Page 20 of Tonight's the Night
“Are you okay?” I ask, reminding her that she hasn’t really answered Angela’squestion.
“I don’t know. I think I’m more shocked than anything. You and Angela.” She puts her hand on her forehead as Angela comes back with a few beers, already uncapped. She puts one in Emily’s hand and she takes a long sip then wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and lets out a bigsigh.
“Do you have any questions?” Angela askssoftly.
“A million,” Emily replies. “I wouldn’t even know where to start. Dad, I had a feeling you’d met someone because you actually seem happy. Even through the phone I could tell something had changed in you. You seemed to have lost your edge, orsomething.”
We all sit in silence for a few moments. I lean back on the sofa and take a big, deep breath. It seems that everyone is just focusing on breathing right now. I finally look over at Emily and standup.
“We have a bedroom for you here,” I say. “There’s a lovely view of the ocean and it’s on the other end of the house from my and Angela’s suite. You can stay here as long as you want and if you’d like to live here instead of on campus in the fall, you are more than welcome. I would love to have you here, but I understand if you don’t feel comfortable withit.”
“Can I see myroom?”
“Let me,” Angela says. “Come. I’ll grab your bag foryou.”
“If you don’t mind,” Emily replies, “I’d like my dad to show me. I promise I’m not mad or anything, but I need to speak with my fatherprivately.”
“Of course,” Angela says. “I’ll be here when you comeback.”
