Chapter 21

Mom and Dad sat with Eugene, looking awkward. Two years ago, when I'd decided to call off the wedding, I hadn't told them the actual reason. All I'd said was that I wanted to continue in scientific research. So, to them, we were the ones who owed Eugene for calling everything off. Even if they'd always thought that Eugene had never really loved me, they still felt apologetic. I'd been away for the past two years, but Eugene would occasionally drop by my parents' neighborhood and hang out downstairs. He'd never come upstairs to see them, but they could tell he was looking for me. He'd started dropping by more frequently about six months ago—he would come by every other day. Mom and Dad had spoken to him and told him not to come by anymore. They knew how resolute I'd been when deciding to cancel the wedding, after all. Anyway, I was at the research lab, not at home. There was no point in Eugene loitering in the area. However, deep inside, their impression of him had improved quite a