The X-Project

Log posted early due to timezones

Laurie calls Zach and arranges a meeting.



Laurie listened to the ring tone with an equal mixture of anxiety and excitement. She couldn't believe she was actually calling him, but he'd seemed sincere in his letter. Could she really refuse him the chance to get to know her? She wasn't that heartless, and he'd left the ball in her court rather then trying to force anything, that spoke of a man with some sense of right and wrong.

The phone clicked once and Laurie heard a moment of silence on the other end for a few seconds, then some background noise as if someone was still in the middle of a conversation.

"--and I'll send the whitepaper over to Barton before Friday. Thanks, doll -- hello? Sorry about that. Good afternoon, Zach Garrison. How can I help you?"

What should she say? Laurie panicked for a second, trying to figure out what you called a parent you'd only just met. Zach would probably be the logical choice but he was her father, and it just didn't seem right. Father was way too formal as well, and sounded sarcastic in her head. Not the kind of first impression she wanted to make on someone who was at least trying.

"Um, Dad? It's Laurie," she said finally, making the choice.

"Laurie! Hey..." The sound of papers shuffling and more muffled talk came over the phone. "Hold on a moment, let me transfer this to another phone. Jill? I'm taking a quick break, okay? I'll be in the conference room."

A quick series of beeps, and then a long moment of silence before the phone picked up again, Zach's voice coming in clearly. "Sorry about that. It's a bit busy here. So... I suppose this is hello?"

"Yeah, I'm um...well, I could maybe come into New York on the weekend and ah, there's this exhibit at the museum on medical practices in history," Laurie said, wrinkling her nose at how awkward this all sounded. "If you, um, that is, would you like to meet me for lunch?"

"You would? I mean, yes. Yes, of course." Zach's voice was tinged with surprise and a bit of badly-concealed delight. "I'd like that,
sure. Um.. how's your mother?"

"She's doing well," Laurie replied, tone gone cold and remote.

She wasn't going to discuss her mother with him, not right now anyway. She might be giving him a chance but she still hadn't forgiven him for walking out on them. It would take a lot more for that.

Zach's voice went silent for a moment, perhaps picking up on Laurie's reticence to discuss Gail. "Good, good then," he mumbled before clearing his throat. "If, um, so if you'd like to have lunch, I think I'd like that. Listen to me, all nervous. Look, I have no idea how this is supposed to go, Laurie. But I'm glad that you're willing to give it a shot, at least."

"That's okay, I'm kinda nervous myself. I want to get to know you though, and maybe, well...we'll see," Laurie said, smiling at them both. This would be okay, at least, she hoped it would. It was hard to tell, but they were both willing to try, that had to count for something. "I'll meet you, say about 1pmish? I don't know where you live though."

"Well, right now I'm at the Marriott, off Adams in Brooklyn," Zach explained, voice somewhat sheepish. "I've never actually owned an apartment, since... well, I suppose I can tell you that story on, say, Saturday?"

"Saturday," Laurie confirmed, making a mental note to ask someone to give her a lift. Maybe Angelo? That way he could go see Amanda while he was waiting for her to be done. "I'll get one of my friends to drive me in. So, I guess...Well, I should go. I need to go back to classes."

"Saturday it is," Zach agreed, taking a sudden deep breath of relief. "It's... it was good to hear from you, Laurie. I'm glad you called."

"I'm glad too," Laurie replied, her tone warmer now and slightly more confident. "It's, well, it's a start. I'll talk to you on Saturday, Dad."

Laurie pushed the button on the cellphone to hang up and looked around at the hallway she'd been standing in. It was empty, everyone having already entered their classrooms. She just hoped that her teacher wasn't terribly annoyed that she was late.