At this stage in Evolet’s life, she could be easily mistaken for her mother’s illuminating and airy form and there was no one left alive who would know so better than Dex. He watched her approach the table where he sat, all the way at the back of the cafe, further from prying eyes and ears by design.
Initially when Dex thought to do this, he wanted to invite Evie over to his home, figuring what was on his mind wasn’t a conversation to be had in public. But in his house with his photos of his other daughter and the life he’d built around himself without Evie, it didn’t feel so appropriate.
He wondered if he would ever be able to shed the guilt of not giving his time to Evie when she was a child, even if he didn’t have a choice, even if the girl’s grandmother forbade it. There had to have been something he could’ve done, right? Decades ago he had backed down at her resistance but still wondered if it was the right choice.
Dex brought a smile to his lips despite the heaviness on his mind when Evie was close enough. He stood to greet her, one arm moving around her for a hug, a kiss to the side of her forehead now that she had been a friend for some time rather than just a student.
“Hey,” he said simply as he sat back down, though his tone of voice always reflected how happy he was to see her. He pushed one of the two cups in front of himself towards her and explained, “I know it’s been a little bit but in case your coffee order is still the same...”
Dex let her settle down in her seat before he spoke again. “How are you? How’s Maverick?” He asked gently of her life, always peering further than simply what he heard from his overly enthusiastic colleague and boss on the matter.