Victoria looked at the tank. Is she wrong? Almost certainly not, he said. She made a sound that was definitely a laugh. He loved that sound.
He thought it clearly, standing in the Shedd Aquarium on a Saturday morning with his daughter, explaining tank efficiency to a fish. I love her. Not in the careful, hedged, protected way he had been loving things for 6 years. The full version. It was terrifying.
He let it be terrifying. He didn't shut it down. They ate lunch after a place Amara chose, which meant it had a specific menu item she had researched in advance and a policy on substitutions she had verified online before agreeing to the location. The waiter adapted quickly. Most people adapted quickly to Amara once they understood that she was not difficult.
She was just precise. Victoria adapted on the first day. He had noticed that from the beginning. They were almost finished when Amara looked at Victoria with the expression that meant she had been thinking about something for a while and was now ready to address it directly. "Are you and my dad together?"
She said. The table went still. Victoria looked at Daniel. Daniel looked at Amara. Where is this coming from?
He said. Kayla's mom saw us at the aquarium and texted Kayla. And Kayla texted me. Amara said with the resigned energy of someone explaining that information travels fast whether you want it to or not. So I want to know officially.
Victoria looked at Daniel. He looked back at her officially. He said mostly to himself. We're figuring it out. Victoria said to Amara honestly directly.
No softening, no deflection. The same quality of honesty she used with investors. We care about each other very much and we're doing this carefully because you matter and getting it right for you matters. Amara looked at her. I already know you're good.
Amara said, "You came to the science fair with a sign. You looked up anglerfish. You took me to the shed." She paused. I'm not worried.
The table was very quiet. I'm just asking because I want to know, Amara continued. So I can tell Kayla something accurate. Because Kayla has been wrong about my family before and I like to correct her with facts. Victoria pressed her lips together.