“Well, first thing you did was end your long-term relationship and leave your long-term job so, maybe.”
“Dad, I want to see what I’m really made of. To find my own way. To define whatmydreams look like.” I’m breathing hard when I’m done.
Speaking those words aloud makes my heart race. It took me twenty years to learn that owning my life, my mistakes, my triumphs is what makes me most alive.
My dad gets to his feet and places a hand on my shoulder.
“This is the hottest July I can remember here.” He looks out of the huge bay window behind me and wipes the corners of his eyes.
My father is so rarely emotional that I’m completely disarmed by it. “Daddy, are you okay?”
I cover his hand with mine, and he looks down at me with a fond smile that reaches all the way to his eyes. “I was afraid that this weather would be too much for you after a decade living in colder climes. I see I was worried for nothing. You’re stronger than I gave you credit for. I’m very proud of you, Sin.”
My relief is boundless. I may want to blaze my own trail, but I never want my parents to feel dishonored by anything I do.
“Thank you, Daddy. Can you tell your wife that?”
He barks out a laugh and shakes his head. “Absolutely not. It won’t change anything. You’ll do what you want, and she’ll feel how she feels. You’ll butt heads and then find your common ground.” He puts an arm around me and steers me to the door. “All we want is for you to live a good life. One that you are proud of. We came here not so you could go to Princeton, but so you’d have the choice. In all things. Now, let’s go greet our guest.”
“Who is it? She said it would just be us.”
“The son of our landlord.”
“She has a son?” I ask with a confounded expression.
“Yes. We didn’t know until her lawyer called to tell us that she passed away.”
“She died? Oh no. Is everything okay?” I pause, worried. They’ve lived in this house since I was a child and even though they don’t own it, I know they see it as their home.
“We hope so. He asked to come by and deliver something on his mother’s behalf. Your mother invited him to join us for lunch.”
I can hear the deep rumble of a man’s voice next to my mom’s and I reflexively look in the mirror.
Not that it matters because I’m closed for business when it comes to men, but I’ll never hear the end of it if I meet one of my mother’s guests looking less than presentable.
I walk out arm in arm with my father, smiling and reassured that the rest of my secrets are safely tucked away.
“Arsinoé, this is Kwame. Kwame, this is our eldest daughter.”
In the month since that night at The Salamander, I was certain that my memories were exaggerating how handsome the man I’d met that night had been. I was also certain I’d never see him again.
I was wrong.
About everything.
Fuck.
Chapter Eleven
Kwame
No Agenda
It’s been the most awkward afternoon of my life.
Despite not saying more than a few stilted words in greeting, Sin and I seemed to come to a mutual decision to pretend we’re total strangers.
For my part it was shock that kept me from asking what the hell she was doing there when I first saw her.
