“I’m glad you had a good Christmas, sweetheart.”
She asks if he’s eaten yet. When he says no, she smiles, leans in, and kisses his cheek.
“I’ll heat some of the food for you,” she says, already standing.
I sit on the couch across from him, and his attention turns back to me.
“Why didn’t you have dinner with your parents and everyone else?” I ask.
He gives me a tired smile.
“When was the last time your grandparents reached out to you?” he asks, “And I don’t mean through gifts—which we both know are sent by the butler, or my mom’s personal assistant.”
I have to stop and think.
“They called the night before my graduation,” I say. “To congratulate me on being valedictorian. They even invited me to the club, but—”
“You never liked those places,” he says, his gaze drifting. “I don’t try to have a relationship with my parents anymore. And to be honest, I prefer it this way. I want you and Alicia far from all that toxicity.”
Before, every time we went to see Barbara and Richard—as they insisted on being called—he always wanted us at our best. I remember him telling Mom that if it were up to him, he wouldn’t go. But they were family, and family meant showing up.
I don’t know what to say. So I just nod.
After a moment, he clears his throat.
“So... how are things with your girlfriend?” he asks, tentative. “Dalila, right?”
“Good,” I say, unable to keep the change in my voice. “I’m seeing her in a few days.”
“Ugh. Dalila, right?” Alicia says as she sits down, placing a plate in front of him. “You always act weird when you talk about her. She’s so annoying and stuck up.”
“Alicia,” I say, shaking my head, “you know I hate when you say that.”
At least she never says it in front of Dalila, who for some reason, seems to like Alicia even when Alicia doesn’t make much of an effort to know her.
“But she is,” Alicia insists, rolling her eyes at me. “All she ever talks about are the bags she’s going to buy and the parties she went to with those other two annoying girls.”
I flick her on the cheek. She recoils in exaggerated outrage, then retaliates, hurling a pillow at me.
The laugh that follows catches me off guard. I look up and find our dad watching us, laughing in a way I haven’t seen in a long time.
“You two never change,” he says, smiling, pulling Alicia into a loose half-hug. “Please never change.”
Maybe you’re the one who’s changing, after all.
I don’t say it out loud. Some things feel safer when you let time be the one to say them.
Alicia starts telling him everything she got for Christmas. I notice that even though he flinches every time Alexander’s name comes up, he keeps his smile in place, listens, asks questions, keeps eating.
I add a comment here and there. Then, without really planning it, I make up my mind.
“Does the other bedroom still have clothes in my size?”
He looks at me, surprised. “It’s exactly the same as the last time you stayed here.”
“Would it be okay if I slept here tonight?” I say. “I think I’m too tired to drive.”
I can see how much it hits him as he nods.
