Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 134133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 671(@200wpm)___ 537(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 671(@200wpm)___ 537(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
“I never thought about it that way before,” Mom says, frowning down at her plate. “I don’t think we should have veal anymore, honey. I don’t want to eat baby cows.”
“Why don’t I fund a farm where baby cows can live their best lives before we butcher them for their meat?”
“Oh, yes,” Mom says, smiling. “That would be nice.”
“I was joking, sweetheart.”
“Oh.” Mom drops her fork. “Well, I still think it sounds nice.” Looking across the table at Sophie, she says, “I’m going to the kitchen to see if I can get us something else to eat. Would you like to come with me?”
Sophie blinks in surprise, then nods her head. “Sure.”
Dad and I watch the women head for the kitchen, then he looks at me across the table.
“You couldn’t have brought home a nice shallow girl who only cares about shopping and social media?”
I crack a smile and slice into my veal so I can eat it before Sophie comes back. “Sorry.”
“This one’s going to be a pain in the ass,” he warns me.
I shake my head, pulling her plate over so I can take the meat so she doesn’t have to look at it anymore. “Not to me. I respect her values. She’s not like the people I usually hang out with.”
“That’s by design,” he says dryly. “If you’re going to keep her around, I’d like to limit the time she spends with your mother.”
I frown. “Why?”
“Your mother is easily influenced.” He drags her plate over to take her meat like I’m doing with Sophie’s since Mom is now a convert to the no-veal club. “As it is, I’m not going to have a meal I enjoy for a good long time because of your troublesome girlfriend. I’d like to keep her from causing any further disruptions to my life.”
“Speaking of disruptions…” I finish clearing Sophie’s plate and slide it under mine, then I look at him across the table. “Shame about that investment banker, isn’t it?”
His gaze is empty when he meets mine as if he hasn’t the slightest idea what I’m talking about.
“I saw in that paper you had me throw away that one of Mom’s friends died.”
“Mm. Turned out, he wasn’t such a good friend. He took advantage of her gentle nature, tried to take things that didn’t belong to him.” He pulls off a bit of meat, then meets my gaze, smiling noncommittally. “Sometimes, people get what they deserve.”
Dad and I never openly acknowledge Mom’s temporary distractions, but since I’m fairly certain he murdered her most recent lover, my curiosity is piqued. Why this one? “Is that the only friend you’ve felt the need to… unfriend for her?”
“No. There have been a few over the years.”
“Does she know about any of them?”
He shakes his head, slicing off another piece of meat. “That would make her sad,” he says before popping it into his mouth.
A frown flickers across my face. “Not to be an asshole, but don’t you think maybe she deserves to be a little sad about it? Maybe she’d take it as a warning and stop doing it.”
“I do what must be done to punish the men, Silvan, not your mother.”
“Why?”
“Melanie is exactly who I want her to be. The last thing I would ever want is to change or damage her. It’s not her fault other men have noticed her easy nature and snuck in from time to time. If that’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine for getting too busy and not keeping a good enough eye on her.”
I’m not sure that entirely makes sense to me, but before another word can be said about it, we hear chattering and then Mom and Sophie come in with second salad plates.
Mom is cheerful and Sophie seems to be in good spirits, too. I watch Dad look up at his wife as she runs a hand over the back of his neck fondly before sitting down. “Have a nice girls’ trip to the kitchen?” he asks lightly.
“Yes, we did,” Mom says happily, setting her plate down.
“I see you found some nice cruelty-free lettuce.”
Mom waves off his teasing, but Sophie rolls her eyes. I smirk when she shoots me a look and squeeze her thigh under the table.
I know she and my father won’t be besties anytime soon. I’ll happily settle for them not being enemies because my father is not a good enemy to have.
At least Sophie seems more comfortable when she settles in, and I watch her happily eat her salad.
We get through the rest of dinner and dessert without incident.
While I was initially cautious about the possibility of them butting heads, I’m glad they did. He might personally consider caring about people and creatures that can do nothing for him idealistic and foolish, but I think now that my father has slid Sophie into a “caring” category of people, he’ll be less concerned about releasing her back into the world. It’s clear that she doesn’t hate me, so when I assure him she won’t cause trouble, I think he’ll be inclined to believe me.