“How is that possible?” He eats a bite of seasoned lamb and washes it down with red wine.
“As I’m sure you can probably tell, my dad and I aren’t exactly close.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says, sounding sincere. “That’s his loss.”
We eat in companionable silence until the waiter returns to freshen our waters and ask if I’d like a drink. I decline, even though the legal drinking age in Australia is eighteen. Alcohol makes my face turn red, and I don’t need any additional reasons to blush in front of this man.
“If you were my daughter, I’d have flown you out to visit me as often as possible.”
“Do you have kids?” I ask, genuinely curious. I hadn’t even thought to ask if he was married.
He shakes his head. “No kids. No wife either, though I came close once.” He lifts the glass of wine to his lips but doesn’t drink. “What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?”
I laugh softly. Should I tell him that I’ve only been kissed once? Or that I was always too busy with school to go on dates? Should I say I went to prom with my best friend who hadn’t yet come out to his parents about being gay?
“No,” I say.
His smile is subtle, but once I see it, I can’t stop my own lips from curving. “You’re staying at your dad’s house for the year?”
“That was the plan.” I shake off the trance his smile had put me in. “Now I’m not sure.”
I pop a chunk of roasted cauliflower into my mouth. It’s divine, which isn’t something I ever expected to say about a chunk of cauliflower. Still, even a perfectly seasoned vegetable isn’t strong enough to mask the taste of bitterness.
Brian watches as I chew and swallow. “Were you and your dad ever close?”
“My mom says we were when I was really young. I remember he used to play with me—like, actually play with me—before he started working all the time. But then he left.”
“Do you miss him? I guess you have to, if you came all this way to see him.”
I take a sip of water, suddenly uncomfortable with being observed so intently. He looks at me like he knows exactly what I'm thinking. Like he can read every thought that has ever crossed my mind. Still, Brian waits patiently as I gather my thoughts. Not pushing or prying. Just listening.
“I miss having a dad more than I miss my own. Knowing there’s someone I can run to if I’m having a shitty day or a bad dream... I think it would be nice to have that sense of security. To feel precious to someone.”
He nods like he understands. “Is that why you came down here? To give your dad a chance to make you feel precious?”
“Maybe. Plus, I think koalas are really cute.”
He laughs heartily. “You’re a remarkable girl, Ruby. Smart, exceptionally intuitive. You remind me of myself at your age.”
“How’s that?” I can’t begin to imagine what he was like at my age.
“A little lost, directionless. In need of a push to get going. But I bet, once you figure out what it is you do want, you’ll be unstoppable.”
“How can you say all that when you’ve only just met me?”
Brian downs the last of his wine. I wait for him to answer my question, but all he offers me is a knowing smile. I can only imagine how infuriating it must be to sit across from him at a board meeting; Brian holding his cards so tight to the chest, yet somehow knowing your entire hand.
"You look like you want dessert," he says.
"Am I that obvious?"
He chuckles. "I'm just that good."
"At what, exactly?"
“Discerning people’s hidden desires.” His gaze narrows on my face and then trails lower. My chest flushes, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve been placed under a microscope.
He waves the server over and asks for the dessert menu, which the young man quickly produces. I swear I can feel the heat from Brian's gaze on my face as I skim the list of sweet options. I'm torn between the hot fudge sundae and the mango soufflé. The former, a childhood favorite. The latter, a more sophisticated choice for an adult.