Lex had just finished showering after practice when his phone rang. He’d never received a phone call from Nina’s school, but he had long ago programmed the number into his phone. Glancing at the name lighting up the screen, he answered without hesitation.
“Hello.”
“Mr. Knight?”
Smiling, he said, “No, Pellitteri.”
“Ah,” said the voice, as if suddenly everything made sense. “Mr. Pellitteri, this is Mr. Seddon, the headmaster at Nina’s school.”
“Yes?”
“Well, I’m afraid I have to have someone come pick her up, and I was unable to reach Ms. Knight.”
Suddenly alarmed, Lex said, “Is everything OK?”
“Yes, everything is fine. Are you able to come collect her?”
“Of course. I can be there soon.”
“Great. If you could just ask for me in the main office, I’ll be waiting.”
“OK,” Lex said. He grabbed his bag and headed for his car.
On the way there, thoughts flew at him like the oncoming traffic. He suddenly found himself thrust into being a father for the first time. Although the reason for the phone call remained a mystery, he was the second phone call. When Lu couldn’t be reached, they’d called him. It astounded him, this feeling of responsibility. Such an inconsequential action, one that no one at Nina’s school had given a second thought to, had for the first time made him feel like he was actually her father. Why this of all things?
She’d called him Dad from the start. He thought he probably owed that to his father, not to any action that he had taken that made her feel like he was really her dad. He could tell that she had been conditioned to accept him. His dad had taken care of him from the grave, it seemed. Somehow his father knew that his ego needed for her to just accept him. He didn’t mind working for every bit that came after that, but to have to win her over from the start, when she had a nine-year headstart on him, would have crushed him.
So as he made his way into the school, he felt a myriad of things. Pride because someone other than himself recognized him as Nina’s dad—even if that recognition had only been granted because of a form that said he was the emergency contact. Apprehension over why he was there—he wasn’t used to walking into situations he hadn’t been apprised of or orchestrated himself. And, he had to admit, anticipation because, after seven months of self-imposed absence, he might see Lu.
25
Lex had never been sent to the principal’s office, which tended to surprise people who knew him. School had been a pleasant, albeit short, experience for him. By the time he was fourteen, he had missed great chunks of time from school for training camps and tournaments. When he was at school, he spent a lot of time charming his teachers, who in turn spent time catching him up. His mother didn’t believe in home schooling, which meant he’d had to do a lot to meet the requirements for the hours he spent at his desk. Walking into Nina’s school now felt foreign to him.
He was immediately shown into the outer office, adjacent to the headmaster’s. Sitting in a chair, with a look of defiance plastered across her face, was Nina. When she saw him, she merely glared, offering no smile. Lex didn’t have long to contemplate his reception, because Lu entered the room immediately after he did. Watching the scene unfold, he noted that Lu returned Nina’s glare. He realized in that moment that he had never seen them interact. He’d be so hurt at the funeral that he’d avoided all interaction with Lu. And since then, everything had been accomplished by his lawyers. As Lu and Nina faced off in front of him, he felt awestruck.
Lu looked like she was fifteen years old again. In jeans, fluffy UGG boots, and a big purple cable-knit sweater, she had a gray scarf tied around her neck. Her black hair was pulled back in a haphazard ponytail and a smudge of lip gloss coated her full lips. This is the girl I fell in love with, he thought. But she was all woman and indignant mother right now, scowling at Nina, which she had a right to. I don’t have that right, he acknowledged to himself. Once Lu made sure that Nina knew she was angry, she walked over to her and dropped a kiss on her head. Lu was just about to sit down when the door to the headmaster’s office opened and Mr. Seddon invited Lex and Lu inside.
“Nina, please wait while I talk to your parents.”
Zing, right through his heart. He was her parent. He looked back at Nina, winked at her, and followed the adults into the room.
“Mr. Pellitteri, Miss Knight, please take a seat.”
The office looked like Lex would have thought it was supposed to look. A big oak desk was situated in front of a window and two chairs sat directly in front of the desk. Lex had to remember for a split second that he wasn’t the one in trouble here.