CHAPTERTHIRTY
POLLY
“I’ll be the one doing the riding and putting you away wet, thank you very much.”
American Creamby Lady Jane
Narrated by Brittney Houston
“Dean Manford hasn’t heard from you.”
I paused, the Belgian waffle I’d ordered was halfway to my mouth.Nooo,I thought, don’t ruin this waffle for me.I reluctantly put my fork down. The brunch hadn’t been going horribly. Sure, it started out with my father’s disdainful eye rake of my outfit, but as I finally decided to wear what I wanted, rather than what I was expected to wear, I’d anticipated that. I tried to pepper him with questions about his job so he couldn’t start in on me. But then the waffle came, dusted with powdered sugar, and I kind of got distracted.
“Yes. That’s because the kids won’t be going there. They’ll be attending school in Green Valley.”
I’d already set up a meeting next month with Mr. Sievers and Rose to discuss Max’s school accommodations.
Based on my thirty-eight years of experience and the way his eyes hardened, my father didn’t like that answer.
“I didn’t expect you of all people to ignore your children’s education.”
“Are you implying there is something inferior with the local school district? They’re among the top twenty school districts in the state. I should know, I work for them.”
The only sign of his alarm was the vein bulging in my father’s forehead, otherwise he looked stoically calm.
“I might as well tell you now, I accepted a position as the medical director of the Green Valley School District. They received a grant to support kids with mental health disabilities, and they need a medical director to help advocate for how they use the grant money.”
My father looked around, no doubt because my voice was slightly raised. He was worried about who might overhear.
“I can send Jeffrey the details to save him the trouble of looking into it,” I finished.
“May I remind you about the deal we had when you moved here,” he began.
“The deal was to have brunch, once per week. No, I haven’t forgotten. Nowhere in there did it say you had the right to dictate where I work, where my kids go to school, nor for that matter, did it give you any other control over my life. Now, unless you’d like to explain to your constituency here why your daughter left in the middle of brunch, let’s move on to safer topics, like the weather.”
I picked up my fork with a trembling hand and took a large bite of waffle.
It was fucking delicious.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
JACE
He wanted to make her laugh. He wanted to sit and listen to her talk about books until his ears fell off. But all these were things he could not want, because they were things he could not have, and wanting what you could not have led to misery and madness.
Cassandra Clare,Clockwork Prince
“You’re hitting like my great-aunt Shirley.”
I dodged Sam’s punch and backpedaled, making a signal for time. I’d felt off since Polly left the club after her brunch this morning.
When Polly arrived for brunch, surprise kept me rooted in place as I opened her car door. Her pink and white dress fell in soft layers to just below her knee. I bit back a laugh when she handed me her keys with a smirk and a quarter. Her wavy blonde hair cascaded in loose waves to her mid back, swaying as she walked into the club. She looked different, lighter. Like someone had turned a light on inside of her.
My face instantly fell when I turned to see my pubescent coworkers watching her with interest. Something deep inside my chest had growled at their looks. They thought she was beautiful now, but they didn’t get to see my Polly the way I got to see her, sitting on the couch in a thread bare T-shirt over leggings that molded to her shape, hair up in a bun and laughing at something I’d said. She wasn’t perfect, not like the mask she wore here, but she was perfectly real.
I cleared my throat, causing their heads to snap in my direction. Nodding sharply to them, I said, “Boys.” My eyes, on the other hand, told a different story:Hands off, kids. This one’s mine.
Forty minutes later, Polly’s father left, barking at one of the guys to collect his car. Worry had filled me. I’d wanted to run into the club and check on Polly, but I couldn’t. I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet until she emerged a few minutes later, eyes bright and cheeks red. I tried to talk to her, but she only gave me a brief smile and a nod when I asked how her brunch went. Her behavior wasn’t dismissive, nor was it sad really, or even angry.
