Page 19 of Just Like Starting Over
“But she finished this cycle.”
“Three more to go.” At least I hope that’s it.
Sierra finishes her grapes and I start to gently reheat the chanterelles. Her voice is quiet when she speaks. “Will Una die?”
“I hope not.”
“Me, too.” Sierra considers this, kicking her feet again. “So, we should live close.”
“I think so.”
“Do I get to have an opinion about where we move?”
“Of course. When I figure out some options, we’ll talkabout them.”
She nods, then studies me. “Tell me about Mike.”
“You shouldn’t call him that.”
“What should I call him? Dad?”
“No!”
“But he is.”
“Sierra, I don’t want to get into a custody battle. I want you to stay with me.”
“And that means you aren’t going to tell him the truth.”
“I’ve told him the truth!”
“But he didn’t want to hear it. Okay, then he’s Mike.” This is delivered with defiance and lacking a better suggestion – Mr. Cavendish is Mike’s father, after all – I let it go. “What made you like him, back in the dawn of time?’
“A lifetime ago.”
“Mylifetime ago.”
“I don’t want to talk about this, Sierra.”
“But I do. I want to know why you made me with him. What did he have that the other guys didn’t?”
Does she want to know that she was conceived in love?
In her place, I sure would. I made my choice, believing it would be the better one for her, but it hasn’t been easy for either of us.
I turn off the burner, then go to stand in front of her. She loops her arms over my shoulders and I step between her knees in a kind of a hug. “I thought he was everything. He was kind and strong and patient, responsible. Protective. Not a bully.” Sierra purses her lips at that but doesn’t say anything. “A hard-worker. He listened to people and he fixed things when he could.”
“Kind?”
I nod. “Practical. Kinda sweet. Smart but never showed off. Math whiz.”
“Got to love that,”she says with a nod.
“His family had so much money that he and his brothers were like the crown princes of Empire. I didn’t care. I just liked Mike.” I meet her gaze and smile. “And yes, I thought he was really hot.”
She’s studying me. “And now?”
I sigh and cede the point with a nod.
