“Oh, Fox Chase. But I’m in the middle of buying a house in Manayunk,and then this little lady is gonna come back home and live with me.” He squeezes Jane’s fingers where they’re resting on the table.
I gape at the pair of them. Why is she so bothered about me moving back into the apartment, then? Is it just the money? She used to go on about how much she hated Philly, how it was a backwater when it came to finance, and that she was never going back. It’s like I’m seeing a whole new side to Jane tonight.
“Salaries must be good in real estate,” my dad says dryly, as he forks some lasagna into his mouth and chews.
“I got a smoking deal on this house. An old lady died, so I got in quick before it went on the market.” He winks at my dad, whose eyebrows rise.
I’ll bet.
“So, you’re coming back to Philadelphia!” my mom says with a strained smile at Jane.
“Yeah, well …” Jane pushes her food around her plate. “I could never afford to buy a place here, so it makes a lot of sense. I’ve got to get my job situation figured out first, though. That might take a couple of years.”
This is bullshit. Jane and I talked about buying a place here, about living somewhere cheap, saving our salaries, and getting something of our own in five or six years. We did all the figures together. It was the whole reason we scrimped the way we did. My gaze fixes on where her face is bent over her cutlery. Was she stringing both Kevin and me along, waiting to see who’d come up with the goods—whatever those goods were? She raises her head and her eyes catch mine, and I stare at her as she lifts her chin. Something icy settles in my chest. It’s like I’ve never known her.
“And I can work on the house until you come back.” Kevin squeezes her fingers again.
So it’s all arranged? Or is this just another tall tale she has no intention of honoring? My eyes drift to their joined hands and somehow … the idea that she won’t be here rushes through me with a cold sense of relief. She won’t be in our apartment, living some fun mythical life in New York that I’m no longer a part of. She’ll be back in Philly, and that’s fine, because I know Philly and it’s not New York. She’s in finance: The opportunities there will be nothing compared to here.
“Sounds like a great plan,” I say, and Jane’s eyes dart to mine again. Ihave no clue what her game is, but there’s no question that I’m better off out of it.
I’m starting to feel like she’s playing Kevin and me off against each other. Why would she want us to keep getting together or dragging Kevin along to meet me? Perhaps she’s expecting me to suddenly declare undying love for her? But I did do that. I produced a ring, and she said no. Isn’t that enough?
Well, I’m not above reminding her what she gave up. “Hey, Mom, I forgot to mention that I’m going to take over the running of Williams Security when Jo goes on maternity leave. The business is growing like crazy, and Des has gone to Korea to set up a satellite office, so I might be rather stretched for a while.”
“That’s okay, honey. Sounds exciting, but maybe a lot of stress.”
I blow out a long breath. “It is stressful, but it’s a great opportunity to run a tech startup. I’m learning loads.”
My dad reaches out and pats my hand, his eyes warm over the table.
Jane leans forward. “My job is unbelievably demanding, too. Business in New York is like that. They expect you to deliver, day in, day out. I’m going to take all my skills back to Philly and set up my own finance company. I can arrange loans for Kevin’s customers.” Her mouth is a flat line.
Kevin’s face is a little flushed. From his expression, I’d say this is the first he’s heard of it. Maybe he was expecting her to come back and be a housewife? Perhaps his boss has no idea that Jane is taking over their financing?
He smiles at her. “Well, when you come back home, my income will be plenty for the both of us, so you won’t have to do all that fancy finance stuff anymore.”
She scowls at him, and I want to snort behind my hand.
“Well,” my dad says on a long exhale as we slide into an Uber, “what drugs is that young lady smoking?”
God, I thought tonight was going to be terrible, and it was, but in a verydifferent way than I was expecting. I need to sit somewhere quiet and process this whole evening. The upside is that my mom and dad are now totally on my side. I don’t know why I thought they wouldn’t be.
“I owe that lovely girl you’re living with an apology,” my mom mumbles.
“Nothing is going on between Sadie and me. She’s my coworker,” I say.
“Yes, yes. We understand that now,” my mom says quietly, patting my hand.
“Sorry, Jim,” my dad adds, and my mom nods.
“It’s okay.” I lean forward in my seat and push my glasses onto the top of my head as I rub my eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you Jane had a new boyfriend. What a mess.”
We all lapse into silence for a while as the driver sings along to “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” by Tina Turner.
“Well, I never thought I would say it,” my dad starts. “Obviously, after you told us, your mom and I talked about what we were going to do once we got here, how we were going to help you two patch things up, but it’s clear to me that she’s a deeply silly woman, and I think you’ve had a lucky escape. God forbid we’d found out how stupid she was after you’d got married and were bringing up our grandchildren!”
“Don’t talk about grandchildren. I’m not quite ready to deal with that yet.”
