READY OR NOT (CAMREN)

TWENTY SIX

Adolpho's Ristorante was bustling when Lauren stepped into the entryway at eleven fifty-five that Monday. The Italian restaurant was a hidden gem that she and her father had discovered while walking a side street one afternoon when looking for a new place to lunch. It easily became their go-to. The quaint little eatery had black chairs with red-velvet cushions and guitar music piped in over the sound system. The eggplant Parmesan was to die for, but somehow all of those details rang hollow to her now as she inched closer to a conversation she quite honestly was dreading.

She scanned the small dining room. As it consisted of maybe fifteen tables, she was able to spot her father easily enough. He stood when he saw her approach, and instead of the customary bear hug, he placed a kiss on her cheek and motioned for her to sit. The formality of the gesture seemed to match their new awkward dynamic. He was dressed in a suit, which told her he'd be appearing in court later that afternoon. The old version of herself would have asked about the case immediately. Today, however, she wasn't much interested.

"How was your weekend?" her father asked as they sat. She blew out a breath, so not in the mood for small talk.

"It was fine. Thank you."

"And how have things been with that new potential client, the movie-theater chain?"

She closed her eyes. "I can't do this with you. Not after..."

He nodded, seeming to understand. "I'm sorry that happened at the anniversary party. You shouldn't have seen any of that, and I apologize."

"You're sorry it happened, or you're sorry I saw? Because those are two different things." The waiter chose that moment to take their order. Somehow unable to order her favorite, Lauren opted for a small salad instead. A cold, crisp salad felt somehow appropriate to the occasion.

Once the waiter had gone, her father studied his napkin. "I behaved poorly. There's no other way to describe my actions."

"Ya think?"

If he was startled by the way she spoke to him, he didn't let it show. In typical attorney style, he'd always had a way of not showing his cards, a quality Lauren used to envy. "I know I screwed up," he told her. "It was my anniversary party, for God's sake, but sometimes the world's more complicated than we want it to be." He rubbed his forehead in the way he always did when faced with a problem he didn't quite know how to solve. But that was the thing. He always solved it. He'd always been Superman in her assessment, and finding out he wasn't that at all crushed her.

"How is sleeping with your secretary complicated? It's the oldest cliché in the book. How long has it been going on?"

"Three years," he said, meeting her gaze.

She sat back in her chair with a thud, as she hadn't been expecting that. "You've been screwing Janice for three years?"

"I don't want to hear that language from you. I know you're mad, and you have every right to be, but it wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like, Dad? Tell me."

"I'm in love with her."

Blow number two. Now that one she hadn't seen coming and had to give her head a little nudge in order to process the information. "I'm sorry, you're in love with Janice? What about Mom?" This couldn't be happening.

"Your mother and I had many wonderful years together, but we haven't had a proper marriage for a long time now. Surely you picked up on some of that."

No, actually she hadn't, because her parents had always projected a happy, well-balanced relationship that Lauren had long admired. She held on to the arms of her chair tightly as things seemed wildly upside down and images of her happily married parents flashed in succession behind her eyes. "Does Mom know?" she finally managed.