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Rix kept going.
“And Chad is a waste of space. It’s all dicked up. I don’t know how Alex came to be Alex, except maybe her grandmother was more of a force of nature than she said. She sounded awesome. But we’re talking miracle worker. Alex showed me the room she grew up in last night. It had been cleared out, but the bones of it were there. It didn’t take much imagination to see it was always bones. Or trappings. Nothing fertile. No imagination. She told me she didn’t have posters, but she did have a Degas.”
Jamie, a father, flinched.
Judge just stared at him.
“I couldn’t even keep my feet in that room,” Rix told them. “I had to sit down, that shit was so heavy. I hated it so much she grew up in what really was kind of an actual ivory tower. Nothing for her roots to push into. No nourishment to be found. Her bed has this stuff at the top, like a curtain, you see them in movies. The beds the princesses sleep in. And straight up, she was that. A princess, stuck there, waiting for the chance to get free.”
“And how is she handling all of this, being back?” Judge asked.
“She laid into her mom and dad today. Tore them up. Helena was insulted at the time, but she’s probably forgotten it happened by now because she’s probably forgotten Alex exists by now. Ned’s thinking on things.”
“Well, that’s good,” Jamie remarked.
“Would be,” Rix told him, “if he hadn’t told Alex she abandoned him when she was a little girl. Then he just motors. Drops that bomb, and he’s gone.” Rix shook his head. “The drama is fuckin’ madness. You wouldn’t believe the extremes. But he got what he wanted. Alex has no idea what he was talking about, and it’s been eating her up all day.”
“Abandoned him?” Judge asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Rix told him.
“He’s a grown man and he’s a father,” Jamie said in a steely way. “That’s not on. If he has something to discuss with his daughter, he discusses it. Fully.”
“You know that. I do too,” Rix agreed. “But you’ve been to his place. Probably don’t think of it. Cool place. Really something. But compare it to what you have. Which is a cool place. Really something. But Dru doesn’t pour your coffee in the morning from a silver pitcher with a hella long swooped spout, that if I tried to use it, I’d pour coffee all over the table.”
“Ned doesn’t strike me as that traditional,” Jamie noted, looking mildly freaked.
“You were right about something else,” Rix told him. “Ned fell into a life of who he was supposed to be and forgot to figure out who he actually is. When she’s with him, like she slips into a second skin, Alex is in that life too.”
“It’s good this is over in a few days,” Judge put in.
“My thoughts, man,” Rix returned. “And now you’re here. That’s good. Al likes it when my people are around.”
Judge sounded vaguely offended. “We’re her people too.”
Rix grinned at him. “Right. Yeah.” His grin died. “And again, that’s good. Alex hasn’t talked about a single friend she wants to visit while she’s here. She was full of ideas of places she wanted me to see. We hit up Battery Park today after the Memorial. Took a walk and a selfie with the Statue of Liberty in the background. She’s told me about bookstores she digs. Cool buildings she thinks I’d like. But no friends.”
“Okay, so tomorrow, if the sister doesn’t call it off, it’s what? The rehearsal?” Judge asked.
Rix nodded. “Yup. Rehearsal five to six-thirty. Dinner at seven-thirty.”
“Right. I got time to show you some of the good New York. I’ll swing by and get you in the morning. We’ll take a run in Central Park. No way Chloe’s gonna be up then, but if Alex doesn’t come with us, we can come back, get showered. Chloe and I can grab you and Alex. Dru’s in class tomorrow. But maybe she can meet us for lunch. We’ll go to the first Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. It’s next to the Flatiron building, which is kickass. We can decide over lunch what’s next.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Rix replied. “Alex will be with us when we go in the morning. She’s not a runner, but she’ll wanna be out. Maybe we can pick a loop where we can meet back with her?”
“Absolutely,” Judge finished.
Jamie shifted. “You men want another beer? Or is it time for bourbon? Scotch?”
“You’re pouring, I’m not gonna say no,” Rix replied.
“Which?” Jamie asked.
“I trust you,” Rix said.
He grinned at Rix and looked to his son.
“Same, Dad.”
Jamie clasped Judge’s shoulder warmly before he took off.
They watched the guy go.
Then Rix looked right at Judge.
