Sitting up himself, bringing a layer of seriousness to the question, he asked, “What did you mean, then? What is so special about that car that it brought you to tears for the first time in our acquaintance? You left your home and country without a backward glance, and yet a car that is only yours through marriage makes you weep?”
Unprepared for the turn the conversation had taken, Rita paused.
Here was the opportunity to confess, if she were brave enough to do so.
If a night that had included her world debut as NECTAR and as a princess, as well as surviving a sandstorm, had reminded her of anything, it was that she was brave enough to do anything she set her mind to.
She didn’t know what Jag would make of her decisions, didn’t know if learning just what she had given up in pursuit of her ruined dream would make him look at her in disgust.
But he had shared his secrets with her; it was only fair that she take the same risk with him.
CHAPTER NINE
“WHENIWASseven years old,” Rita said, “my father got a commission from a collector to transport his 1962 Ferrari GTO from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. It was already my dream car. It had been ever since I saw one in an episode ofScooby-Doowhen I was five. When my dad got the order he promised to take me along and he did. We had an amazing time, eating out of gas stations and chatting about cars and the future and electric vehicles. It was so much fun that I promised—to my dad and to myself—that one day I would change the way the world drove, and I would convert a 1962 Ferrari GTO of my very own. My dad laughed at that, pointing out the slim chances of that ever happening.”
“Not so slim after all,” Jag observed.
Smiling, Rita said softly, “About as slim marrying a prince, I’d say.”
“So it is not just a car but a shared dream with your father?” Jag asked.
The innocent assumption chased away Rita’s smile.
Shoulders dropping, she shook her head. “No, not a shared dream,” she said. “Just mine, it turned out. And one I wanted a little too much in the end.”
“How’s that?” he asked.
“You mean beyond marrying a stranger to get it?” she asked dryly, proud of how well she echoed his own honed aridity.
Laughing at her, he said, “Yes, beyond that.”
Not knowing where to start, Rita drew in a long, slow breath to buy herself a little more time.
Then she opened her mouth and said, “I got into college when I was sixteen years old. My parents were elated. For a moment, I was the pride of my family. But they didn’t realize that I had worked so hard and been determined because I wanted to achieve a specific dream, as opposed to being driven to succeed. I wasn’t striving to do well because I wanted my family to be proud—honestly, I wasn’t even striving for anything at all. I was excelling because I was following a passion that had burned within me from before the time I could talk. I strove because I wanted to impact the world working with the objects that I loved most within it, not because I wanted to impress anyone. Out of that well of passion and conviction, the force and determination behind it, I surprised everyone, not only by graduating early, but by being accepted to a top university.”
“You, forceful and determined?” Jag asked, gently teasing.
Closing her eyes, Rita laughed, shaking her head. “I know. It’s not shocking. What was shocking, or at least what shocked my father when he found out two years later, was that unbeknownst to him I had not enrolled in the pre-med track that would put me on the path toward becoming an obstetrics and gynecology doctor, but had instead registered as a dual major in mechanical engineering and computer science. He was also rather shocked by the fact that by the time he found out, I was halfway toward completion as well as one of the top students in both programs.”
Jag let out an uncharacteristic whistle and Rita couldn’t help but smile, even if there was little joy in the expression. Even she was impressed by how bold the story was when she said it out loud.
“I knew I was dealing with a mad genius, but I had no idea she was so titled. I take it that Papa wasn’t very pleased when he found out, though?”
Shaking her head, Rita said on an exhale, “Not by a long shot. In fact, he disowned me.”
“Excuse me?” Jag asked, utterly serious. “How old were you?”
“Eighteen,” Rita said. “A full-fledged adult, in his defense.”
“Hardly. And a man who can disown his daughter because she dared to excel in a way he did not approve of needs no defense,” Jag said.
Though she hadn’t known she needed it, his being defensive on her behalf soothed an old hurt.
Tired, she said, “I deliberately deceived him, and in doing so, stole not just trust and tuition from my family, but also their reputation and my future.”
“Explain to me how pursuing your passion stole from your future,” he demanded.
Grimacing because they’d come to the shameful and guilt-laden part of the story, Rita said, “When news broke out in our community that I had been accepted to Berkeley at such a young age, it kick-started everything. Families began approaching mine in interest of making matches with their sons, so my family began making arrangements to ensure that I did not miss out on a prosperous future.”