Andrei chuckles nervously. “Yes,” he says. “I guess that’s true.”
No smiles on my father’s face. He cuts himself a slice of roast then gives Andrei a cursory look. “Is there a lot of money in that field?”
“Yes,” he says. “But I’m not in it for the money. I’ve been interested in thoracic surgery since high school.”
“Is that right?” My father raises his eyebrows. “So, you have no interest at all in making money? How do you expect to support my daughter with no money?”
“Papa,” I say, “he never said he wasn’t going to make any money. Just that it’s not his primary motivation.”
“I understood him,” he says, giving me a warning glare. “I know that people like to say that they do a thing for the love of it, butno one really means that. This world turns on the dollar. I think you understand that, given your family ties.”
I blink, a little bit of terror igniting in my stomach. I never told him about Andrei’s family.
Andrei looks a little uncomfortable as well. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Well, your uncle is a senator, correct? Was caught drunk driving last year if I remember correctly? And his wife. Natalya, you may not know this, but Andrei’s aunt was arrested last year for money laundering.”
All I can do is sit here, stunned. I can’t believe he looked him up.
“My family is working through their issues,” Andrei says. “Every family has problems, after all.”
My father nods. “I suppose that’s true. I have to wonder, though, what kind of person you are with those kinds of relatives.”
Andrei just smiles craftily at him. “I’m no more a reflection of them than Natalya is of you or of your family. We’re all our own people.”
I can’t tell whether that’s a good answer or not. My father has turned back to his plate of food.
Andrei takes my hand under the table and squeezes it. Maybe this will work out after all.
This has probably beenone of the most stressful dinners I’ve ever had. I’m helping to clear the table while my father walksAndrei out and my mind drifts. The worst-case scenario keeps playing out.
He was cold to Andrei all evening. When he did speak to him, it was to criticize or to belittle him in some way. He didn’t explode or threaten Andrei directly, though. Maybe my father was testing him. If that’s what it was, I think that Andrei’s passed with flying colors. He addressed every veiled attack with grace and without getting visibly upset.
But he survived. And thank God, because?—
Shouting grabs my attention. I freeze, plates in hand as the sound of arguing echoes through the house. “What in the world?” Liliana says. I set down the stack of plates and follow the noise.
I rush into the foyer just as my father is slamming Andrei against the wall. “Do you know who I am?” he growls. “I should snap your neck?—”
“Papa!” I shout. “Stop!”
He slams him against the wall again. “You think you can come into my house and threaten me?”
I grab my father’s shoulders, pulling him back. “Stop this! Please!”
He lets Andrei go and Andrei stumbles away from him, holding the back of his head with one hand and the wall with the other. I run to him, putting myself between them. “What the hell are you doing?” I shout at my father.
“He just threatened me,” my father says.
“I told him that I thought he might be acquainted with one of my family members,” Andrei says. “And he just lost it on me.”
I take Andrei by the arm and lead him to the door. “I’m so sorry,” I say. “Let me walk you out.”
I give my father an accusatory glare as I lead Andrei away. God, what a fucking animal.
“I’m so sorry,” I say to him as soon as we’re outside. “I don’t know what got into him.” He pulls his arm out of my grasp.
“No, I’m sorry, Natalya, I…” He looks at me, his brow furrowed. “Look, I have to level with you. I know who your father is.”
