Page 40 of Leon

"When I come back."

The familiar clink of ice in glasses mingled with the hum of lunchtime conversation, and for a moment Kadian allowed herself to sit with the uncertainty. She couldn't shake the warmth of the morning, the simple gesture, the way her father had looked at her, as if seeing not just his daughter but a person in her own right. Still, Grace's doubt settled on her shoulders like a shawl too heavy for her.

She shifted in her seat, tracing beads of condensation down the side of her glass. "I know how it sounds," she admitted quietly, "and I know I've spent years bracing for the worst. But this, himmaking breakfast, talking about change, I want to believe it's real. Maybe I'm being naive."

Grace leaned forward, sincerity in her gaze. "Maybe you're not naive. Maybe you're just hopeful. But hope needs guardrails."

Kadian managed a crooked smile. "Guardrails. Got it."

For a moment, the two sat in companionable silence, the weight of unspoken words hanging between them. Kadian watched a shaft of sunlight dance across the tabletop and let herself remember the taste of cinnamon, the unexpected comfort in her father's voice. She wasn't sure what the next days would bring, but for now, she decided she'd let herself savor the possibility that things could, at last, be different. If only in her head.

"He seemed different," she mused.

"As in changed?"

Kadian nodded. "For the first time he spoke freely about her, about my mother and his fear of losing me."

Grace felt a quick spurt of fear but decided to keep it light. It seemed to her that Luke Donaldson was a very crafty individual. And a complete narcissist. She had suspected as much for a long time, but now it was confirmed. The man was playing his daughter like a fiddle. Her friend had told him about meeting someone and his attitude had taken a turn for the better. He was leading up to something and she wanted to warn her friend to keep a look out. If her feelings were right and she knew they were, he had something planned.

She sighed, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, letting Grace's concern linger in the air like a warning bell muffled by hope. The café windows caught the late morning sun, fracturing it into golden slivers across their table. Outside, a magpie hopped across the sidewalk, bold and unbothered by the world's uncertainties.

Kadian set her glass down and gazed out, searching for assurance in the ordinary bustle. "I want to believe he's trying," she murmured, almost to herself. "Maybe after everything, people really can change. Maybe he's tired too of all the anger, the silence."

Grace's lips pressed together, a silent verdict withheld. "Just don't let your guard down. Not yet."

A small, grateful laugh slipped from Kadian. "You sound like my conscience."

"That's what friends are, right?" Grace's tone softened, almost affectionate. "Consciences with better wardrobes."

For the briefest instant, Kadian allowed herself a sliver of hope, fragile and glimmering, nestled between suspicion and longing. Change, she knew, moved at its own pace, stumbling, uncertain, sometimes real. She traced a pattern in the condensation on her glass, a private map of wishes yet unfulfilled, and chose, just for this moment, to stay at the crossroads where fear and hope meet.

Whatever her father's motives, whatever the truth waiting at the week's end, she would carry this morning with her. A moment when the world seemed, if only for a breath, unexpectedly kind.

"What is that gorgeous man of yours saying?"

The cloud descended again, but she refused to allow it to take root. She and Leon were not really communicating. He told her it was work and the busyness of trying frantically to reorganizehis schedule before the trip, but he was distant, and she could feel it.

"He's... we're..." She gestured with one hand, the movement restless. "He's upset with me. I feel as if I'm losing him."

Her friend gave her a sharp look. "You're being ridiculous and paranoid. That man loves you to pieces."

"And sometimes love is not enough." She allowed the sadness to color her tone. "What if we acted too swiftly? What if it's all a mistake? We barely know each other and all the secrets and lies are bound to hamper our happiness. We're married and haven't spent much time with each other. What if when we do, we discover that we cannot live with each other?"

"What's this?" her friend demanded. "You two have given me hope that love, and I'm talking about the real thing, not just a quick flare of passion and then boom, it's gone. Real and strong and lasting love exists. Of course, you're going to find a way to live with each other. You're just going to have to get through the hurdles."

"And if we can't?"

"Then my hope in humanity is screwed." She reached out and touched her friend's hand. "Love will conquer all, at the end of it."

*****

"You're distracted and not doing justice to the good housekeeper's excellent pork loins."

"What?" He proved how distracted he was by giving her a puzzled look. "I apologize."

"Darling, what on earth is bothering you?" Lisa had invited herself to dinner to talk about the progress of the clinic and to get out of the apartment while her husband was doing an all-nighter at the hospital.

"Just a lot to do before the trip." He stirred himself enough to take another bite of the meat. His appetite was non-existent and that had been for the past week. Not only that, but the worst part was he could not concentrate on work.

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