“And that is exactly the kind of charming tableau we try to discourage, dad.” Emma set her phone aside at the sound of the toaster. She slid from her seat and retrieved her bagel, returning to the table with it and a jar of cashew butter.
“I think it’s terrible when people buy an animal to celebrate a holiday, then just get rid of it,” I said, trying to sound as totally in agreement with her as possible. “But I’m sure Neil knew it was going to a good, responsible owner.”
“I don’t believe in owning other sentient beings. That’s slavery.” Emma smiled at me as though I’d just said my alphabet out of order or something, but she felt I was very brave for trying.
Neil returned with plates and forks and took a seat beside me. “Emma works for the Animal Protection Fund.”
“Oh! I’ve heard of them.” I beamed at her. “You guys do some really cool work.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Emma nodded. “Now, Sophie... what grade are you in?”
“Emma...” The warning tone in Neil’s voice didn’t go unnoticed by either of us. I’d hated to listen to my friends fight with their parents in front of me, and this was eerily reminiscent of that exact scenario. It really creeped me out.
“Oh, dad, I’m only teasing. She knows that.”
I was one hundred percent certain she was not joking.
She continued, “I have to break the ice a little. This is a rather disturbing morning all around, isn’t it?” Emma leaned on her elbows and fixed me with a reasonable facsimile of polite interest. “So, how did you two meet?”
Was this a trick? What did I say? I highly doubted Neil had discussed past one-night stands with his daughter, but we didn’t really have a cover story in place for something like this.
“Sophie and I met a few years ago,” Neil answered for me. “We recently reconnected.”
“So I heard.” Emma paused with her bagel halfway to her mouth. “You know, if you need me to stay somewhere else this week, I can. Michael’s, or Elizabeth’s—”
“That won’t be necessary. And I would appreciate it if you would not mention this to Elizabeth, should you see her during this visit.” There was a tick in Neil’s jaw when he spoke his ex’s name. In the brief mentions he’d made of her to me, he hadn’t sounded quite so irritated. Was Neil’s daughter close with his ex-wife? Or soon to be ex. Was the divorce final? Should I have figured that out first? I mean, it didn’t matter if he was legally married, the relationship was over, right?
Oh my gosh, no wonder Emma had taken such an immediate dislike to me. If she was close to her stepmother, of course she would be offended when her father seemingly moved on so quickly. That Neil and I didn’t have a serious relationship didn’t matter; Emma didn’t know the details, she had only heard the world “girlfriend.”
“Don’t worry,” Emma said lightly, not even looking up at Neil as she delivered her next barb. “I’m not going to tell her you have a woman staying over within days of her moving out. It would destroy her.”
I wished I had a super power that allowed me snuff myself out like a match and reignite somewhere else.
“I’m sorry, this... this is too weird. I’m going to go.” I shook my head and stood, trapped between the wall and Neil, hoping fervently that he would move and just let me escape.
He did, thank god. “Let me walk you out,” he said, sliding from his seat and shooting his daughter a very terse look. I had been on the receiving end of just such an expression many times from my mother.
I didn’t take any of it personally. All of this, absolutely every single bit of it, was between Emma and her father. It had nothing to do with me. I was just a convenient catalyst.
“I’m sorry, this was a total disaster,” Neil said as he followed me to the bedroom.
“It’s okay.” I collected up the D&G dress from his closet and carefully folded it into my overnight bag. “I would probably be pretty grossed out to find my mom with a guy my age.”
That was the worst possible thing I could have said. Neil looked like I’d slapped him. “Grossed out?”
“You don’t gross me out,” I stated firmly. I went to him and stood on my tiptoes to put my arms around his neck. He hesitated a moment, clearly wanting to be grumpy with me, but he couldn’t resist my patiently upturned mouth. His lips brushed mine and his arms tightened around my back briefly.
“But think about it from Emma’s perspective,” I said quietly when I stepped out of his embrace. “You have parents. You must have been uncomfortable with the idea of them having a sex life.”