Page 83 of Always Alchemy

I shake my head against Gen’s neck. Stingy little brats. The student allowance I give them is probably better than the average graduate’s starting salary at any investment bank in London, and here they are, scrounging free lunches off their stepmother.

‘Amie did offer,’ she clarifies. ‘Annabel shut her down, and obviously I would never let them pay.’

‘I assume they wanted something? No offence.’

‘None taken.’

I raise my face so I can smile at her in the mirror. She busies herself with squeezing droplets of some serum onto her palm.

‘Darling?’

‘Mmm-hmm?’

‘Out with it. What did they want?’

‘You’re not going to like it,’ she says, rubbing her palms briskly together before smearing her skincare over her face. It smells heavenly.

‘Shoot.’

‘Fine, but please try not to overreact, okay? I’d rather not burst an eardrum.’ She takes a deep breath and looks my reflection straight in the eye. ‘They wanted me to give them Alchemy membership.’

What the actualfuck?I pull my hand away from Gen and turn, pacing around the bathroom. The mere concept of my little girls and Alchemy in the same sentence makes me want to heave. ‘Are you fuckinginsane?’ I bellow.

She turns and crosses her arms, glaring at me. ‘We are not having this conversation like this. Don’t shoot the messenger. We either discuss it calmly, like adults, or not at all.’

I take a deep breath, flaring my nostrils. ‘I assume you told them over my dead body?’

‘Something like that. I told them it was an outright no. But I also promised them I’d speak to you about it. They were very articulate and they asked very smart questions. I swear Annabel should be a corporate shark.’

‘Tell me about it. But the answer is still no.’

She inclines her head in acknowledgement before turning back to face the mirror. ‘I get that. One hundred percent. But maybe it’s something you and I should talk about.’

‘They’re kids.’

‘They’re twenty-one, Anton. They’refive yearsover the age of consent, so if you don’t think they’re sexually active then you’re smoking something. You’ve met their boyfriends in the past, for Christ’s sake. Did you think they were hanging around and crocheting with these boys?’

I hate that she’s right. And, by my calculations, they’d technically be eligible for Alchemy membership. The club has no interest in sixteen year-olds who may technically be legal in this country but who still have far too much maturing to do.

The minimum age policy is there for good reason, and I abhor that my girls are now old enough to even consider it.

‘I don’t want to think about it,’ I say, shaking my head as if to clear this plethora of nauseating images from my brain.

‘I’m sure you don’t, but I assume there are lots of things parents don’t want to think about, and that doesn’t meanyou can just bury your head in the sand and pretend you don’t have to deal with them or safeguard against them.’

I lean back against the edge of the vanity and stretch my legs out as I watch my wife complete her toilette. ‘Believe me, a lot of those problems can be easily rectified if I buy them an island. Women-only. They can complete their degrees remotely.’

She gives me a smile that’s equal parts pitying and derisive. ‘I’m pretty sure Annabel would develop a taste for women, in that case.’

‘Fine by me.’

‘Honey. They’re impressive and thoughtful young women whowillhave a sex life, whether we like it or not, and we should be thankful that they’re asking the right questions and looking into options that are safer and more palatable than getting hammered and swiping right. Amie even asked a very pertinent question about whether the vetting process includes psych evaluations.’

‘I’d never have got in if it did,’ I mutter, and her lips quirk.

‘I thought precisely that and resisted the urge to share that information with your daughters.’

‘Ugh. Amie asked that? I know there’s no hope for Annabel, but I was hoping Amie would end up becoming a nun or marrying some nice dweeb who couldn’t get it up and having a loving but sexless marriage.’

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