Chapter 3

"Tomorrow, three in the afternoon. The coffee shop by the campus east gate."

I said it flatly.

Rosamond paused for a moment.

"Why the sudden meeting? Did Xavier upset you again? Tell me first, I'll chew him out for you."

"No need."

"Astrid, you're acting strange today."

"See you tomorrow."

I hung up.

Rosamond sent a few more messages.

She asked whether I'd been crying, reminded me not to ruin the anniversary with a scene, and added that Xavier had spent ages working on the gift.

I didn't reply.

By the time the cab pulled into campus, most of the dorm windows had gone dark.

That photo of the necklace with the faint floral pattern was still on my phone.

I deleted it and pulled the bed curtain shut.

The next afternoon, I got to the coffee shop early.

I picked a seat by the door and ordered a cup of hot water.

At 3:05, the glass door swung open.

Xavier and Rosamond walked in together.

Rosamond wore a pink coat and carried the latte I knew so well. Xavier trailed behind her, his face grim.

Neither of them explained why they'd shown up together.

Rosamond sat across from me and reached out to touch my hand.

"Astrid, why are your eyes so swollen? Xavier told me everything last night. He was too harsh, and I already scolded him for it."

I pulled my hand back.

Xavier drew out a chair and set his phone on the table first.

The screen was lit. A call was connecting.

"Let's not fight yet. Let's hear what an elder has to say."

I saw the number and pressed my fingertips against the rim of the cup.

Sophomore year, this number had once come through on my phone.

The man who'd walked out on me and my mother for over a decade had driven up to campus in a black sedan.

He'd worn an expensive suit and carried a bag he'd bought for me, trying to play the part of a father who'd made it.

I didn't take a single thing from him.

Back then Xavier had held my hand and said, "If you don't want to see him, then don't. I'll keep everyone you don't like away from you."

Now he was the one putting that man in front of me.

The call connected, and the man's slurred voice came through, thick with drink.

"Astrid, Xavier tells me you've been throwing tantrums again?"

I looked at Xavier.

He turned on the speaker and pushed the phone to the center of the table.

"You contacted him?"

"He's your father, after all." Xavier avoided my eyes. "Some things you won't hear from me, but you should at least listen to family."

That word, father, sat there on the table.

Rosamond bowed her head and took a sip of her latte. She didn't correct it.

The man on the line coughed twice.

"Xavier's a good catch, and he cares about you. A man slips up now and then. As a woman, you've got to learn to be understanding. Don't be like your mother, so hard-headed she tore a perfectly good family apart."

The water sloshed over the rim and wet the back of my hand.

"Who gave you the right to lecture me?"

"I'm your father!"

His voice jumped.

"I didn't contact you all these years because I had my reasons. Now I'm willing to look after you and you don't know a good thing when you see it? Xavier buys you a gift that expensive and you turn on your heel and leave. How's a man supposed to hold his head up in front of his friends after that?"

Rosamond murmured, "Astrid, your uncle only wants what's best for you."

I turned my head and looked at her.

At once she put on a wounded expression.

"Don't look at me like that. I just think Xavier really loves you. He was with me yesterday to pick out your gift, that's all. Nothing happened between us, I swear."

"I haven't even asked about yesterday yet."

Her hand tightened around the latte.

Xavier picked it up.

"See? There you go, targeting Rosamond again. After everything she's done for us, you really don't appreciate it?"

The man on the line was still going.

He said a woman had to be sensible, that you couldn't keep playing hard to get in a relationship, that with a temper like mine no one would ever want me.

Xavier sat beside him like he'd finally found someone who could hold me down.

He reached for my hand.

"Listen to your father. You apologize, and yesterday's over and done with."

I looked down at that hand.

The man who used to stand between me and everything now blurred together with the voice on the phone.

I'd wanted to part on good terms.

Right then I didn't want to keep even that last shred of dignity.

I didn't cry.

I just pushed the water cup away and lifted my eyes to look at them.