"You're leaving tonight?" her mom asked, her eyes widening.
"Yeah... he's not staying in the area, only time I can go is tonight."
"That's really short notice," her mom whispered. "Barely long enough to say goodbye."
"Well, I didn't want to be like him and not say anything at all."
Her mom said nothing as they both turned and stared out across the lake. Nina silently cursed herself for having run almost the entire lake shore to try and coax someone out of the shadows. If she hadn't done that, she might've been fine, even now.
"Mom, I want to take you to dinner."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you. I have money left over from school. Why not use some of it before I go?"
"I wouldn't want you to be a burden on your father, honey, you should keep it. Use it while you're staying with him."
Nina shook he
