Julian's POV
Elise turned five months and developed a personality that was entirely her own and completely inconvenient. She had opinions about everything. Which direction did she face? Which songs counted? Whether the person holding her had earned the right to hold her that particular day.
She rejected my father on his third visit for forty-five minutes before deciding he was acceptable. He sat with the rejection without bargaining, which was more than I'd expected from him and apparently enough for Elise, who had her mother's instinct for genuine versus performed.
Nadia watched the whole thing from the kitchen doorway without intervening. "She's running a vetting process," I said afterward. "She learned it from me," Nadia said. "Your father passed. Marginally."
"He's aware."
"Good."
