Chapter Thirty Three

They didn’t keep in contact often. It just wasn’t the way their relationship worked, her and her dad. He thought small talk was boorish and preferred only speaking when there was something to be said. Lilith spent her life guessing at what those important things were — he was less excited about her internship with VI Tech and downright offended when she neglected to tell him about an award she had won on a paper she had written. As much of a puzzle as he was, she still appreciated him. When Lora had trouble understanding the dynamic between the father and daughter, lilith told her to think of her father as a mad scientist. The two of them were much closer after that.

“So, which strays are you bringing home this year?” her dad asked, snipping the end off a cigar as he watched her sprinkle chopped pecans on the top of a sweet potato casserole she needed to get into the oven.

“Just a few,” Lilith assured him.

“Me, obviously,” Lora said, sidling into the kitchen with her arms full of pape