“Would remorse help you?”
“No.”
“Then I won’t perform it.”
We stood in silence.
Music drifted from the ballroom. Somewhere near the fountain, a child laughed.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“We leave soon.”
“For where?”
“My home.”
“This is not your home?”
“This belongs to my mother. I live outside the city.”
“Of course you do.”
“You disapprove of geography?”
“I disapprove of discovering details after they become unavoidable.”
He accepted that without response.
The reception ended shortly after midnight.
My father approached the car before we left. He looked as though he wanted to embrace me, but neither of us moved.
“Call me tomorrow,” he said.
“I may call you when I decide what to say.”
Pain crossed his face.
He nodded.
Niko opened the car door.
As I entered, Arthur caught his arm.
“Remember your promise.”
Niko looked at the hand on his sleeve until my father released it.
