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I rush to his side, and my mother reaches over to grab a pitcher off the side table and pour him a cup of water. He takes it with shaky hands that he lets me support, as he tips the cup to his lips. He would never have let me do this before.
He gently pushes my hands away once he has enough fluids and has stopped coughing, and he looks at me once again like he’s seeing a ghost. I suppose that’s what I’ve been to him in the last decade. I take the cup from him and hand it to my mother to put away.
“Amelia,” he rasps, and his voice, though a bit thready, is still him. It’s still confident and powerful, and I smile hesitantly at him.
“Hi, Papa,” I whisper.
“Why are you here?” he asks, turning to look at my mother. “I didn’t expect you to come.”
I look to my mother now, confused. “Was it you who sent the letter?”
“Through the lawyer of course,” she corrects me. “This feud needed to end, at least for now.”
I smile and look at my father who seems amazed by his wife’s actions.
“Oh, come now, I don’t tell you everything,” she says and crosses her arms.
I laugh, and he smiles at me. My coarse, domineering father smiles at me.
“Papa, damn it… I’m so sorry,” I breathe and my heart aches.
“Language,” Maman snaps.
“She is allowed to curse under these circumstances,” Papa says, and I nearly laugh again. “I’m glad to see you Amelia, despite the reasoning.”
“I couldn’t stay away,” I say, and it’s true. Despite my worries, I couldn’t keep myself away from them with all the turmoil.
I sit beside him without question, and he begins to talk about everything I’ve missed. All the friends who grew up without me but also things that have changed in the estate.
“Did your Maman tell you about her new friend?” he asks. He seems to be feeling better since he first woke up, his face has more color.
“The cat?” I clarify and he nods. “Yes, I never thought there would be a day my mother would accept an animal onto the property, let alone want it in the house.
“I think she’s lonely,” my father whispers conspiratorially.
Maman scoffs. “If you hadn’t gotten sick on me, I wouldn’t have to go to a cat.”
She frowns at my father with no real heat, and he smiles sadly. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”
She just shakes her head. She is frustrated by the circumstances, of being unable to help my father. I can tell just from the way tears seem to glimmer threateningly on her lashes.
“Did I tell you I’ve found someone?” I say in hopes of redirecting their attention and accidentally spilling something I didn’t even realize myself. That I’m talking about Adrian.
I hadn’t acknowledged these feelings before, to him or myself, not truly, I’ve been tiptoeing around what I knew. But here I am spilling the words to my parents who look struck dumb by the change of subject.
“You have?” my mother asks with mild interest.
“You would appreciate him,” I say quietly. “He’s from good blood in the U.S.”
Now my mother is far more interested, and my father is even more surprised.
“You? The person who ran away from society before you could even become a part of it?” Papa asks.
“Hey, I had my debut ball,” I cross my arms and feel the pout puffing out my cheeks.
“And did absolutely nothing afterward,” my mother says.
I roll my eyes. “It’s…complicated between us. But I don’t want it to be, not anymore.”
