Fatherless: A Novel Read Online Free PDF

to?”
    “Eleven today.”
    “Finally! You’ll like her.”
    “I’m fine.”
    Jared entered the room, frantically searching for his tablet. Both sisters silently pointed him toward a table beside the
     living room sofa.
    Maria resumed the conversation. “I think Jonathan really liked you. I bet he spent all night thinking about what might have
     been.” A mischievous smile.
    “Not funny.”
    “He had all the symptoms.”
    “All guys have symptoms around you.” Julia regretted the words immediately.
    Maria’s jaw dropped. “You don’t think—” She stopped herself. “You can’t blame me this time. I barely talked to him all night.
     I even set you up at the net for an easy spike, for heaven’s sake!”
    “You could have worn something a bit less”—Julia reached for the right words—“ fuel-on-the-fire .”
    “Why didn’t you wear something less call-for-an-appointment ?”
    A brief silence told both to retreat.
    “Can we please just change the subject?” asked Julia. “What do you have going today?”
    Lowering both hands from her hips, Maria resumed her chaotic preparation process. “Jared’s teacher wants to meet with me after
     work. Something about a few missing assignments.” Maria glanced around the kitchen before her eyes landed on the stack of
     napkins. “I think it’s just an excuse to see me again. I don’t mind. He’s kind of cute.”
    Julia rolled her eyes in mock disgust, prompting another playful grin from Maria.
    “Any chance you can make sure Jared gets started on his homework tonight? I’ll need to head to the school right from work.”
    “That’s fine,” Julia said while settling in at the table, placing her empty cereal bowl beside a digital pad awaiting her
     attention.
    Julia’s eyes settled on the YOUR MESSAGES section of her tablet.
    FROM JONATHAN SOWELL: Enjoyed the show last night. Sorry I couldn’t stay over. Busy days. Let’s keep in touch.
    Maria’s verdict overturned. Unlike Julia, Jonathan seemed to have slept just fine.
    Pouring Fiber Crunch and fat-free milk into her bowl, Julia continued her digital ramp-up routine, scanning the next message.
    FROM PAUL DAUGHERTY: Hi Jewel. Read today’s White House and Franklin clips. I have another idea brewing. I’ll call next week.
    Julia waved out of her messages to review the day’s headlines.
White House responds to census data 
Rare auto accident prompts safety study 
Home vacancy rates rise again 
Spring fashions will turn heads 
Franklin proposes further cuts 
    Maria and Jared were putting on their coats while juggling bagel-filled napkins by the time Julia clicked MORE on the first headline.
    “We’re off!” came a brief interruption. “See you tonight.”
    “OK. Have a good day,” Julia said, already midway through the lead story in search of the golden nuggets Paul would want to
     discuss. She had trained herself to quickly spot key phrases that told the larger story.
    The latest US census report…an average 1.4 births per woman of childbearing years…nearly three decades since 2.1 needed to
     stabilize population…undermining confidence in America’s long-term fiscal health…further emboldens critics claiming the president’s
     signature “Youth Initiative” is too little, too late…
    Julia dragged the SAVE COPY icon into her PENDING COLUMNS folder before scanning the other headlines. Skipping past the auto-accident and home-vacancy stories, she glanced at the
     pictures embedded in the fashion story. Too risqué for her. She forwarded the link to Maria before raising another spoonful
     of now-soggy cereal. Spotting the Franklin story, she expected nothing useful, since budget battles made big news, but boring
     columns.
    A leading voice on Capitol Hill…Franklin gained popularity among younger voters when he sponsored an app that makes it easy
     to review federal program allocations and vote “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down”…latest cuts could impact epigenetics research