"I don't care what the hell you do. Just as long as when this is done, I get to walk away and never see you again."
"Fine by me."
"Good."
But the worst part is I do care, and I hate it.
But even I'm not sure what that means.
"Fuck it, and fuck you." He pushes away from me and heads for the door.
"Enzo?"
He stops and looks at me. "Yes?"
"I do have questions I want answers to, and one day, maybe I'll have calmed down enough to ask them."
His jaw twitches. And then he gives a stiff nod. "And when you're ready to listen, I'm ready to talk."
He walks out the door.
It's clear what this is...
Stalemate.
Chapter Eight
ENZO
My sister's asleep,as she should be. I've arranged for tutors on standby, ones green-stamped by her school.
Classes are meant to start up next Monday. The way the school is structured gives students longer school days and longer term breaks for those kids who go overseas with their families. Of course, for those who stay, they have the option of extra classes, trips, and whatever else is on the agenda.
But with a Monday start date that will creep up on us, I've entered talks about her schooling with home and in-class options, citing family issues and obligations.
The one thing I haven't done is run it all by Dad first. He's the one who has to sign off on it.
I'm thinking of framing it in a way that she'll spend longer for the remainder of the year at home and at school for the extra violin lessons she needs.
He'll go for it.
I think.
Next month, he has business in Chicago, so he won't drag her there, and spoiling her chances of the scholarship she'll apply for at seventeen isn't something on his agenda.
He might not like being a father in the way she needs, the way I needed in my teen years, but he sure as hell wants a virtuoso feather in his cap.
But tomorrow is a big violin day with her tutor, whom I've paid extra for. I don't particularly like people coming here, but I own the house next door, and the apartment on the bottom floor is perfect for the lessons and classes.
I'm sure Lyndall won't like it, but Lyndall's fifteen, so she can do what I say.
In that, I agree with Dad.
Actually, I agree she needs to be a kid until she's eighteen.
I'm restless. I push back from my computer in the basement and get up, checking the other programs I'm running.
Cade is looking at the alarm system they brought down to the house in the Catskills, probably with a naked Violet distracting him.
