“We’re all going,” I answer for him. Every June, for as far back as I can remember (except for the one summer when nobody went anywhere), our mother has dragged us to the yearly conference of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. The conference is held in a different place each year, but it’s always with the same people—heart surgeons, basically, and their families. Normally I look forward to this trip. But things have been heating up so much with Leo lately, and it feels impossible to go a whole week without seeing him. We can text and video chat, but it won’t be the same. There will be an entire ocean between us.

“When are we going?” Abby asks.

“The day after tomorrow. Your mommy is going to do a big talk in front of a lot of people, so she needs to practice what she’s going to say. That’s why she’s missing dinner.” Pop retrieves his plate from the microwave and comes back to the table. “But I know she really wishes she could be here.”

“Okay,” says Abby. She’s used to Mom’s absence. We all are. “Dr. Bloom” is always busy, but she’s busy for a good reason. Every single day she spends away from us at the hospital, my mother saves lives, and that means she doesn’t completely belong to us. It’s like she belongs to the world.

Even Abby, at age five, has come to accept this.

“Ada,” Pop says gently. “No phones at the table, please.”

I’m still clutching my phone. I stick it in my pocket. “Sorry. It will never happen again, I swear.”

He snorts. “You just need to make sure you don’t experience all of your relationships via text, all right? Embrace the real. Be physically there. Okay?”

I try not to roll my eyes. “My relationships are sufficiently real, thank you, Pop.” If only he knew. But I would never in a million years tell him.

“But you were texting your boyfriend,” Afton remarks.

I turn my head to give Afton a sharp look. “Not that it’s any of your business.” Subtext: shut up. “But yes.”

Pop chews for a minute thoughtfully. “How’s that going, by the way? That’s where you were today, right? With Leo?”

“Yeah. We went to a movie. And then . . . his house for a while.”

Afton’s right eyebrow lifts. “Oh, so before you went over to Lucy’s.”

Frick. “Right. Before I went to Lucy’s, I was at Leo’s house. For a while. And then I went to Lucy’s.” There’s that stupid catch in my voice that happens whenever I try to lie.

“Interesting,” says Afton with a knowing smile.

“How long have you two been dating now?” Pop asks obliviously.

“Like six months?” Afton supplies for me.

“Almost five,” I correct her, making a mental note to murder her later.