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“Not while I’m alive, darling. The farmlands employ lots of families in the region. We’re filthy rich.”
“But the resort will employ a ton of people. Isn’t that supporting families?”
“Food, sweetheart. The farms produce quality produce.” My father looked at me, and I nodded.
“He’s right,” I said. “We don’t want to start importing all of our food.”
“Hmm…” Savanah rolled her eyes and charged off to join my mother who was in deep conversation with Will.
“What’s with Mum and Will?” Ethan asked my father as he
poured three shots of whisky and passed us each a glass.
Our father was a quiet achiever. Someone I’d modelled myself around. I preferred that to my mother’s approach, which was about scheming, coercion, and speeches fit for a podium.
She could have run for office. For her, position in society was all that mattered.
“The truth is they’re together,” my father said, his eyes moving from Ethan to mine.
“Are you sure?” I asked, gulping down my drink.
He smiled tightly. “I’ve known about them for a long time. She admitted so much a while back.”
Ethan’s eyes darted from my father to me. His frown deepened, and his body seemed to grow tense. His shock mirrored mine. This unsettling confirmation about our mother’s affair shook me to the core.
“Like sleeping together, you mean?” he asked. “And you were going to tell us when?”
“It’s up to your mother.” My father strolled over to the cabinet and lifted the bottle of scotch. I passed, but Ethan took another.
While the news of our mother’s infidelity had rocked us deeply, my father treated the affair as if discussing her replacing an older model car.
“Does this mean you’re separating?” I asked.
“We already are. I live here now and she’s at Merivale.”
“Are you happy with that arrangement?” We stood by the window and my father, like me, stared downward at the sprawling metropolis of rectangles, domes, and spires, with its continual flow of bustling humanity.
“I prefer the city. I like the throng. The energy.”
“Does this mean a divorce?” Ethan asked.
My father shook his head. “I’m not willing to carve up the estate. I’m discussing having a heritage layer over Merivale and the adjoining lands.”
My mother stormed over. “You do that, and I’ll sue the pants off you.”
My father smiled. “What, for being a bad husband?”
“That’s a start and for not telling me you liked men.” She had her hands on her hips.
I side-glanced Ethan, whose jaw had dropped.
“Like, gay, you mean?” Ethan asked.
“Who’s gay?” Savanah asked striding in with a coffee.
“Dad, apparently,” I said, rubbing my neck.
“Oh, really?” Savanah smiled. “How cool.”
