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“Are you going to be okay on your own?” he asks.
“Not all water,” I say.
He raises his eyebrows.
“Just deep water. I’m just afraid of deep water.”
He smiles then, and I see how his eyes brighten. “Then you should be fine in the shower,” he says and leaves, closing the door behind him.
I peel off my bikini and warm up. He’s right; I’m freezing. Shock, probably. I press my head to the walland try not to think about what almost happened. I think about my dad and how he’d be alone if something happened to me, and I think about Ethan and Silas and how very different they are.
When the water finally begins to cool, I switch it off and reach out for a towel, which I see Silas—probably Silas, at least—has placed on the hook by the shower. I dry myself off and wring out the suit. When I open the bathroom door, I’m not sure if I’m relieved or disappointed to find Esmerelda waiting for me, arms open ready to envelop me in a big, warm hug.
6
OPHELIA
Present Day
Mr. Fox and Ethan both stand when I reach the table. Mrs. Fox puts her drink down and squeezes my hand as Mr. Fox pulls me into a hug.
“How are you, sweetheart?” he asks as I sit down.
“I’m all right.” If I say it with conviction, will it make it so? I force a smile, but I can see from how Mrs. Fox is watching me she can see right through me. “It has been a hard few days.”
“But a chapter is closed now, dear. You can start to move forward. Start to heal,” she says.
I’m not sure it works that way. You don’t walk away from someone you love and just forget them. You can try,but it’s not so simple.
I don’t say any of those things, though. I just nod.
The Foxes don’t know I was there, outside the courtroom, last week. I’ve been playing a balancing game, tugged in two directions between the Foxes and my father. A few weeks ago, though, my father made it easy for me. He told me to stay away because he didn’t want me to have any backlash because of what he’d done. His lawyer had hand-delivered the too-brief letter from Dad.
This was right before the announcement that he’d accepted a plea deal, and that Sullivan Fox was acquitted of any charges of wrongdoing. I’ve tried to call, to go see him, but he hasn’t accepted my visits. The about-face came at the same time as the plea deal, and I don’t know, does he think it changes how I feel about him?
Doesit change how I feel about him?
“We ordered you your favorite,” Mrs. Fox says as a waiter pours wine for Ethan and me and refreshes Mr. and Mrs. Foxes drinks. “I hope that was all right. You two were so late.”
“Yes, of course,” I say, not really caring what I eat and not sure I even can eat after what happened. After what Silas said. His words stung, one after the other after the other. On top of that, to hear about the company and what the Foxes will do to it… I feel nauseous thinking about it all.
I need to see my dad to understand this turn ofevents. And, as much as I’m dreading it, to tell him about the engagement.
Ethan raises his glass in a toast once the waiter leaves. “To new beginnings for all of us,” he says. “A life back to normal, Fox style, for my father and a fresh start with the woman I love.” He turns to me, and I’m sure it’s the bruise that’s skewing his smile.
“To new beginnings,” Mr. and Mrs. Fox repeat, taking up their glasses. They all turn to me.
I pick up my glass, wondering if they can see how my hand is trembling, and touch it to theirs, then drink a small sip.
“Now,” Mrs. Fox starts as the waiter brings appetizers. “The wedding. Your dress is at the house. All we need to do is have you put it on so the seamstress can take it in. You’ve lost weight, Phee. No more of that now. Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as too skinny,” she says, popping a shrimp into her mouth as if to make a point.
“The church will make accommodation for us at a date of our choosing,” Mr. Fox says. “All we need to do is set that date, and invitations can go out as quickly as next weekend.”
“Next weekend?” I ask, startled. I glance at Ethan who picks up his glass and drinks, and I get the feeling he knew about this all along.
“We’ll officially announce our engagement at the gala,” he finally says. “I think it will be a nice touch.”
“At Christmas?” The Foxes put on a masqueradeball right around Christmas. It’s tradition in the town of Sinistral, although it’s been canceled the last couple of years while the embezzlement investigation loomed over everyone.
