Page 56 of When the Night is Over

I smile back at him and shrug my shoulders.

“Janelle.”

“No hug for me, big brother?” She teases with a smile, but there’s an edge to her voice.

He gives her the same awkward hug. “So what brings you two here today?”

What a weird question. It’s as if my father has never considered the possibility that I would someday come home. He carted me off without even saying goodbye, has gone almost two years without once making contact, and now stands here and acts like everything is copacetic. He doesn’t ask about my life, or ask:Hey, what’d you ever do about that pickle you got yourself into last year?His refusal to acknowledge me pisses me off.

“We came back to clear out that bank account mom started for me.”

“The accountweopened for you?” Talk of money piques Christian’s interest. He’s still on the phone, or pretending to be, but he’s listening. “That was money I put aside for you. Money I wanted to go towards your education.”

“It is going towards her education.” Janelle looks to me and winks before looking back to my father, her chin raised in defiance. “Charlotte’s going to be a freshman at the University of Michigan this September.” There’s an awkward pause before she prompts my father, “You should be proud.”

He doesn’t hold much love for his sister, that’s as plain as the look on his face. “Don’ttellme what I should be, Janelle.” Turning to me, he says, “I am proud. And I’ll see about the account. I need a few days to look into it.”

A few days? There’s one person in the dealership at the moment, so some mad spike in sales isn’t tying him up. What an ass. He thinks he still has control, has some power over me, when he has none whatsoever.

“You don’t need to look into anything. I’ve already been to the bank. I turned eighteen in January, remember?”

He smiles but his jaw is visibly tight. I want to press him:Did you remember my birthday?It shouldn’t hurt but it does. He wasn’t a terrible father—I never went without, I wasn’t abused—but he wasn’t a good father. He’s not a good man. And looking over to Christian, I recognize the same qualities in him, and know I’ll never reach out to either one of them again. I don’t want them in my life, don’t want them near my son. I don’t want Ethan exposed to their warped brand of masculinity.

I look my father in the eye and take a deep breath. “Just figured we had a few hours to kill before we flew back, so I wanted to take a spin around the old neighborhood. It was good to see you again, Dad.” Christian still hasn’t greeted me. He’s doing his best Mark Cuban in the middle of some epic deal impersonation. To spite him I call out, “Good to see you too, Christian,” before turning to walk out the door.

I hold my breath until I reach the rental car. I need three tries before successfully jabbing the key into the ignition with my hand trembling. I see Janelle exit the building then, her face hard as stone as she makes her way to the car.

“I’m not gonna say it,” she says as she buckles her seatbelt.

“He’s an asshole,” we say in unison a moment later and then turn to each other laughing.

“I cannot believe that man’s sperm had anything to do with producing you.”

“Eww, Janelle. Don’t mention my father and sperm in the same sentence.”

“Can you believe how arrogant he is? Acting like he had to give you his blessing and permission to get your own money?”

“I want to deposit that check the minute we get home.”

“Charlotte, the funds were electronically transferred. That paper is just a receipt. Don’t worry, he can’t get his hands on the money.”

“Thank God. He still has that way about him, you know?”

“Intimidating?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s all about the show, there’s no true substance there.” She rests her hand on mine as I shift into drive. “I shouldn’t talk that way about him to you. It isn’t fair.”

“It’s all right, Janelle. I’m not exactly his biggest fan right now. Can you believe he never even asked me what happened?”

“He knows.”

“He does?”

Oddly, I’m not shaken up by the news. I’m focused on driving now. I have several places I want to see and checking those places off on my list is of greater importance to me than my relationship with my father.

“I called him when you were in the hospital, the night before you and Ethan were having surgery. It didn’t feel right not to let him know. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

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