Her phone vibrates on the desk, and she leans forward to pick it up. Her stomach pivots when she seeshiscontact name flash across the screen.
“Hello,” she breathes out softly.Wary.
“Hey Jahlani,” her dad says. “You busy?”
She checks the time again. Roman was officially late. Moving the phone to rest between her ear and shoulder, she checks her inbox for a message from him.
Nothing.
“Nope.”
Her father clears his throat. “So, Helen and I were talking, and we think it’s better to send the money when everything is done.”
We?
She exhales slowly as a mounting pressure starts to build behind her eyes. She shifts to hold the phone, and it happens subconsciously. Suddenly, she finds herself transported to his Tudor-style home in New Hampshire. She’s only ever caught glimpses over the years through static-filled video calls and low-quality photographs, but the open space layout is clear as day.Helen is in her early thirties. She’s nice. And as Jahlani grips it tighter, she realizes she can’t even hate the woman.
“Dad, I’m not asking you for the full amount right now.” Her voice is tight and restrained.
He clears his throat. “I—okay. Okay. I can send you half soon, and then I’ll have the rest for you another time.”
“When?” she asks, her tone stern.
“Jahlani, it’s hard right now, baby. Helen’s IVF treatment was more expensive than we anticipated, and we started to renovate.”
Jahlani’s head tilts at this. “IVF treatment?” she asks, adjusting herself in the chair. “I thought you said it was unexpected?”
He blows out a gust of air, and the static sends an unwelcome chill across her skin. “Yeah, well. I mean that, with how long it’s taken, you know.”
Jahlani licks her lips, shaking her head slowly. “So, you had the money for IVF treatments for months, but you couldn’t spare a single cent to pay back the loans you told me to take out?”
“Jahlani—”
She squeezes her eyes shut. “No,” she says in a whisper. Then louder, “You can’t keep doing this to me.”
“End of next year, I promise.”
This time, she laughs, but there’s no humor behind it. “I need you to do better than that. You told me you would have this money once I graduated the first time. That was almost two years ago, Dad.”
She releases a shaky breath, rubbing her temple. “Look, I understand that you have another family that you have to take care of, but this is your responsibility.”
He kisses his teeth, his tone turning cold. “Why are you acting like this, huh? Did your mother put you up to this?”
She exhales. “Like what, Dad?”
“Greedy. Money hungry.”
Jahlani blinks rapidly. “You’re kidding, right?”
“You’re like a child throwing a tantrum. You’re twenty-six, Jahlani. Grow up and handle your own problems. You’re not a kid anymore.”
“But I’m yours,” she says, her skin heating. “I’m stillyourresponsibility. No matter how old I get, how far you move, how many kids you have with Helen, I willalwaysbe there. I’m not the one acting like a child here. You are, Dad. And that little gnawing feeling that you have inside right now, that’s your guilt talking. Send me my money,” she says, ending the call.
Leaning back, she takes several long, drawn-out breaths. Her eyes flit to the clock again before they scan the length of Professor Jackson’s collection of books. Since Jahlani’s position is funded through a grant, they didn’t have the money to spare for her own office. Standing up, she notes that Roman is officially fifteen minutes late.
Of course he is.
Realizing that she has time to peruse Jackson’s aged library, she skirts around the desk and up to a row of books lined in dust. As she skims the titles, she’s surprised to see that none of them contain his name.
