“Ah, yes. Always at the lab.” Nate crossed his knife and fork over on his plate.
“Not everyone has an eye for detail and a natural way with the animals like Ade.” Sylvie wanted to tell Nate that he should be proud of his daughter and that, despite every cell in her body telling her to flee, she remained and got the job done. Instead, she smiled, not wishing to cause a scene. Under the table, she shifted her thigh and made the slightest of contact with Ade’s. The thrill raced through her entire body, making her cheeks flush with heat. “Nice wine.”
“It’s a lovely bottle,” Sam said, nodding. “A real treat for a Thanksgiving week.”
The slate November day looked like someone had switched the sun off. But inside, delighting in the warm and welcoming coziness of this little troop, doubt grew inside Sylvie. Why did being this close to Ade feel so good but so hopeless? Isa was right: within a few short months, she’d be bouncing back home across the Atlantic, back into the bosom of this wonderful family. And Sylvie would be left fighting fires in the corridors and clawing her way to some sort of promotion. She couldn’t deny her friendship with Ade had been an unexpected delight this year. Just as Ade would say: she should stay in the moment and enjoy it. So why did the anticipatory grief for Ade’s absence weigh so heavily? Sylvie had seen many friends come and go in the past. Ade would be no different. But she was different. Sylvie’s fondness of Ade had taken root. When she pulled herself away at the end of the season, Ade would leave a gaping hole.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ade steppedonto the viewing platform with a tremor of vertigo threatening to eject the insides of her stomach.
Her pops slipped his arm around her shoulder. “Can you believe this view?”
Ade had never seen anything so ancient. A Roman viaduct stretched across the river and beyond. She and her pops teetered on the left bank, almost hidden in the evergreen trees and vegetation. Her dad and Steph had walked on ahead, eager to get their bearings at the historic spot and find a decent place for lunch.
Ade breathed in the cool air and crunched the bed of golden leaves with her boots. It was the first time she’d ventured out of the city since she’d gotten there. Her folks had insisted on seeing some sights, so she’d enlisted Sylvie’s help to put together a shortlist. The Roman architecture of the neighboring city of Nîmes had peaked both her fathers’ interest.
Ade had worked out that renting a car would be much less traumatic than navigating the train, bus, and God-knows-what-else. But even that had come with a sunrise alarm clock and then motion sickness for most of the journey. Only now, warmed by the low-hanging sun, had the nausea subsided, leaving in its wake a nervous anxiety that followed Ade into most unusual circumstances.
“You okay, baby?” Her pops nudged her shoulder gently.
“Sure.”
“You know, I’m real proud of you for making this happen.”
Ade was grateful that he continued to look out beyond the viaduct’s tall arches. Eye contact would’ve tipped her over theedge. “What do you mean, Pops?”
“This whole thing can’t be easy for you. Moving abroad on your own, settling into a new job, and taking care of the younger students. It’s a big deal. Your dad and I know that.”
She stayed silent because he hadn’t requested any kind of response.
“Your dad…” Her pops kicked at the loose ground. “He worries about you. Sometimes it comes out less caring than it really is. You know he loves you though, don’t you?”
“Of course.” She’d never questioned her parents’ love. “I don’t know whether I’m ever going to live up to his expectations though. He has it all worked out, and I just don’t feel that way most of the time.”
Her pops nodded. “Dad likes things to be neat, tidy, and all dressed in a bow. When things are messy, he feels out of control. He’s like you in so many ways.” He blinked at sunshine. “You know, like when you feel worried about something, and it’s like your body can’t settle. Like you have ants crawling all over you.”
“Something like that, yeah.”
“Your dad gets unsettled sometimes, just like that. When you were little, he couldn’t handle the chaos. Everything upside down in the house, routines all over the place, not knowing whether one or both of you would sleep through the night or cause another drama.”
“That was then. Why is he so hellbent on controlling our lives now and having us both back home?”
“Well, he misses you desperately, for starters. And he prefers everything pinned down and buttoned-up. He needs to know you’re safe, now and in the future.”
“But the future doesn’t matter much if we’re not happy right now.” Ade picked a browning leaf from a tree and crumbled it between her fingers.
Her pops chuckled. “I know, I know. You and I like to live here in the moment. But we can only do that because your dad has beenlooking out for us the whole time. He’s had his eye on the what happens next, giving us a roof above our heads, a college fund, money for traveling the world. You think that would’ve all been possible if it weren’t for him showing his love in the only way he knows how?”
Ade had never considered her father’s love language in any detail. Pops was for hugs and kisses, while Dad was for permission and protocols. This shed a whole new light on her dad’s parenting style.
“Let’s go find them, honey.” Her pops led the way out of the bracken, and they strolled along the river bank.
Ade contemplated what she might do after this year was up. She’d been forced into it, but in the last few weeks, she’d somehow broken free of the loop she’d been stuck in. She could imagine things beyond this year and maybe even think about that job at the marine center. Or about sticking around for a little while and enjoying the summer with Sylvie.
She stubbed her boot on a rock sticking up from the verge. “Ouch.”
“Deep in your thoughts there, kiddo?” He tsked. “You hurt yourself?”
