Not even a suspicious drive by or ‘fly by’. They apparently observed the birthday of Toma Matei quietly, or at least not within earshot of Depot Hill. Even so, it took until Sunday afternoon to convince my father to change my vote from ‘leave’ to ‘stay’. It was a narrow victory that involved several interrogations from him and my grandparents. Grandma was the most suspicious, and remained cautious after the matter was settled, giving ground only begrudgingly. Given the grilling I received, had Mom and Adrian voted to leave instead of staying, I wouldn’t have been able to mentally protect myself from their collective probing efforts in tandem with Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma. By the end of my trial, I wasn’t entirely convinced that my focus on Alisia’s and my fun exploits in and around Denmark the past month sheltered my hidden thoughts of Daciana Matei and her mysterious allure. “Very well… we shall delay the search for a new home for now,”
