Dallas has never brought up Ross again. It’s like he’s trying to pretend he doesn’t exist. She understands – Ross is Dallas’s connection to the Parkers, sure, but he is also a reminder of how Dallas lost them. “You don’t want kids, do you?” he asked her once, as they were getting ready for bed.

“Of course not,” she’d said, even though she wasn’t sure. Still isn’t sure.

“Why do you care if Dallas meets him?” Tanya asks Finn.

Finn just flips through one of the online poker books, her fingernails scratching against the edge of the paper. Finally, she puts the book down. “How old are you?” she asks. “Twenty-seven? Twenty-eight?”

“Twenty-five,” says Tanya, feeling a flush of pleasure that Finn thought she was older.

“Twenty-five,” Finn repeats. She begins tapping her fingers against the cover of the book. “I was twenty-five when Dallas and I broke up.” The tapping reaches a crescendo, then suddenly stops. “Don’t you think it’s time he takes some responsibility?” Finn asks. “He’s not a teenager anymore. People shouldn’t just keep letting him get away with this shit.” From the expression on her face – the tilt of her eyebrows, the curve of her mouth – it’s clear that she thinks Tanya should be able to relate. Should recognize Dallas’s failures as a man. But Tanya does not want to commiserate with a Parker twin, even if it is the Other One.

“That’s not your place to decide. He’s not your son.”

“He’s my nephew.”

That’s when it hits her that maybe the only way to protect Dallas from the Parkers is to remind them of his failures, remind them why they should keep him out of their lives. “Dallas would be a terrible father,” says Tanya.

“I don’t doubt that,” says Finn.

“He has no money.”

“His family does. Or did he finally manage to piss off Frank and Rochelle enough for them to cut him off?”

Frank and Rochelle. In her head, Tanya always calls them Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn. She wonders what it would be like: So nice to finally meet you, Frank and Rochelle. I think you’re really great, too, Frank and Rochelle. I’m so happy to be part of the family, Frank and Rochelle.

“So you’re here for his family’s money. Is that it?”

“No, of course not.”

Tanya stares at Finn across the table. She tries to imagine Dallas kissing those lips, stroking that cheek, gazing into those eyes. She has pictured it in her head a million times, but now she has a frame of reference. She leans back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “Then why are you here?”

Finn jerks her head, startled. “I…I just want Ross to meet his dad.”

“No,” says Tanya. “You’re angry. You’re here for revenge. You want Dallas to suffer.”