They walked the few blocks to the movie theater together, and Lara treated Antonia to the tickets, which surprised her too. Antonia had asked her on the walk over if she had children, and Lara said she didn’t.
“Your father is very lucky to have you,” she commented, and Antonia wasn’t sure that he’d agree with her, but it was a nice thing to say.
“I’ll be going to college in four years,” she said, as though to reassure her that she wouldn’t be around forever. Her father reminded her of it constantly.
“That’s still a long time off. You don’t need to think about that yet,” Lara said kindly, and then paid for their tickets, and treated Antonia to popcorn and candy, which seemed very generous to her. She usually had enough money for one or the other, not both.
They enjoyed the movie, which was a current box office hit. It was just the kind of movie Antonia loved, with family in the story and a happy ending. They were both smiling when they left the theater and Lara could see how much she had enjoyed it.
“Did you have a family like that, growing up?” Antonia asked, feeling brave, and curious about her.
“No, I didn’t. I had a brother who died of a brain tumor when he was twelve and I was nine. My parents got divorced after that, and my father moved to another city, so I grew up with my mom and didn’t see my dad very often.”
“My mom left when I was seven,” Antonia said on the walk back to the apartment. “My father doesn’t like to talk about her. He hates her. She’s an actress and she lives in L.A. Or at least she did. I don’t really know where she is now. I never see her.”
“Your father told me a little about it,” Lara said discreetly. He had told her about Fabienne and their disastrous marriage when they started dating, when he told her he never wanted to marry again. “A lot of people have complicated childhoods. More than one realizes,” Lara said gently.
“My dad grew up without a father, he was killed in the war.”
“We all have baggage of one kind or another.” Lara smiled at Antonia. She liked her and thought she was a sweet child, and more mature than she appeared. “What do you like to do, aside from go to movies?”
“Write,” Antonia said immediately. “I like ice skating and horses, and I used to do ballet. I want to write screenplays one day. I want to go to USC. They have a great film school. My father wants me to study economics or something more practical. I hate math.”
Lara laughed. “So do I. I studied architecture, dropped out when it got too mathematical for me, and went into real estate instead. You never know what you’ll wind up working at in the end. You just have to keep an open mind and see what you like doing when you know more about it.”
“I think law school would be okay with my dad too, but I don’t want to be a lawyer. I know I want to write. I get good grades in it in school.”
“I’d love to read one of your stories sometime,” Lara said carefully. She didn’t want to rush her or crowd her, but she suspected that Antonia was starving for attention and affection. Brandon had been nice to her so far, but he was not a warm person. His marriage to Fabienne had left him unwilling to let anyone in, including his own child. He had admitted it to Lara several times, and didn’t plan to change.
They had gotten back to the apartment by then, and Brandon was waiting to take Lara out. He noticed how expansive Antonia seemed as they chatted when they walked into the apartment, but Antonia fell silent as soon as she saw him. He and Lara left a few minutes later. Antonia thanked Lara again for the movie and the treats.
“We’ll do it again whenever you want,” she said before they left. Antonia was still smiling and looked wistful to see her leave, which touched Lara’s heart.
Lara talked to Brandon about it in the cab on the way to her place. She had invited some friends over for drinks, and he helped her get ready for them. He did more at her apartment than he did at his. She had a beautiful apartment downtown, with a river view, and it was handsomely decorated with things she had collected on her travels. He felt warm and comfortable there.
“She’s a lovely girl, Brandon. I had a really nice time with her.”
“She never gives me any trouble,” he commented, “and she does very well in school.” He sounded proud of her, although he never admitted it to Antonia. He was old school that way.
“She needs more than that, I think. Being a good student and staying out of trouble is not enough. She has dreams for the future, and I think she needs someone to talk to.”