Chapter 14: Move-In Day

I picked the lobby of the first-year hall, at noon, on the busiest hour of move-in day.

Luca had asked me twice if I was sure.

"I'm sure," I said. "He wants a family visit. Let him have it where the family can see."

By eleven the lobby was full of parents carrying lamps, mini fridges and laundry baskets.

A banner over the desk said WELCOME HOME, and a girl in a lanyard was handing out tote bags.

I stood by the elevators in a clean shirt, with my folder under my arm.

Luca leaned against the desk ten feet away in his staff lanyard, pretending to read a clipboard.

At twelve ten, the glass doors opened, and Dad walked in.

He wore his church jacket.

Mom came behind him with a white bakery box, and her smile was so bright it looked painful.

"Elena," Dad said, loud enough for the nearest families to hear. "There she is. Our scholar."

A father with a fridge on a dolly smiled at him.

Dad opened his arms.

I did not step into them.

"We're so proud of you," Mom said. "We brought the lemon cake."

"Valentina's favorite," I said.

Her smile slipped and came back.

"It's for everyone, honey."

"I don't eat lemon cake. I never have."

"Elena," Dad said, very low. "Not here."

"You picked here. You drove into Manhattan with a cake."

He took a folded paper out of his jacket and held it out to me.

It was a single page with a signature line at the bottom and a pen clipped to the top.

"Read it," he said. "Sign it, and this is over. We go home, you go upstairs, and nobody has to hear another word about the bank."

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