Six
DAVID
AFTER
This place is suffocating. From the gaudy chandeliers and gold-lined wallpaper to the loud and imposing men in tuxedos trying to establish some kind of power hierarchy. Hell, the entire room smells of dirty money and hidden bodies.
I hate that I’m exposing my girls to this world, but I have to make nice once in a while or else things will get too complicated and my healthy, happy life will disintegrate faster than you can say “money laundering.”
“David! My darling boy.” A small smile makes an appearance as my mother takes my cheeks and kisses one then the other before squeezing my free hand tight enough to temporarily stop the blood flow. “How are you? It’s been too long.”
“Mother.” I turn to Lisa, who’s beaming a little too much and I know it’s her make-nice smile.
She wore the same one the first time she met my parents and the nervous energy that swirls around her is almost palpable.
“You remember Lisa?” My fingers tighten on my wife’s waist as I bring her closer to my side.
I’m protecting her from this world but also, I’m grounding myself with her touch.
“Of course. Lisa, I see you are well.” There’s no malice in my mother’s eyes, not like the first night, but her sadness is like a veil she wears over her face. I’m captivated by the silent conversation they seem to be having. I’m not privy to it but there’s no doubt it’s happening somehow.
“We would like to introduce you to our daughter, River.” My little Ladybug straightens her spine and raises her chin just enough to stand as tall as her grandmother, her guard up like she’s walking into battle. She may very well be, the night is still young…unfortunately.
“My goodness, you are exquisite. Such beauty.” My mother’s voice cracks on her last syllable and I can tell she’s overwhelmed with emotion, but in true Upper East Side fashion, she shows the bare minimum.
“And River is just…” She pinches her lips together like she’s trying to reel it all in before someone sees her exposing any kind of weakness.
Reaching out, my mother cups River’s cheek and whispers reverently, “As beautiful a name as the young lady who owns it.”
“Thank you.” River’s shoulders are squared, a small smile the only emotion she gifts her grandmother as her piercing green eyes try to unpack the decades of self-preservation that is my mother.
The very air in the room shifts as the deep rumble of a familiar voice blankets our corner of the world with unwavering ice. “David. Good to see you could make it.”
It’s my turn to steel my spine, my arm around Lisa instinctively pulling her tighter against me.
“Father. Didn’t think I had the choice.” The closer he gets, the colder the room becomes. It doesn’t matter if it’s December or the middle of a July heatwave, his presence sucks all the warmth out of any conversation.
“You did, but the consequences of your absence would have been too great for your mother to bear.” We shake hands like business partners, not like father and son. He pulls me in for a one armed hug, surprising me with his overly affectionate gesture until I realize why he’s doing it.
“Eyes are watching, Son. Play the game and everything will be fine.”
I don’t know if his private words are a warning or a threat. Either way, my first instinct is to grab the most important women in my life and run like hell. Except there’s no running from the people in this room. All I can do is play this fucking game so I can keep us all safe.
I grin like my father just told me the greatest joke on the planet, playing the part of the happy son who has come back for the family gathering.
My father nods at Lisa, his way of both acknowledging her existence and letting us know that she’s not worth the breath of his words.
For him, she’s the reason we’re in this predicament.
She’s the reason I left. Except, I would have eventually grabbed my shit and run, the only difference is that I’d be a dead man by now if it weren’t for my desire to keep my family safe.
When his eyes land on River, I watch my daughter’s reaction to him, and in that instant I wonder how much of him she inherited. They stare at each other, her chin lifting higher in defiance, like she can tell he’s judging every inch of her and making sure he can see himself reflected in her.
“You must be River.”
“I am. You must be my absent grandfather.” Goddess.
“River, please, be kind.” Lisa runs a hand down River’s long, dark hair before taking her hand once more.
“I’m always kind, Mom. But respect is earned.
” The whole time, my barely-seventeen-year-old daughter and my father hold each other’s gazes, and I wonder if I should step in to break whatever silent conflict is happening between them.
Then I remember that River is strong and resilient just like her namesake.
“I like you.” I relax just slightly at my father’s words, but the anger that Lisa taught me to abandon comes rearing back in an instant. “Shame you didn’t have a boy, though.”
Lisa’s fingers squeeze mine in an attempt to reel me back as every muscle in my body tenses. No one knows about Everest. We’ve kept him a secret this whole time because knowing about River is dangerous enough, they don’t need to know there’s a male heir to their fucked-up world.
“Well, River fills our hearts with enough love for ten.” Lisa’s voice is soft and loving and just sweet enough to make my father always shiver with disgust.
He doesn’t “do” sweet. Or love. Or kindness.
“It’s a shame you feel that way. There’s nothing a man can do that I can’t.” My father’s eyes narrow at River a moment before the most incredible thing happens. Also, the scariest.
The man that rules the whole of Manhattan throws his head back and laughs outright. A booming sound that has the entire room frozen in shock.
“River… you are definitely my granddaughter.”