Chương 14
He stood at the counter with Mom beside him, one hand flattened against the polished surface while an employee listened with the practiced expression of someone who had heard every possible version of vacation misery.
Brandon stood several feet away.
He saw Vanessa first.
Then me.
His shoulders dropped in relief.
Dad noticed.
He turned.
For one second, his face showed something I had almost never seen directed at me.
Fear.
Then it vanished beneath anger.
“There she is.”
The employee looked from him to me.
“Ms. Miller?”
“Yes.”
“I'm Daniel, the guest services supervisor.”
Dad immediately started talking.
“She is the person I was telling you about.”
Daniel lifted a hand.
“Mr. Miller, I'm going to speak with Ms. Miller directly for a moment.”
Dad blinked.
He hated being managed by someone younger than him.
I approached the desk.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Your father has raised concerns regarding the reservation.”
“What concerns?”
“He says there has been family conflict and that changes were made without the consent of other guests.”
“That part is true.”
Dad made a sound behind me.
Daniel continued.
“Our records show you are the primary booking contact and the purchaser for the reservation.”
“Yes.”
“They also show that the changes were made through the authorized agency before embarkation.”
“Yes.”
“Then the changes themselves aren't something we can reverse without payment and availability.”
Dad stepped forward.
“I told you she's unstable.”
Vanessa said, “Dad.”
He ignored her.
Daniel's expression changed almost imperceptibly.
“Mr. Miller, I need you to let me finish.”
“I am trying to protect my family.”
I looked at him.
“From what?”
He pointed at me.
“From this.”
“This what?”
“You.”
The word was too public.
Too naked.
Mom flinched.
Vanessa swore under her breath.
Several passengers in line behind us became suddenly fascinated by brochure racks.
Daniel kept his voice neutral.
“Ms. Miller, your suite reservation is secure.”
Dad turned sharply.
“You can't let her control access when she is acting irrationally.”
“I am not requesting access for anyone else,” I said.
Daniel nodded.
“Correct.”
Dad's face reddened.
“She booked that suite with the family reservation.”
“Under her name,” Daniel said.
“I am her father.”
Daniel waited.
Dad apparently expected that fact to generate authority by itself.
It didn't.
Vanessa stepped beside me.
“Also, she's not unstable.”
Dad stared at her.
“What are you doing?”
“Telling the truth.”
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“I know exactly what you've been saying about her.”
Mom whispered, “Vanessa, please.”
“No.”
Vanessa's voice shook, but she didn't lower it.
“No, Mom.”
Dad leaned toward her.
“This is between your sister and me.”
“That's the problem.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you always make everything between you and one person.”
Vanessa swallowed.
“So nobody compares what you told them.”
Dad's face changed.
Brandon came closer but stayed behind her.
Mom closed her eyes.
Daniel looked at me.
“Would you like security present?”
“No.”
Dad laughed bitterly.
“See?”
I turned.
“See what?”
“You like this.”
His voice had gone quiet again.
“You like making me look bad.”
I looked at the people around us.
At Mom.
At Vanessa.
At Brandon.
At the supervisor who would forget our names by next week.
Then I looked back at my father.
“No.”
I said it without anger.
“You've confused me refusing to protect you with me attacking you.”
That silenced him.
Not because it was a brilliant line.
Because there was nothing useful for him to do with it.
Daniel cleared his throat.
“Unless there is another issue involving ship safety or account access, I believe the reservation matter is settled.”
Dad looked at him.
“So that's it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You're going to let her keep everything?”
Daniel's expression remained polite.
“Ms. Miller has what she purchased.”
The sentence hung there.
Dad stepped away from the desk.
For once, he had no argument that money had somehow stopped belonging to the person who earned it.
Mom followed him.
Before she left, she looked at me.
There was something in her face that resembled apology.
It wasn't enough.
Dad disappeared toward the elevators.
Mom went after him.
Vanessa exhaled.
Brandon rubbed her shoulder.
Daniel asked, “Anything else I can help you with?”
I almost laughed.
“No.”
Then I reconsidered.
“Yes.”
He waited.
“Please add a note that nobody except me is authorized to make changes to my room access.”
“Absolutely.”
I watched him type it.
That small act mattered more than the penthouse.
Not because I expected Dad to try again.
Because I had asked for protection before being forced to need it.
Denise returned to the ship an hour later carrying a straw hat shaped like a flamingo.
She claimed she bought it out of spite.
I didn't ask against whom.
We ate lunch together without Dad.
Mom came halfway through and sat beside Denise.
Nobody discussed the inheritance.
Nobody discussed loans.
Nobody discussed who had ruined the vacation.
For fifteen minutes, Denise complained about the soup being too salty.
It was strangely wonderful.
Later that evening, Mom knocked on my door alone.
I opened it without the latch.
She noticed.
Her eyes moved past me toward the balcony.
“Can I come in?”
“Yes.”
She sat at the dining table.
I poured water for both of us.
Neither of us touched it.
Finally, Mom said, “Your father didn't take my inheritance.”
I waited.
“I checked.”
“How?”
“I have the statements on my phone.”
She swallowed.
“I called the bank too.”
Relief moved through me before anger.
“Okay.”
“But he did lie about Grandma's expenses.”
“I know.”
“He told people he paid for them.”
“I know.”
Her fingers tightened around the glass.
“I let him.”
That hurt differently.
“Why?”
She looked down.
“Because it made him feel like he had done something.”
“He did do something.”
“What?”
“He let me pay.”
Mom closed her eyes.
“I know.”
For a while, only the air conditioner moved.
Then she said, “I owe you money too.”
May you like
“Yes.”
She nodded slowly.
