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“I-Ihave a family now, andI’mhere to have lunch with my daughter.Shecan’t find out about—”Piyaclosed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Whateverhappened last night,I-I’mwilling to forget it.MaybeIdid drink too much, and perhaps it was all a terrible misunderstanding.Let’scall a truce and put it behind us,” she spoke with intention, the insinuation crystal clear.Piyadesperately wanted to keep me from meeting her daughter and didn’t want her past trickling into her present.
Iraised a pair of placid eyebrows. “Youhave nothing to worry about whereI’mconcerned.”Iheld up a hand in surrender.Shehad a lot to worry about whereIwas concerned, but causing hysteria was hardly productive.
Thelongest exhalation of relief passed from her. “Thankyou for understanding.”
“Enjoyyour lunch.”
“Thankyou,” she whispered. “Itwas um-um… good seeing you again,Iguess.”Shedilly-dallied uncomfortably, unsure how to end the conversation positively now thatIhad given in. “Andcongrats on, um, all your money.”
Myamused look only made her stutter further.Inthe end,Piyadecided to end our conversation with a simple wave.
IwatchedPiyawalk away, gave her a thirty-second head start, then followed behind to meet her daughter.
* * *
“Didyou callDr.Stevensonlast night?”Piyasat across from her daughter at the corner table.Iwondered how she felt aboutAmbanimissingPoppy’sfirst day, especially since he was unlikely to see his daughter for the rest of the summer.Hopefully,Levi’sefforts caused an effective rift between them.
PaniccrossedPiya’sface when she glanced up to find me approaching the table.Herdaughter had her back to me.Whenshe saw the alarm in her mother’s eyes,Poppyturned and looked right at me.
“Mr.Trimalchio,”Poppygreeted without a hint of surprise in her voice.
Myeyebrows shot up.
Veryfew things in life surprised me.Piya’schange in marital status was one of the things to disrupt my generally collected veneer.Ifaltered momentarily, then regrouped and, as always, found a solution.
Thiswas the second time something baffled me quickly.Ihadn’t expectedPoppy’smonotonous addressal without a lick of surprise laced in her tone.Shehad done the unthinkable;Poppyhad managed to catchmeoff-guard.
Thepest knew of me.How?
Itwas possible she was a fan and well-versed inHousemusic.However, if she were a fan of mine, she wouldn’t have sounded as disinterested as she had in the jaded way she addressed me.Poppysounded like our acquaintance was overdue, and meeting me was already old news.
Ishould have expected it.Kidslike her thrived on shocking adults.Shewas the poster child for surly preteens who didn’t give a shit about the world.Whilethe other high school girls in the cafeteria wore the designated uniforms—a black skirt with a white collared button-down shirt—Poppyhad thrown a black cardigan on to cover her white shirt.Whereasthey paired their uniforms with styled hair and designer heels,Poppy’schunky black boots and high ponytail stood out like a sore thumb.Onelook at her andIimmediately knew to play along without acting caught off guard by her dispassionate voice.
“Ms.Ambani, ifI’mnot mistaken.Howdo you do?”
Poppynodded curtly.
“H-hi,Axel.”AbaffledPiyaglanced between us before focusing on her daughter.Shewas taken aback by her daughter's lackadaisical attitude at seeing me. “Didyou know—”
“ThatDJAxeljust bought out our school?”Poppyretorted without missing a beat. “Everyoneknows,Mother,”HowPiyastiffened at the wordMothermade it obviousPoppyhad used the term to antagonize her.
Interestingdynamic…
“Yes, but—”Piyaheld her tongue for some reason.
“Didyounotknow about it?”Poppyturned the table on her mother sincePiyaalso hadn’t displayed bewilderment over my presence.
Piya’smuscles went rigid. “Ifound out a few minutes ago.”
“Iread about it in the school memo hours ago,”Poppysounded bored.Everyexpression on her face was perfectly schooled.Impressivefor a child. “Really,Mother, you should do your homework before sending off your only child to a school run by just anyone.Forall you know, he is a serial killer and plans to murder me in my sleep.”
Keeptalking, andImight.
Piyagave her daughter a blank expression. “Poppy,” she said tightly. “Youbegged us to attendNott; that’s why your papa did so much to get you admitted here.”
“Hm.”Poppyseemed to think that detail was trivial.
Icataloged their challenging relationship, wondering how to use this to my advantage.Thiswas clearly a common occurrence between them.
