Chapter 32
On Christmas morning, as they were unwrapping presents, there was a knock at the door. Her mother rose to answer it, whispering about nosy neighbors who lacked the God-given common sense to avoid unsolicited visits on Christmas morning of all days. Lennon, tired and dazed after staying up so late, thought nothing of it and was surprised when her mother returned to the living room moments later, looked at Lennon, and said: “It’s for you.”
Lennon, Carly, and their father all got up at once, Lennon edging to the front of the group, almost defensively, the other three trailing her as she walked down the foyer to the front door and opened it. Standing there was Dante.
“What the hell are you doing here?” said Lennon. “I mean…Merry Christmas.”
Her mother glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Is this…a friend of yours, Lennon?”
“This is Dante. My advisor.”
“Your advisor. At Drayton?”
“Ex-advisor, apparently,” said Lennon.
Dante’s eyes homed in on Lennon, as if there were no one else there. “We need to talk.”
They walked down the tiled driveway to the vintage Audi parked parallel to the street. Lennon stood a few feet away on the curb with her arms folded over her chest. It wasn’t that cold, but she was shivering terribly.
“What the hell are you on? You pull me from Christmas morning to handle this?” She’d never seen him this angry, and it was kind of, well, hot, though she was loath to admit it. Either way, it was better than the tacit nonchalance with which he’d abandoned her two weeks before.
“I don’t want to study at Drayton if I’m not studying under you,” said Lennon.
“Bullshit,” said Dante. “This is a fucking power play, and you know it. You think you can force my hand by faux-quitting?”
“Clearly, I can, because you’re here. You could’ve called, you know. You didn’t have to come all this way. We could’ve done this over the phone if you’d had the decency to let me know that you don’t want to be my advisor anymore, instead of handing over the task to admin.”
“These kinds of administrative tasks are usually handled by—”
“It’s not about that and you know it,” said Lennon, angry now. Really angry. “This is about what happened in the chapel. You’re punishing me for it.”
“It’s not a punishment—”
“Then what is it, Dante?”
He leveled his gaze, was quiet for a long time. “I am your advisor, and you are my charge. We can’t do this.”
“I’m not a child—”
“I know that.”
“—and I’m not some starry-eyed teen fresh out of high school either. I mean, I’ve been engaged , for Christ’s sake. If something was to happen—”
“It won’t.”
“But let’s say it does. Let’s say I wanted it to. It’s not coercion.”
“And how do you know? How do you know that I’m not pulling strings? Persuading you to do what I want?”
“So you do want this.”
“That was hypothetical.”
“Was it?”
His eyes turned stern and hard, and she thought he might yell at her. But he just dipped his head and smiled instead. Not with kindness or humor but with sheer disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe he’d been dragged into this. “Do you know why I came here?”
“Damage control?”
“No. I came all this way because Eileen was deeply troubled by your phone call, so troubled that she began to suspect your mind needed to be wiped clean of every memory you’ve ever had of Drayton. I came here to assess whether that needs to be done.”
Lennon stiffened. “What’s your take?”
Dante ignored that question, just sidestepped it like it wasn’t even worth his consideration. “You’re going back to Drayton. Today.”
“Not if you won’t be my advisor,” said Lennon.
“Don’t be difficult.”
“There’s nothing difficult about this. It’s simple. I return to Drayton with you as my advisor, or I don’t return at all, and you take my memories. Which one is it going to be, Dante?”
“Lennon—”
“I’m serious. I mean every word. I don’t want—” Her voice broke on that lie. “I don’t need or expect to have any relationship with you beyond advisorship. But if I’m expected to continue my studies—to be this gatekeeper that everyone at the school is so determined for me to become—then I need an advisor who I can trust to guide me. And you’re the only person who fits that description.”
Dante turned quiet and contemplative for a beat. Staring down at his own shoes as he made up his mind. “If we do this, you and me, we can’t be anything. Ever. Our relationship will be strictly contained within the parameters of advisorship. Nothing beyond that. Do you understand that?”
“I understand.”
A muscle in Dante’s jaw jumped and flexed. She swore she felt his presence in her mind, just the briefest touch, there and gone in an instant. She wondered what he saw, what he was looking for. “Let’s get you back to Drayton.”
Lennon nodded, trying to mask just how relieved she really felt. “Can I say goodbye to my family? I’ll be quick.”
“You have fifteen minutes.”
Lennon walked back up the drive to see the faces of her family pressed against the windows on both sides of the door. The questions began as soon as she was inside.
“Why is he here?” Carly demanded.
“That man looks like Black Adonis,” said her mother. “You said he’s your advisor? He doesn’t look like an advisor.”
“Not with those tattoos,” her father muttered. “Did you see the backs of his hands? Anyone who gets tattooed on their hands is an idiot.”
Lennon shouldered past her family to the Christmas tree, where she hastily collected her opened presents, which consisted of a few pairs of socks, a silk blouse, and several passive-aggressively titled self-help books. She carried everything back to the guest room, dumping all the presents on the bed.
“What are you doing?” Carly demanded.
“Packing.”
“But it’s Christmas,” said her mother.
“I know. But the term starts earlier than I thought, so I should be on my way.”
Lennon packed quickly. She hadn’t brought much to begin with so it didn’t take long.
“This is weird,” said Carly. “You’re acting weird.”
“According to you, I’m always acting weird.”
“Well, you’re acting even weirder now. And that guy, Dante, or whatever is name is. He just comes here to collect you? How did he even get this address?”
“I gave it to him,” she lied.
“Bullshit. Why would you give your advisor the address of your parents’ retirement home?”
Her mother’s eyes flashed wide with outrage. “I’ll have you know this is a freestanding condo for people of retirement age , Carly. My god, you can be so patronizing—”
“Lennon,” said Carly, catching her by the arms now. “Listen, if this is some weird sex trafficking cult thing—”
“It’s not,” said Lennon. “And I love you, and I need to go. And you need to let me.”
“No,” said Carly. “I’m not letting you go anywhere. And he”—she pointed out the front window of the house, and Lennon was fairly certain Dante could see her—“he can go fuck himself as far as I’m concerned. He’s making you do this, isn’t he? He’s taking you.”
“He’s my advisor,” said Lennon. “The only place he’s taking me is back to school.”
“Ah, your advisor. Of course. The same way Wyatt was your friend?” Carly demanded now, with a real maliciousness. “And that architecture professor back in college? And before him, in high school, your boyfriend’s mom—”
Her mother’s eyes flashed wide with alarm. “Lennon!”
When she willed them all to silence, it didn’t feel like a choice. It was as though someone else had simply sucked their words right out of the air. But her consciousness returned to her when she began to walk them back to the living room. She dragged her parents over to the couch, had her mother offer an open palm, bid her father take it. She tugged at the corners of their lips and arranged their faces into expressions that looked less like grimaces and more like smiles. Of the three, Carly was the most difficult to compel—perhaps because she’d wised up, after Lennon had persuaded her that first time. It took several grueling tries before Lennon was able to settle her, somewhat comfortably, on the couch next to their parents. All of them together there formed the scene of a family, made perfect by the fact that Lennon was not a part of it.
“Something came up at school,” said Lennon, and as she said this, she made it an immutable reality in their minds. “I’m going to leave now. Have a good Christmas.”
As a parting gift she delivered a feeling of peace, and felt it settle thickly in the minds of her loved ones, turning them all soft and compliant and perhaps a little sleepy. All except Carly, who, sitting stiffly on the couch, gazed at the floor with tear-filled eyes as if betrayed.