“Hey, kiddo.”
Relief hit so hard it nearly buckled my knees.
I hugged him carefully, my throat tight.
Dad laughed against my shoulder. “Easy. Your mother already thinks I’m made of glass.”
“You did try to have a cardiac event during the Olympics,” Mom pointed out.
“In my defense, that was just bad timing.” Dad pulled back enough to study my face. “You okay?”
The question landed with habitual parental precision.
Apparently everyone in my life had become terrifyingly perceptive this week.
“I’m okay,” I assured him. And that was the truth—now.
Dad nodded. “Well, get in here before your mother starts crying again.”
“I cried once,” she retorted.
“You cried at baggage claim.”
“It wasemotionalbaggage claim.”
I laughed out loud then.
Thank God.
Dad led me into the suite that contained a couch, an armchair, and a coffee table.
“How was your flight?” I asked as I sat down.
“Oh my God. Don’t get me started on airline coffee. Or the kid who wouldn’t go to sleep when everyone else was trying to. If I could’ve dropped a sleeping tablet into his juice, I’d be feeling a lot more awake right now.” He settled carefully onto the couch.
The knot that had lived in my belly since the hospital call finally started loosening for real. This felt normal.
Mom started unpacking snacks as though she was preparing for a small siege.
“You know,” I said, eyeing the table, “most people come to Milan for fashion.”
“Mostpeople don’t have Olympic-athlete children who forget food exists under stress,” she replied.
Dad stretched his legs out with a quiet sigh before catching me watching him.
“What?”
“You sure you’re okay?”
His expression relaxed as he leaned back against the cushions. “I had a scare, not a near-death experience.”
Mom pointed a cracker at him. “Don’t become dramatic just because you’re in Italy.”
He gasped. “I’m wounded by this lack of support.”
I shook my head, smiling despite myself. The thing was, he really did look okay. I’d expected fragile, and its absence sent a wave of relief crashing through me.
Dad studied me for another moment. “So, you ready for tonight?” His tone was casual.
