Page 119 of More Than Chemical
The Reveal
The next morning, I collected my lightweight jacket, left my dorm room, and headed to the lobby. It was sentencing day.
I watched for my family by the front entrance. Snow was still piled up, but now icy puddles dotted the sidewalks. February was over, and we were starting to get some springlike days. Let the March melt begin.
My family met me inside, including Eric, who had flown in last night. His team had given him family emergency leave. I hugged all three of them and then stepped back. They were picking me up to go to the sentencing, but first we had something to take care of.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s do this.”
At eight o’clock in the morning, the four of us entered Buford Hall’s dining service together. It was packed. Dad, Mom, Eric, and I grabbed trays and selected breakfast items. Goodbye, Adriana Blankin because Adriana Bianchini was back.
At first, no one seemed to recognize my dad. Everyone filling their trays appeared to be half asleep. I sucked in a sequence of breaths. I hadn’t considered that this coming-out-as-myself plan might not work.
Dad went to check out. “Good morning,” he said to the student working the register. I didn’t know the guy personally, only recognized him from here and around the dorm.
He glanced up, probably because it was strange to see a man in his mid-fifties in line.
He did a double take. “Are you…are you…?”
Dad stuck out his hand. “Yes, hello. I’m David Bianchini.” Then he stepped aside. “This is my wife, my daughter, Ade, who lives and goes to school here, and my son, Eric.”
The cashier stared at us as if in a trance. Eventually, he rang us up, and we proceeded to find a table.
Well, if that didn’t start tongues wagging, I didn’t know what would. I had to hand it to my dad for getting things rolling.
The four of us sat down together.
Within minutes, a buzz grew in the large room. People stared at us. Pointed. I couldn’t help but smile. There. Now everyone would know. The constant fear of being found out was over.
Ten minutes later, Emma and Priya sat down with us, Emma conveniently next to Eric, of course.
“Everyone is talking about you and your dad,” Priya said. “It’s even reached our floor.”
“That was fast,” I said. “But I’m glad. Things are working out perfectly.”
Jay came and sat with us too. I introduced him to my parents and Eric, telling them everything about him—that we’d gone to high school together, had classes together, that he was on the Minnesota University’s cross-country team.
Next, we headed up to my room so my dad and Eric could see it for the first time.
The girls on my floor came to me in droves. “Why didn’t you say you were Coach Bianchini’s daughter? Or Eric Bianchini’s sister?”
I shrugged. In hindsight, it seemed foolish, keeping my identity secret, especially around the people I lived with. But at the time, the reasons had felt valid to me.
Sometimes you had to cope with the circumstances you were dealt.
Forty-Four
The Sentence
If the judge decided to give my dad jail time, the worst part would be the bailiffs taking him away again. Through the door and straight down to the jail, but this time permanently. The thought of it made it hard for me to breathe.
Court was filling up. I sat next to my mom and Eric, behind Dad and Gray at the defense table. It was strange to see the jury’s chairs empty.
Eric turned and peered behind us. “I was wondering if he would come.”
I glanced back. “Who?”
“Dallas.”
