Kate couldn’t wait for dinner to be over.
When the last relative had departed, Kate cut two pieces of pumpkin pie and transferred them to dessert plates, heaping whipped cream on one of them. Chad and Kristin were getting ready to leave for a visit with Kristin’s grandmother, and Diane was doing the last of the dishes. Kate found her dad on the couch in the living room watching TV.
“I sure hope that pie is for me, Katydid,” he said.
“With extra whipped cream. Just the way you like it.”
Kate and her dad had a tradition where they would skip dessert and eat their pie together later after everyone had gone home. She handed him the plate and sat down beside him.
“Sure is nice to have you home,” he said, taking a bite of his pie. “Your mom and I have missed you.”
“I won’t stay away for so long next time.”
He smiled. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
Though they’d both tried their hardest to pretend nothing had changed, Kate’s relationship with her dad had been a bit strained during the past year and a half. Steve Watts had spent thirty years practicing law and was now one of the most respected justices on Indiana’s Supreme Court, and while he’d never pushed either of his children to follow in his footsteps, he’d been incredibly happy and proud when they had. Chad had already been practicing law for two years at a large firm in Indianapolis when Kate passed the bar. In law school, she’d focused on public interest with the intention of pursuing a legal career in community outreach. But upon graduation, when she found those openings in incredibly short supply, she accepted a position as a corporate attorney at the same type of large downtown firm where Paige and Audrey worked. It had been the biggest mistake she’d ever made.
Her dad had started calling her “Katydid” when she was two because he said she was cute as a bug, but over the years he told her the nickname had come to mean something more. Kate did things. While Chad had always needed outside validation, whether it was in his schoolwork or sports or career, Kate’s drive had come from within, and she needed very little support. She’d once overheard her dad say that his money was on Kate if he had to choose which of his children had what it took to follow him all the way to the Supreme Court. Telling her dad she was giving up her law career to open a small food pantry was one of the hardest conversations she’d ever had with him. Unlike Diane, Steve could easily handle the loss of Stuart. But watching Kate give up everything she’d worked so hard for, even for something she was fiercely passionate about, had been a tougher pill to swallow. All things considered, he’d taken the news as well as any father could.
“How are things going with the food pantry?” her dad asked.
“They’re going okay. It’s been more difficult than I thought it would be, especially at this time of year,” Kate admitted. If Ian hadn’t intervened, she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to remain open through the winter. She couldn’t rely on Ian to bail her out every time things got tight, so she told herself she’d have to work even harder.
“Times are tough for a lot of people. What you’re doing is commendable, so you keep getting it done, okay?”
“I will.” Kate’s eyes filled with tears, and she pretended to be very interested in her pie. It was the first time she and her dad had ever really discussed the food pantry. Maybe he thought if he didn’t mention it she’d eventually come to her senses, but now she wondered if he’d finally accepted it. When they were done eating, Kate took their empty plates into the kitchen.
“More?” Diane asked. She looked exhausted.
“I’ll do them,” Kate said. “You go sit down.”
“I opened a bottle of wine. Why don’t you pour a glass and join me?”
Kate nodded. “Be out in a bit.”
Her phone pinged while she was drying the plates.