“No, I don’t think I will.”
My mother’s eyes were almost glowing. “I said, sitdown, Adam.” He gaped at her—we all did. Then she said, “Kids, get out.”
Conrad opened his mouth to argue but he thought better of it, especially when he saw the look on my mother’sface and his dad sitting back down. As for me, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. We all hustled out of the kitchen and sat at the top of the stairs, straining to hear.
We didn’t have to wait long. Mr. Fisher said, “What the hell, Laurel? Did you really think you could railroad me into changing my mind?”
“Excuse me, but fuck you.”
I clapped my hand over my mouth and Conrad’s eyes were shining and he was shaking his head in admiration. Jeremiah, though, he looked like he might cry. I reached out and grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. When he tried to pull away, I held on tighter.
“This house meant everything to Beck. Can’t you get past your own grief and see what it means to the boys? They need this. Theyneedthis. I don’t want to believe that you’re this cruel, Adam.”
He didn’t answer her.
“This house is hers. It’s not yours. Don’t make me stop you, Adam. Because I will. I’ll do everything in my power to keep this house for Beck’s boys.”
Mr. Fisher said, “What will you do, Laure?” and he sounded so tired.
“I’ll do what I have to do.”
His voice was muffled when he said, “She’s everywhere here. She’s everywhere.”
He might have been crying. I almost felt sorry for him. I guess my mother did too, because her voice was nearlygentle when she said, “I know. But Adam? You were a sorry excuse for a husband. But she loved you. She really did. She took you back. I tried to talk her out of it, God knows I tried. But she wouldn’t listen, because when she sets her mind on someone, that’s it. And she set her mind on you, Adam. Earn that. Prove me wrong.”
He said something I couldn’t quite hear. And then my mother said, “You do this one last thing for her. Okay?”
I looked over at Conrad, and he said in a low voice, to no one in particular, “Laurel is amazing.”
I’d never heard anyone describe my mom that way, especially not Conrad. I’d never thought of her as “amazing.” But in that moment, she was. She truly was. I said, “Yeah, she is. So was Susannah.”
He looked at me for a minute and then he got up and went to his room without waiting to hear what else Mr. Fisher said. He didn’t need to. My mother had won. She had done it.
A little while later, when it seemed safe, Jeremiah and I went back downstairs. My mother and Mr. Fisher were drinking coffee the way grown-ups do. His eyes were red-rimmed but hers were the clear eyes of a victor. When he saw us, he said, “Where’s Conrad?”
How many times had I heard Mr. Fisher say, “Where’s Conrad?” Hundreds. Millions.
“He’s upstairs,” Jeremiah said.
“Go get him, will you, Jere?”
Jeremiah hesitated and then he looked at my mother, who nodded. He bounded up the stairs and a few minutes later, Conrad was with him. Conrad’s face was guarded, cautious.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Mr. Fisher said. This was the old Mr. Fisher, power broker, negotiator. He loved to make deals. He used to offer trades to us kids. Like, he’d drive us to the go-kart track if we swept the sand out of the garage. Or he’d take the boys fishing if they cleaned out all the tackle boxes.
Warily, Conrad said, “What do you want? My trust fund?”
Mr. Fisher’s jaw tightened. “No. I want you back at school tomorrow. I want you to finish your exams. If you do that, the house is yours. Yours and Jeremiah’s.”
Jeremiah whooped loudly. “Yes!” he shouted. He reached over and enveloped Mr. Fisher in a guy hug, and Mr. Fisher clapped him on the back.
“What’s the catch?” Conrad asked.
“No catch. But you have to make at least Cs. No Ds or Fs.” Mr. Fisher had always prided himself on driving the hard bargain. “Do we have a deal?”
Conrad hesitated. I knew right away what was wrong. Conrad didn’t want to owe his dad anything. Even though this was what he wanted, even though it was why he had come here. He didn’t want to take anything from his dad.
“I haven’t studied,” he said. “I might not pass.”
