He gave a hearty rumble of laughter. “Oh, yeah? Since you turned twenty-five, you’ve got it all figured out, have you?”
He probably didn’t mean to provoke further hostility, but Ade’s balloon of frustration and guilt was almost at bursting point. “I don’t care what you and Dad think. I don’t need a chaperone or a parentto be constantly checking in on me.”
Her pops sat at the ironwork table and set down his coffee. “What’s all this about?”
He gestured for her to sit, but she didn’t want to. She was angry with herself and not managing it well. “One of my students did something stupid last night and hurt themselves. They had to go to the fucking hospital.”
He nodded. “I can see why you’d be distressed by that. Are they doing okay?”
“They’re fine. She’s fine. Madison.” Ade swallowed the tears. Why was she crying? She wasn’t hurt.
“You have some responsibilities for taking care of Madison?”
“Yeah, it’s like my only job this year, but I’m here, sunning myself around a mosaic poolside with you guys.”
“It’s tough when something happens that’s not in your control,” he said.
Ade paced up and down a couple more times, then dragged her toe against the dusty floor. “I think I knew, deep down, that she was in trouble. I made a referral for counseling before I left.”
“So you did what you could.”
“It wasn’t enough to stop her from ending up in the emergency room.”
“Is that what happened?”
“That’s what Sylvie told me. But I don’t know all the details, Pops, because I’m not fucking there!” She crumbled, holding her face in her hands.
Her father came to her side and pulled her into his chest. “I’m here. Come on.”
“I don’t know what to do, Pops.”
“There’s nothing you can do, realistically. You’re here, and she’s there, presumably with other people rallying to support her.”
How could I be here when Sylvie’s having to cope with this alone?
“Ade? You still with me?”
She nodded, refocusing.
“You need to come to terms with how you feel about what happened. It’s a shock. You obviously feel angry at yourself. Maybe at Madison too.” He squeezed her tight. “You might also feel a bit sad and worried about her.”
“I do.” Ade blinked away a tear. “I got mad at Sylvie when she called to tell me.”
“Okay, well, you’ll need to repair that too. I get the impression she’ll forgive you.”
“I hope so.”
“Things don’t always go to plan, Ade. Everyone’s human. We just need to be able to talk it out.”
“Do you think I’ll be able to head back on an earlier flight?” she asked.
“Well, that seems like something practical we can look into.” He flicked the screen of his cell and started to type. “Steph might not be ready to go yet. You’ll be okay traveling alone?”
“Yes.” No question. She wanted to get back and make amends with Sylvie and talk to Madison. If that meant negotiating an airport at either end, then so be it.
“I’ll go wake your dad.”
“No, wait. Let me. I need to tell him what’s going on.” The familiar fear of failure gnawed at her. Part of her wanted to just leave without an explanation, but that would cause fireworks for her pops, so she may as well be a grown-up about it all and fess up. She paused at the door to their bedroom and listened for signs of life.
