Chương 9
Dad's eyes flashed.
“That's funny to you?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“It's just incredibly efficient.”
“What is?”
“You've managed to turn owing me money into a character flaw on my part.”
Mom whispered, “Millie.”
I looked at her.
“Did you agree with excluding me?”
She didn't answer.
That hurt more than anything Dad had said.
“Mom.”
Her eyes filled.
Not quickly.
Not theatrically.
She looked genuinely miserable.
“I thought maybe it would calm things down.”
“What things?”
“Your father has been angry.”
“At me?”
“At everything.”
Dad turned toward her.
“Susan.”
She ignored him.
“The business isn't doing well.”
My stomach tightened.
Dad's expression changed from anger to warning.
“Stop.”
Mom kept talking.
“He lost two contracts.”
“Enough.”
“And the bank wouldn't extend—”
“I said enough.”
His voice echoed down the corridor.
A crew member appeared at the far end.
She didn't approach yet.
She watched.
Dad noticed her and lowered his voice.
I looked at him.
“What happened to the business?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“That usually means you're about to ask me for money.”
He took a step back.
For the first time since arriving, he looked exposed.
Not guilty.
Exposed.
Vanessa crossed her arms tighter.
“That's what this was about?”
Dad turned.
“What?”
“The cruise.”
“No.”
“You were mad because she stopped helping.”
“I was mad because your sister treats this family like clients.”
Vanessa stared at him.
Then she said, “You asked her for money again, didn't you?”
Mom closed her eyes.
Dad's silence answered.
I felt strangely detached.
“How much?”
“It doesn't matter.”
“How much?”
“Millie, forget it.”
Mom's voice was almost a plea.
I looked at her.
“You knew?”
She nodded once.
Dad swore under his breath.
“When did he ask?”
“January.”
I searched my memory.
January.
There had been a dinner at my parents' house.
Dad had asked how work was going.
He had spent fifteen minutes praising my promotion.
Then, while Mom cleared plates, he mentioned a possible equipment purchase and said he might need “temporary flexibility.”
I told him I wasn't investing more money in the business until the old loan was repaid.
He had gone quiet.
Three weeks later, Mom first mentioned that Dad thought I had become controlling.
I felt something inside the story lock into place.
“How much did you ask me for?”
Dad looked toward the ceiling.
“Twenty-five.”
Vanessa said, “Twenty-five what?”
No one answered.
Her mouth fell open.
“Thousand?”
Dad glared at her.
“It was for operating capital.”
“And she said no.”
“Yes.”
Vanessa looked at me.
Then at him.
“And after that you decided she shouldn't come?”
“That is not what happened.”
Mom spoke softly.
“Richard.”
He rounded on her.
“Don't.”
She flinched.
Not from fear.
From exhaustion.
I had seen that expression on my own face in mirrors.
Dad looked back at me.
“The cruise had become toxic.”
“Because I wouldn't give you twenty-five thousand dollars.”
“No.”
“Then tell me why.”
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came.
That was the answer.
Not the whole answer, maybe.
But enough.
I leaned my forehead against the door for one second.
Then I straightened.
“You can go now.”
Dad's jaw flexed.
“We're not finished.”
“I am.”
“You don't get to shut people out because they're telling you something you don't like.”
The irony was so enormous that even Vanessa made a small sound.
Dad turned to her.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No, say it.”
She shook her head.
He looked at all three of us as though betrayal had suddenly become contagious.
Then the crew member began walking toward us.
“Is everything all right here?”
I answered before Dad could.
“Yes.”
He looked at me.
I kept my eyes on the crew member.
“They were just leaving.”
Dad gave me a long stare.
Then he turned away.
Mom followed.
Vanessa stayed.
Dad noticed after several steps.
“Vanessa.”
She didn't move.
“Go ahead,” she said.
His face changed.
Not dramatically.
But the authority drained from it.
He walked away without answering.
Mom hesitated, looking between us.
Then she followed him.
Vanessa waited until they reached the elevator.
When the doors closed, she looked at me.
“I didn't know about the twenty-five thousand.”
“I believe you.”
She nodded once.
Then she surprised me.
“Can I come in?”
I looked at the security latch.
For the first time since opening the door, I touched it.
But I didn't release it immediately.
“What do you want?”
She looked tired enough to tell the truth.
“I think I need to figure out whether I've been angry at you for reasons that were never mine.”
I released the latch.
Vanessa stepped inside without looking around at first.
Then she noticed the size of the suite.
Her eyes moved from the sitting area to the balcony doors and then to the dining table.
“Okay,” she said.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That sounded like something.”
She gave me a crooked look.
“This room is obscene.”
I almost smiled.
“It came with the booking.”
“I know.”
She walked toward the balcony but stopped before touching the door.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
The ship's ventilation hummed softly.
Somewhere in the corridor, a housekeeping cart rattled over a seam in the floor.
Vanessa sat on the sofa.
I remained standing.
“You can sit down,” she said.
“It’s my room.”
“I know.”
I sat in the chair across from her.
She twisted the silver ring on her right hand.
Brandon had given it to her two Christmases earlier.
I had helped him choose it.
That memory arrived with embarrassing precision.
He had texted me from three jewelry stores because he couldn't tell white gold from platinum.
Finally, I asked, “What did Dad tell you?”
Vanessa looked at the carpet.
“About what?”
“Me.”
She rubbed her thumb over the ring.
“A lot of little things.”
“Like?”
“That you were resentful.”
I waited.
May you like
“That you thought everyone was beneath you because you had a better job.”
“That you were keeping track of everything you'd ever done for us.”
