“It’s a great school.”
“It’s far.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Not that far.”
“You’d have to travel to see me.”
The word travel still carried an old shadow between them.
Daniel wiped his hands.
“Emily.”
She looked at him.
“You are allowed to leave.”
“I know.”
“You are supposed to leave.”
She laughed.
“That sounds rude.”
“You know what I mean.”
“What if you get lonely?”
“I have Rebecca.”
Emily smiled.
“Aunt Rebecca will destroy your house.”
“True.”
“She’ll make you buy modern furniture.”
“That woman has no boundaries.”
Emily became quiet.
Daniel recognized the expression.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Pieces of truth.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“Something a counselor taught me years ago. You’re doing the face.”
“What face?”
“The face where you say nothing because you’re hoping I’ll stop asking.”
Emily sighed.
“I’m scared.”
“Of college?”
“Of leaving.”
Daniel nodded.
“That makes sense.”
“What if something happens?”
“To me?”
“To either of us.”
Daniel leaned against the counter.
“When your mom died, I started believing that loving someone meant keeping them close enough that nothing could happen.”
Emily listened.
“Then after Claire, I went in the opposite direction. I wanted to be near you every second.”
“You kind of were.”
“I know.”
“You volunteered for every field trip.”
“I was helpful.”
“You fell asleep at the planetarium.”
“It was dark.”
“You snored.”
“That accusation remains unproven.”
Emily laughed.
Daniel smiled.
“Eventually I learned something.”
“What?”
“You can’t make life safe by making it small.”
Emily looked down at the brochure.
“You should go wherever you want to go.”
“What if I need you?”
“Call.”
“What if it’s three in the morning?”
“Call.”
“What if you’re in a meeting?”
“Call.”
“What if—”
“Emily.”
She looked at him.
“I’ll come.”
The simplicity of the statement silenced her.
Daniel had made that promise through behavior for more than a decade.
He did not need to dramatize it.
She nodded.
“Okay.”
The following fall, Emily left for college.
Daniel cried in the parking lot after she entered the dorm.
He denied it when Rebecca asked.
She had photographic evidence.
He threatened to disinherit her.
She reminded him she had her own money.
The argument lasted three states on the drive home.
Life continued.
Then, nearly fourteen years after Daniel entered the mansion and found Emily crying at the bottom of the staircase, a package arrived at his lake house.
There was no return address.
Inside was a letter.
Daniel recognized the handwriting immediately.
Claire.
He almost threw it away.