“And I can tell you’re not surprised,” he said when I remained silent.
“I’m not surprised.” I edged around him, opened my front door, and dropped my laptop on the counter in the kitchen before turning back to him. “How is Sylvia?”
“She’s crazy.”
I didn’t respond again.
“Why isn’t this surprising to you?” he demanded.
“Because Bree told me she was crazy.”
“Bree knows she’s crazy?”
My father not asking who Bree was felt like a win. I’d mentioned her more than once during our biweekly phone calls. Sylvia likely talked about her as well. It had been two weeks since Sylvia had mentioned my father was ghosting her, however, so I had no idea how much they were seeing each other.
“Bree grew up with her.” I went to the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of iced tea. I poured two glasses and shoved one toward my father. He took it without saying anything. “My understanding is that Sylvia spent all her time worrying about her dating life and no time worrying about Bree.” That still made me angry, but I managed not to take a detour down Tangent Road.
“She pretty much said as much,” Dad agreed. He looked tired. He never looked tired. He was a man used to spa visits and eight full hours of sleep a night.
“Sylvia acknowledged that she was a crappy mother?” I was dubious.
He shrugged. “She said Bree was very self-sufficient. Then she told stories that she thought were funny about Bree being alone for weekends at the age of ten.”
Anger jolted through me. “And she thought that was amusing?”
“She doesn’t get it. Being a hands-on mother was not something she was interested in. She got lucky that Bree could take care of herself.”
Something about the way he said it gave me pause. “Bree is a good person.” I chose my words carefully. “She’s going to be around for a long time if I have any say in it.”
Dad arched an eyebrow. “What’s a long time?”
Forever.That was my immediate answer. I just smiled. “A long time.”
Dad searched my face then offered up a small smile. “Then I guess I’ll have to get to know her. Well, once her mother stops stalking me. I don’t suppose you could ask her how to make the stalking stop, could you? Sylvia just keeps showing up at random places and acting like it’s an accident.”
“We’ve already talked about it. You need to stop going to your normal spots for a little bit. Or you could just tell Sylvia you’re not interested,” I added almost as an afterthought.
Dad shook his head. “I can’t be mean to her. I mean, I don’t hate her or anything. I just can’t spend time with her. She’s manic.”
I’d wondered about that myself. Some of the behavior I’d seen when I was around Sylvia made me believe she might be bipolar. There were cycles of high highs and low lows. “Just tell her the truth.”
“And what’s the truth?”
“That you’re not interested. Obviously, you no longer are.”
“Yes, well…” He scratched his chin. “I liked having someone to talk to at the start. I didn’t realize she was crazy until later. How come you didn’t tell me to stop seeing her? I would think, since you’re interested in her daughter, you would want me to stay away from her.”
“Would it have done any good if I asked you to stay away from her?” I was honestly curious.
“Maybe. I want you to be happy. This Bree girl seems to make you happy.”
So happy.He had no idea. “She does. She gets me.”
“Because she writes books too?”
“That’s not all of it, but it’s a lot of it. It’s hard to find someone who understands what I do. We mesh well. As for why I didn’t tell you to avoid Sylvia, I knew she wouldn’t last.”
“And why is that?” Dad leaned against the counter and folded his arms.
