Page 64 of After Everything
I didn't know what I felt instead.
But I knew I didn't want to figure it out.
I went back to my charts and didn't let myself think about it for the rest of the day.
CHAPTER 20: DAVID
Aweek after I'd dropped off files at Emma's clinic, my dad called.
"Coffee?" he said. "I'm in town for the afternoon."
I met him at the same place we'd gone to before: a small café near the park, with good espresso and never too crowded. He was already at a table when I arrived, reading the paper like it was still 1995.
"Hey, Dad."
He looked up and smiled. "David. You look good."
"Thanks." I sat down across from him. "What brings you into the city?"
"Your mother wanted me to pick upsomething from that kitchen store she likes. The one that charges forty dollars for a wooden spoon." He scoffed, then folded his newspaper. "But I also wanted to check in. See how you're doing."
I ordered a coffee from the server who appeared at our table while Dad got a refill.
"I'm good," I said. "Busy. Just took on three new cases this week."
"All pro bono?"
"Two pro bono, one paid. The paid one is funding the other two, so it works out."
He nodded, studying me. "You seem different. Better."
I thought about that. "Maybe. I don't know. Things are just... better than they were."
"Good." He took a sip of his coffee. "Your mother will be glad to hear it."
We talked about his work, about my brother's new job in Seattle, about whether I was coming home for Thanksgiving. Normal things.
Then he set down his mug and looked at me.
"I ran into Linda Peterson at the grocery store yesterday."
My chest tightened. "Oh?"
"Your mother had mentioned running into her last month, but I hadn't seen her myself in a while." He paused. "We chatted for a bit. Asked about each other's kids."
I waited.
"She mentioned Emma's doing well. Working a lot, thriving at the clinic." Another pause. "Said she and that young man she was seeing—Connor, I think?—broke up a few weeks ago."
The café noise faded to white noise.
"They broke up?"
"That's what Linda said. Apparently it was mutual. They just weren't right for each other." Dad's eyes were steady on mine. "She said Emma seems happy. Content. Focusing on her work."
I stared at my coffee cup.
Emma was single.
