But the alternative was staying in the car in rising water or walking somewhere else. And his house was half a mile away. Another pause. Longer this time. Her voice came back sharper.
I'm 30 years old. Dad, I don't need to explain my emergency decisions to you like I'm 17. A long silence. No, I'm going to come get my car. I'm going to go home and then I'd like to have an actual conversation with you and mother and Vanessa together.
Not on the phone, in person. She paused because there are things I should have said a long time ago, and I'm done waiting for the right moment. She hung up. She walked back into the garage. Marcus kept his hands on the motor.
He wants to come here, she said. To do what? To bring me home in person with Vanessa. Marcus set down his wrench slowly and turned around. Vanessa's with him.
Apparently, she went to my parents house this morning after she couldn't reach me. She's been there all day. Clare's jaw was set. My father says they're just worried. But he said it in the voice he uses when he's positioning something before he delivers it.
Positioning what? I don't know yet. She looked at him steadily, but I told him to come here if he wants to talk because if I go to their house, I'm on their ground. I'm in their walls and I lose before the conversation starts. Marcus looked at her for a moment.
So, you want to have this conversation here? I think I need to. She met his eyes. Is that all right with you? He thought about it.
Not for long. Yeah, it's all right. She nodded once. Then something crossed her face. A flicker of something that might have been fear or the cousin of fear.
This is going to get loud, she said. My father doesn't yell. He speaks at a volume and register that sounds controlled, but means he's using size as a weapon. Vanessa doesn't get loud either. She gets precise.
She'll find the specific word that's calibrated to land in the exact spot where it hurts most. And your mother? My mother will cry. Which means everyone will pivot to managing her feelings instead of having the actual conversation. Clare pressed her lips together.
It's a family system. It runs like a machine. It's worked on me for 30 years. Is it going to work today? Marcus said.