Page 220 of The Encore’s Crown

“Can you not make this revolting before I’ve even put my bag down?”

I kiss Kiri harder out of spite.

Ma laughs.

The sound fills the house without anyone reaching for the remote.

Chapter 76

Now We're Even

Kiri

After another month in the studio, Stefan finally gives us a week before special projects he's arranged start swallowing every day leading into festival season.

I use this rare opportunity to fly home and surprise Nat.

The second she answers the phone, I say, “We have a flight to catch, Rithy's staying with Ma, I'll pick you up at yours. Pack light.”

I should have known that was a stupid choice of words.

“How light?”

“One bag.”

“What kind of bag?”

“I don't know, a normal one?”

“That means nothing. Are we talking overnight tote? Carry-on? Checked luggage? Is there a beach? Snow? Am I dressing for hiking or dinner?”

“Warm weather. Swimming. A couple of nice dinners.”

“How nice? Shoes are determined by the answer.”

“Pack whatever you need.”

The sound she makes turns victorious. Two hours later, I’m standing beside three suitcases. I look at them, then at her.

“I said one bag.”

“You also surrendered and said whatever I need.” She pats my cheek. “You told me to trust you. Now trust that I understand vacation wardrobe logistics better than you.”

I load all three into the car because arguing would only delay us and I’ve missed her enough that even her luggage feels good in my hand. I don’t tell her where we’re going, not even when we reach the airport and she realizes our flight is taking us out of the country.

“You know I can look at the boarding pass,” she says.

“You could but that'd just tell you the country, it still won't tell you where we're going.”

The last two months have been measured in calls from detectives, hospital appointments, Ma learning to live in a house where nobody controls the way she breathes, and Natalia quietly stitching our family back together while pretending she isn’t doing anything extraordinary.

The medical examiner ruled Dad's death a suicide, finally. The firearm evidence matched and the house was released. Detective Alvarez said there was nothing suggesting anyone else was involved. There are still forms, lawyers, insurance calls, and pieces of Dad that refuse to disappear neatly but the investigation, at least, is finished.

Ma is walking without the cane most days. She cooks again, though she tires quickly and refuses to admit it. For the first time since the phone rang, she can spend a day alone without any of us feeling like we’ve abandoned her.

Natalia deserves a break. She deserves more than I know how to give or say. So I take her somewhere the view can do the talking for me.

By the time we reach Saint Lucia, she’s tired, suspicious, and vibrating with curiosity. The drive climbs through green hills beneath an azure sky so blue it seems unreal, like we're entering a movie set. She keeps lowering the window to stare out, then turning toward me as though I might finally explain myself.