“Oh right,” Renee says, smacking her head. “Dad, this is Emilia from school. Em, this is my dad.”
“Call me Nate,” I say evenly, my eyes on Emilia as I take a drink. “And I’m very pleased to meet you.”
“So am I,” she says faintly.
Renee digs into the pasta, oblivious to the sparks arcing between us. Because there are sparks. Just seeing her again has brought it all to the forefront again, and it’s a good thing there’s a table hiding the erection I have for Emilia.
“So are you going to be really busy again this time dad?” she asks.
“I’ll have to see. There’s a few developments coming out of Asia I have to keep an eye on.”
“That’s fine,” she says. “Em and I have lots planned, don’t we?”
“Yes, and I’ve got a lot of schoolwork I have to do,” she says, her eyes darting towards me. I give her an easy grin. I’m not sure if she’s telling me or herself she’ll be too busy.
“Renee tells me you want to be a doctor. Have you thought about what you would specialize in?”
She looks up, surprised that I know that about her, but I am genuinely curious. After all, she’s my daughter’s best friend. I would be a terrible father if I didn’t know what sorts she’s hanging out with.
“Cardiology,” she says. “I haven’t decided whether I would be in surgery or not.”
“Em’s grandma has a bad heart,” Renee explains. “The doctors said there’s nothing that can be done for her, but Em wants to change that.”
She flushes.
“It’s not that I think I can be cure her just by going to medical school,” she hurries to say. “But if I study hard enough, maybe I could come up with something that might help others not lose their grandmothers one day.”
I’m surprised by the fact that she’s so young, and yet she has such noble aspirations. She’s mature beyond her years, and maybe that’s why I was drawn to her.
“I think it’s a fantastic goal,” I tell her. “Maybe you can rub some of that off on Renee.”
“No way dad,” she says with a laugh. “Have you seen my grades? I’m never getting into medical school.”
Renee pours more white wine into her glass.
“Doesn’t mean you can’t make a difference,” Emilia says solemnly. “I think you have a good heart, and you can make a difference with just that.”
Renee turns pink, but I can see that her friend’s words have an impact. Maybe I’ve been too hard on my own daughter, saddling her with my low expectations and assumptions on what she does. Hard discipline worked for me, but it might not for my daughter. I’m surprised by such an epiphany, and it’s thanks to Emilia.
“She’s right,” I tell my daughter. “I don’t see why you need straight A’s for everything. There’s plenty of people who go out there and succeed. It just takes determination and hard work.”
The surprise and gratefulness on my daughter’s face tells me I’m on the right track.
“Well, I think we’re going to have some fun this week before we crack open the books,” Renee says at last. “If it’s okay with you dad, I wanted to take Em down Fifth Avenue this afternoon.”
“Of course,” I tell her. “What trip to New York City wouldn’t be complete without visiting one of the best shopping places on earth?”
“Thanks dad,” she said with a grin.
Renee starts chatting about other things in school, but I’m only half listening. The rest of me is focused on Emilia. Her hair’s straight today, softly feathering around her face, making her features look soft and open. In the bright light of day, I usually find that whatever intoxicating sensuality that brought me to a woman evaporates, but I’m even more attracted to Emilia than ever. The strength of my attraction to her overwhelms me, and I have to excuse myself from the dinner on the pretense of business.
But if I had to be honest, the distance isn’t going to help me get over her. Not when I didn’t want to.
Emilia
We’re in a beautiful, expensive department store on Fifth Avenue. The inside is gorgeous, with a beautiful spring bloom motif. It looks like a hundred live trees have been brought in, coiling around the columns of the store and reaching high into the sky. Birds, flowers and fruit are weaved into the branches, all of it looking so real I’m surprised I don’t hear any chirping. As soon as we walked through, a personal shopper came to greet us, doing the whole European double kiss thing with Renee. She introduces herself as Laura, Renee’s personal shopper, and we head up to the private suites for tea and cookies. It’s amazing how Renee’s getting treated like a princess here. I’ve always known we’ve come from different backgrounds, but it’s not until now that I truly see the difference.