“You seem like you’re in a good mood,” Bodie said, when he sat down again.
“I am. Anthony makes me smile.”
“Good,” he said.
The way he said it though made me think he didn’t really mean it, but I wasn’t going to let anything ruin my mood.
“So, what did you need help with?” I asked.
He laughed with a mouthful of coffee and just about spit it out. “Karma, did you forget about our assignment?”
“Fuck,” I said, remembering we were supposed to hand in something tomorrow. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
He smiled at me. “Good thing I decided to be your partner then.”
“Whatever. Let’s just get to work,” I said. “What do we have to do again?”
“We have to translate this page from Spanish to English,” he said, handing me a piece of paper. “And the professor said she’ll know if we used Google to translate it.”
“Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here.” I started reading it and I knew most of the words. “What are we supposed to use for the translation if we need to?”
“Our textbook,” Bodie said with a smirk.
“Fine. You write what I say, and we’ll look up anything that we need to. Okay?”
“Sounds good to me.”
We spent the next hour translating what turned out to be information on how to survive in the wilderness.
“I’ll take this home and type it up,” Bodie offered.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I know you have practice later. It’s no trouble.”
“Thanks. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said.
“Yep. Bye,” he said and left.
I sat there for a minute. He hadn’t said one rude thing or made fun of me in any way. Something was up with Bodie and I wanted to find out what.
****
Bodie
In high school, I’d always hated having to work with a partner for a project, but I think working with Karma was going to be okay. I’ll admit, I had reservations when she first suggested it but the last hour proved I’d made the right decision. She ignored her phone the few times it had gone off and once we started, she didn’t stop until we were done. I was actually impressed. She was a hard worker.
As soon as I had that thought, I told myself I was an asshole. Of course, she was a hard worker. She had a full class load that required her to have a minimum 3.0 grade point average to stay on the team and she spent at least four hours diving almost every day. There was no way I could do that. I admired her dedication.
I was almost back at my dorm when my dad called. He didn’t call often, so I answered.
“Hey, dad.”
“Bodie, are you busy tonight?” he asked me.
“Not really. What’s up?”
“Can you come by the house? There’s something I’d like you to look at.”
“Sure. What time?”
“Come for dinner. I know your mom would love to see you.”
“Yeah, okay. See you later,” I said, and hung up.
I had no idea what he could possibly want, but he wouldn’t ask unless it was important.
A couple of hours later I pulled through the gate of the house I grew up in. I parked outside the front door and went in.
“Mom? Dad? I’m here,” I yelled, since I never knew where they might be. The house was huge, and I didn’t want to do a room-to-room search.
“In the kitchen,” I heard mom yell back.
“There’s my boy,” she said, when I walked in.
“Hi, mom. Smells great in here. What’s Rosie making for dinner?” I asked. Rosie was the lady that helped mom take care of the house. I always looked forward to her dinners.
“Rosie has the night off,” mom said. “I cooked.”
“You cooked?” I questioned. “Since when?”
“Since you went to college,” she said. “I decided I needed a hobby, so I’ve been taking cooking classes.”
“She’s actually good,” my dad said entering the kitchen. “I’ve had to increase my workouts since she started experimenting.”
They both laughed at that. Inside joke, I guess.
“What about your job at the company?” I asked.
“I’m stepping back some,” she said, shocking me.
Mom and dad had started West Security together. Dad was in charge of all things security and mom was great at research. Together they made a great team. Over the last twenty years, they’d taken a two-person company and turned it into one of the most respected high end security companies in the world.
“Did I walk into the wrong house?” I asked, almost serious.
“It’s just time for me to pursue other interests,” she told me. “There have been a lot of things I’ve wanted to do over the years, but everything took a backseat to the company. It’s time for me to try new things.”
“Wow, I never thought I’d see the day,” I said seriously. “Congratulations, I guess.”
“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” she said. “Bodie, can you set the table please.”
I smiled at her request. Setting the table had been my job for as long as I could remember. I remember once telling her that’s what we had Rosie for. I got popped in the mouth and sent to my room without dinner. I never said that again.
Mom had made something called Texas Enchilada Casserole and it was good. In fact, I ate almost half of it.
“You need to make this for Karma. She’s always complaining how hard it is to find good Tex Mex out here,” I told mom, when we finished eating.
“Karma, she’s the friend of that girl who went missing right?” mom said.
“Yeah, Kayleigh, Major’s girl,” I said.
“And you and Karma are friends?” she asked, in that mom-like way.
“Yes, just friends. We have a few classes together this semester and are partners in Spanish. That’s it.”
“Okay, okay, just asking,” she said, with a smile.
“Lisa, do you mind if I steal our son away for a few minutes?” dad asked.
“Of course, Richard. Do what you need to do,” she said.
“Come with me, son,” dad said, and we went to his office.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I was approached today by a long-time client with an unusual request,” he told me.
“Okay … and what does this have to do with me?”
“Does the name Antonio Pagano mean anything to you?” he asked me.
“As in Pagano Imports?”
“The very same,” he said.
“And …” I said not understanding.
“He has a son that just started dating a college student. She’s beautiful and on scholarship. Antonio is worried she’s just after the family money.”
“Okay, I still don’t get what that has to do with me,” I told him.
“The girl’s name is Karma Webster,” he said.
It took a minute for that to register. “What?” I finally said. “My Karma? I mean, Kayleigh’s Karma?”
“Yes, Bodie.”
“Karma’s not like that,” I said. “She’d never go after a guy for his money. And besides, he picked her up at the club, not the other way around.” I was starting to get mad. “I have half a mind to find that douchebag and punch him in his fucking face.”