Page 97 of Nathan
I shrugged. “I’m happy that Sergeant O’Malley and Sergeant Evans finally came forward in my defense; I just wish they’d done it back when I was on trial. Maybe then I wouldn’t have been convicted and dismissed from military or been stripped of my medals.”
“I’m sorry, Nathan.” River got up from the floor and brushed her two long blond braids back. “Come on, I’ll make us a cup of tea, and then we can order some lunch from that vegan shop you liked on Davies Street.”
I followed her down to the kitchen, where she found a menu and handed it to me. “I already know what I want, but take your time.”
While I went over the options, River began changing the water in the many vases with fresh cut flowers.
“Isn’t that a new one?” I nodded to a massive bouquet of red roses on the dining table.
“Yes, it came this morning while you showered. It’s from John.”
“Is he the American movie director? Why do you keep accepting his flowers if you don’t want anything to do with him?”
River turned off the water before arranging the flowers in the vase a little. “I’ve told him I can’t be more than friends. If he wants to continue sending me gifts, that’s entirely up to him, is it not?”
“But don’t you ever feel obligated to give something back?”
“I used to. But I’ve gotten better at being upfront about my feelings and then respecting that if men want to try and seduce me, that’s their prerogative.”
“Did you date this guy?”
“No. John is married and I never date married men. I told him so when he asked me out, but like most men, John is convinced that a woman’snocan be altered to ayessimply by giving her flowers, jewelry, and expensive gifts.”
“Have you ever given in?”
“Not to someone who was married.” Placing the glass vase on the table in front of me, River dried up a few droplets of water that spilled over, and asked, “Did you decide what you want to eat?”
“Soup and salad is fine with me.” I looked around River’s kitchen as she ordered our food with her posh English accent that was slightly different from that of any of us other siblings.
“Why do you talk like you’re royal?” I asked when she hung up.
“I don’t!”
“Maybe not all the time, but you sound very posh some times.”
“Probably because I’ve dated a few aristocrats, and quite a few of my friends were born in higher circles.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Higher circles… don’t you think there’s something wrong with that saying? As if your last name and your accent determines the quality of you as a person?”
“You overthink things, Nathan.”
“Maybe you’re right.” I looked away, my heart heavy with the doubt that threatened to suffocate me every morning when I woke up and every night when I went to bed lately.
“What about Serena? Don’t you think she’s gonna be thrilled about the article?”
“Mhmm. Maybe she already saw it?”
“How? It’s only five in the morning in LA. She’s still sleeping. Unless you’re implying that she had something to do with the article.”
“She did. I know she was the one who tipped off Lucille Baker to my whereabouts the night she came to interview me, and Lucille is mentioned below the article as a contributor, so…”
“But don’t you find it strange that the journalist didn’t interview you or me? It’s bizarre how the whole thing is focusing on everything that happened around you instead of what it felt like to be you… or me for that matter.”
“It’s more based on facts and less on emotions, I suppose. But I like that.”
River studied me for a moment. “What’s going to happen next with you and Serena?”
“I ask myself that question ten times a day. All I know is that I can’t live in a long-distance relationship.”
