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BROADIE
“Dad!” Lauren waves animatedly from a corner booth at Luigi’s. As I head in her direction, I’m shocked to find her sister here with her.
“Lilly. I’m so glad you could make it,” I greet, leaning in for a hug from each before sitting across from them.
“She must really miss you to pull herself away from her book,” Lauren sneers.
“Well, I’m thrilled to see both of you. Sorry, I’m late.”
They instantly give me the same deadpan expression.
“What? I’m punctual.”
“It’s more that we expect you to cancel than to be late,” Lilly says softly.
A voluptuous blonde wearing a skin-tight black mini-skirt and a white button-up approaches. “I have two iced teas and a Pellegrino,” she says as she slides the drinks in front of us. “Your girls said they wanted to wait until you arrived before ordering appetizers.”
My head falls. Resting my elbows on the table, I lean my face into my palms. I can’t believe how I’ve let them down. It’s one thing when it’s Camile. She knew what she was signing up for when we got married. But lavish lifestyles or not, it’s not fair that they’ve had an absent father. Or worse, if I’ve made them feel they aren’t important to me.
“Can we have a minute?” Lilly asks.
Looking up, I find the server has left us. “I’m sorry, girls. I’ve been a really crappy father.”
My youngest slides her hand over mine and gives me an apologetic look while her sister keeps her arms crossed over her chest as if she’s waiting for me to continue.
“Listen, you’d be proud of me. The hospital administrator is pushing me to take on the medical director position at the hospital, and I told him no. I honestly want to slow down and spend more time with you.”
Lilly gives me a soft smile of encouragement while her sister continues to look unphased.
“Of course, working less means we’ll probably have to scale back on the spending.”
Lauren’s arms drop onto the table, and her mouth forms a perfect O. It takes everything in me not to laugh.
“You’re one of the richest people on the planet. You could quit work today, and we’d have more money than we know what to do with,” she blurts.
“Ah, but something tells meyou’dknow what to do with it.” I waggle my finger in her direction. “I don’t want you to turn into some obnoxious reality TV star. Money can be dangerous. We’re blessed, mainly because of the cunning and generosity of your grandfather and great-grandfather. But I want more for the two of you than to be spoiled trust fund babies.”
Lauren lets out an exacerbated sigh. “Mom doesn’t work.”
“Well, that’s your mother’s choice. But I know you’re capable of great things. I want you to finish college and either work with a charity you are passionate about or start a business. Find a way to make an honest contribution to the world.”
Bzzz. Bzzz.
Lauren dives into her purse to retrieve her phone and immediately starts texting a message at the speed of light.
“How’s school going, Lilly?”
“Ha.” Lauren blurts out. I speculate she’s laughing in response to whoever has messaged her until she continues. “Only person I know who volunteered to take summer classes when they didn’t have to.”
Lilly simply shrugs her shoulders. “It’s good. I thought the English Lit course offered by the community college would help me with my SAT scores.”
The deadpan look from earlier now returns to Lauren’s face as she stares at Lilly. “You have a nearly perfect grade point average.”
“That’s my girl.” I beam, then add, “I’m incredibly proud of both of you, just one applies a little more effort to her studies than her shopping list.”
With that, I get the stink eye from my oldest.
“Are you ready to order?” The server asks from beside us.
