Chapter 10
The pickup line at Jefferson wrapped around the side of the building by 3:10 and I was watching for Mom's gray Subaru. I had my backpack on one shoulder and my silver beaded clutch from the gala tucked inside it because I didn't want to leave it in my locker. Mrs. Alvarez was out front with her orange vest waving cars forward, and the air smelled like bus exhaust and cut grass.
Dad's black SUV was third in line. I didn't see it at first because I was looking for the wrong car. Then he tapped the horn, just once, and rolled down the passenger window and waved. He was wearing sunglasses even though it was cloudy.
I stopped on the sidewalk. Kids moved around me to get to their rides. Dad leaned over and pushed the door open a little.
"Lily-bug, come on," he called. "Your mom got stuck at work. She asked me to grab you."
That didn't sound right. Mom had texted me at lunch. On my way. 3:15. Don't wait by the street. I held my phone tighter and didn't move closer.
"Mom said she was coming," I said.
"She did, and then her meeting ran late," he said. He kept smiling. "Hop in for a sec, we don't need to block the line."
Mrs. Alvarez glanced over at me. I took two steps toward the SUV but I didn't get in. I stood just outside the open door where she could still see me. Inside it smelled like his leather cleaner and coffee.
"I texted Mom that I'm here," I said.
Dad took his sunglasses off. His eyes were tired. He kept that calm Dad voice he uses when he wants me to agree.
"Look, I wanted to talk to you before tonight," he said. "About the pearls. I think there's been a big misunderstanding and I don't want you in the middle."
I swallowed and nodded once. He went on quickly, like he'd practiced it.
"Your mom left that necklace at the apartment when she moved out. It was just sitting in the dresser. I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I held onto it. I was keeping it safe. Vanessa needed something to wear to the gala and I thought, well, it's better than it sitting in a box nobody's looking at."
The words landed flat. I stared at the stitching on his seat.
"She didn't leave it," I said quietly. "It was in her jewelry box. On the top shelf of her closet."
Dad blinked. "Lily —"
"With Grandma's note," I said. My voice was small but it didn't shake. "The little folded card. Grandma wrote that they were for Mom and then for me someday. They weren't in the apartment dresser. They were at Mom's new place. I saw them there last month when she let me try them on for like ten seconds."
He turned his hands over on the steering wheel. His knuckles were white. For a second he didn't say anything, just breathed through his nose. A car behind us honked lightly and Mrs. Alvarez waved them around us.
"I didn't know you'd seen the note," he said.
"I remember where they were," I said. "And Mom didn't give them to you. She said that in the hallway. At the hotel. You heard her."
That was the part he didn't have an answer for. He looked out the windshield at the line moving forward, then back at me. The easy story he'd come with didn't fit anymore and he knew I knew it.
"I messed up," he said finally. He said it lower this time, not like an announcement. "I shouldn't have taken them from her place. I told myself it was fine because we were still technically sharing things, but it wasn't fine. I wanted to make Vanessa feel... included. For the gala. It was stupid."
I didn't answer right away. I just stood there holding my backpack strap. He wasn't trying to make me feel sorry for him anymore. He looked actually uncomfortable being seen.
"Are you going to bring them back?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yes. I told your aunt I would. I will bring them myself."
"Without Vanessa?" I asked.
"Without Vanessa," he said. "Just me. To your mom's apartment. Tomorrow morning like we said."
I felt my shoulders drop a little. I believed that part because it cost him something to say it.
"I have to wait for Mom," I said, stepping back from the door. "I don't want to ride with you today. No offense."
"None taken," he said. He didn't try to pull me in or argue. "You're right to wait here."
I closed the SUV door gently and stepped back onto the sidewalk. Dad rolled his window up halfway and stayed parked for another minute before he pulled forward to let the line move. He lifted a hand as he passed me, not waving, just a small acknowledgment.
Mom's Subaru turned into the loop right after that, a little fast, like she'd hurried from the parking lot. I saw her face through the windshield and she looked relieved when she saw me still on the curb. I got in the back seat and buckled.
"Was that your dad?" she asked, checking the mirror.
"Yeah," I said. I pulled out my phone. "He said he was keeping them safe. That you left them."
Mom's mouth tightened but she didn't say anything right away. She waited for me to finish.
I typed fast: Dad was here. Said he took them from your closet, not the apartment. Said he'll bring them himself tomorrow no Vanessa. I'm with you now.
I hit send and watched the delivered check pop up.
Mom read it at the red light and exhaled. She reached back and squeezed my knee once.
May you like
"Thank you for telling me exactly what happened," she said.
We pulled away from the school and I watched Dad's SUV turn the other way at the intersection, heading away from us, and I didn't feel pulled in two directions for the first time since the ballroom.
