Colin felt another electric surge, strong as hope. “I love numbers.”
Ethan laughed out loud. “A man after my own heart.”
Alexi said, “Why don’t you come have dinner with us tonight?”
“Say yes, Colin.” Mira stood. “The chief is giving me the stink eye. Tell them yes, then I have to split.”
CHAPTER11
Precisely at eleven-fifteen that morning, Arnold’s little Lexus SUV pulled into the academy’s forecourt. When Colin opened the passenger door, his adviser greeted him with, “You’ve cost me nine holes of golf. You owe me big-time.”
But the man’s cheerfulness was in direct contrast to his words. That was one of the things that had endeared him to Colin. How he was both open and honest with his emotions.
“Not to mention the conferences you’ve forced me to attend,” Arnold went on. He turned north on Highway 74 and accelerated into traffic. “And all the complaints from the fearsome Fitzgerald. My God, that woman can talk.”
Colin watched the sunlight and the cars and the buildings along the highway. He had traveled this same road any number of times. Only today was different. He was entering a new phase. One defined by liberties he had never known before. It was like he had grown a new set of eyes, one that saw the world in a completely different manner.
“Not like my old buddy Colin,” Arnold said. He was dressed in Saturday casual, yellow knit shirt and khakis andloafers. “The man here can go hours without speaking a word. You’d better not do the silent thing with the dean. Or the professor. You open that big mouth of yours and you make sounds. It’s called talking. You should try it more often.” He lifted one tanned arm from the wheel and waved a fist in the air between them. “You go quiet on the dean, I’ll make you caddy for me every weekend until you turn thirty.”
Colin felt a burning urge to tell him what he had planned. He had shared everything else of importance with Arnold. Through six long years, Arnold had been the person Colin had trusted with his life. Celeste remained there in the distance, a strong presence hovering just beyond the academy’s reach. The two of them had taught him so much, starting with what it meant to trust. And here he was, repaying their gifts with lies.
Arnold glanced over and instantly lost his smile. “What’s wrong?”
Colin swallowed hard, forcing down all the words he dared not speak. “Do you remember the first time we met?”
“Of course I remember. With Celeste ready to beat me to a pulp if I misbehaved. How could I forget.” Another glance. “Why does that make you sad?”
“I never thanked you. I wish I knew the right way to say that. How much …”
Arnold’s gaze softened to a pair of dark wells. He reached over and ruffled Colin’s hair. “You’re my guy. And you always will be.”
Colin took a long breath, easing himself away from the guilt and the sorrow. “I’ve met some nice people at the club. A family. Their daughter teaches my swim class. They want me to come to dinner tonight.”
Arnold’s laugh carried an easy, weekend languor. “So I guess I’m not the only one charmed by your silent ways.”
They didn’t speak again until they entered the vast parking lot adjacent to the Mayfaire Plaza. Arnold pulled up next to a small square building across from the shopping center and led Colin into the bank. Colin tried to mimic Arnold’s calm attitude, taking things in stride. But he had never been in a bank before. The entire episode was thrilling. Signing the account card, accepting his book of blank checks, then the teller handing him a hundred dollars inside a little envelope stamped with the bank’s logo. “Your debit card should arrive within a week.”
He waited until they were back in the car and circling around to the shopping center’s far side to ask, “I have a thousand dollars?”
“Counting the hundred in your pocket. I know, it’s crazy. I told them they were nuts, trusting you with that much money.” Arnold’s grin was infectious. “But would they listen to me, your adviser? No, they would not.”
As they crossed the vast parking lot, Colin felt it all begin to release him from the chains of childhood. “Wow.”
“Don’t go running off to Tijuana.”
“I won’t.”
“There is no way I’m going to chase you south of the border.”
“I’m not running anywhere.” As they approached the open-air shopping center he asked, “Will I ever get to meet her?”
“Who?”
“The CEO. My sponsor.”
“Probably not. Your benefactor is a very private person. There’s the lady who runs a major corporation, and there’s the lady who lives a very private life. All this time, I’ve never even spoken with her.”
“How did you get this money?”