,” Jon said. “It isn’t too scary, is it?”
    “No,” Emma said laughing. “It’s funny, and fun!”
    “OK, as long as it’s not scary. I don’t like scary stories, and end-of-the-world stuff is usually a bit grim.” Jon winked at Cassidy.
    “Oh, yeah, your dad is a big ole scaredy-cat,” she teased.
    “Really?” Emma asked, her eyes wide.
    “Oh, yeah,” Cassidy said. “He slept with a nightlight until he was like 15.”
    “No I did not ,” Jon said with mock indignation. “I was 14, I’ll have you know!”
    Emma laughed, a deep, infectious giggle, the sort Jon loved to hear. Not only did his daughter’s laugh make him feel as if he was her favorite toy, there was something inside her giggle, and perhaps the laughter of all children, that was as thick with merriment as it was with perspective.
    Life was always worth living, when there were children laughing inside it.
    Emma was right the other day; I need to make a children’s film.
    Emma turned to Jon. “So I’m going to meet my grandpa tomorrow?”
    “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Are you excited?”
    “Yeah,” Emma nodded as her smile split wider. “What’s he like?”
    “He’s a peach,” Cassidy said, then seemed immediately sorry for her sarcasm. “I mean, he’s