Page 90 of Jump on Three
Lucky for us both, I had no trouble asking for what I wanted. So far, she almost always said yes, and my skin was thick enough for the times she said no.
I knew she liked me.
There was no doubt in my mind she would tell me to stop showing up at room three if she didn’t.
“What will you do at Luciana’s place?” I asked as we walked.
“They have a baby, so I intend to spend a lot of time with her. I recently learned children like me, and I return the sentiment. Rhys has a little nephew who always climbs in my lap when I see him.”
I raised her hand to my mouth, kissing her knuckles. “Like you do to me, yes?”
Her little laugh was more of a snort. “If your lap wasn’t made for sitting, why is it so comfortable?”
“I’m pleased you find it comfortable because I like you there.” I bumped her shoulder. “I’m surprised you like children. They are loud and sticky and unpredictable.”
“This is a new discovery for me. I’ve only handled them one at a time. But I like Owen and baby Madelina. It’s not a very big sample pool, but I’ve come to the tentative conclusion that how I feel about children is not reflective of my general outlook on people. They’re loud and sticky and unpredictable, which, in itself, is predictable. I find little ones easier to understand since their needs and ideas are so basic. Plus, they give good snuggles.”
The place in my heart where Evelyn had lodged herself grew three times. No matter how I felt about my father, family was the most important thing to me.
“I think all the children in my family would be overwhelming for you. It’s too much for me at times.”
“Are there many?” she asked.
“I have twelve nieces and nephews and countless cousins. Yes, there are a lot.”
She hissed through her teeth. “Wow. I think I would have to carefully ease into a situation with all those children. But I also think it would be very fun to be around them. I can almost picture it.”
“Maybe one day I’ll take you to Russia.”
“Okay,” she easily agreed. “You must miss it.”
“Parts, yes. The people are what I’m most homesick for. When I first arrived here, I felt like I was on a parallel planet. Things were mostly the same but ever so slightly skewed. It took some time to get used to.”
“That makes sense to me. Well, not the homesick part. I can’t really remember what it was like to have a true home. It’s the wrong planet part I understand. Everyone else seems to know how to live here with little effort while I am always a little bit sideways, working hard to keep my balance.”
She told me this lightly, her admission carrying away on the breeze, but it was heavy knowledge. My first couple months in the US had been uncomfortable, like my skin hadn’t fit properly. It had been exhausting. If Evelyn felt even a tenth of that in her everyday life…Christ, my gut ached at the possibility. I vowed to never make her existence more difficult and to ease any difficulties she had if I could.
“You do well, angel. I would never know you felt that way,” I told her. “Anyway, living here is not all bad. There’s a lot to like about my current situation.”
Her eyes danced around my face. “It’s much warmer, right? And of course, you can go to the beach any time you want.”
I squinted at her, trying to figure out if she was joking. She looked up at me and wrinkled her nose, giving me a coy smile.
Yes, my Evelyn was teasing me.
“The beaches are nice, but there’s this girl…”
She hummed an unfamiliar tune. “California girls, we’re unforgettable…”
The rest of the way to her dorm, she continued murmuring that line under her breath. Once there, I left her with a kiss on her forehead, regret lodging in my chest. I wished I had the kind of father I could introduce her to, but I would never put her through that if I could help it.
“Be good, angel. I will see you on Sunday.”
She pushed up on her toes to kiss me once more. “I hope you have a nice visit with your father.”
Right on time, Andrey pulled up to the curb to take me to Lyot. My father was going straight there tonight, so management was meeting early to make sure we were ready.
“The mysterious black car has arrived to whisk you away,” Evelyn stated.