On Sunday night everyone eats dinner in near silence. Jess tells a small story about something funny that happened at work last week, but after everyone dutifully laughs the atmosphere peters into silence again. Annie puts down her fork.

"Why is everyone being weird?"

"Weird how?" Rory asks and Annie stabs her chicken impatiently.

"No one's saying anything."

Charlotte can feel her parents' eyes gravitate toward her and floods with frustration. They haven't said anything and now it's on her.

"They're probably being weird because Logan's coming," she says loudly and Rory whispers, "Charlotte."

"What? It's true, isn't it?"

"He's coming here?" Richie asks and Rory says quickly, "No, honey, he's just moving to New York."

"Is Charlotte going to see him?" Annie asks. Her voice is small and Charlotte assures her, "No, I'm not."

"It's no big deal," Jess says firmly. "It just means he's going to live a little closer, that's all."

"Why didn't you tell us then?" Richie asks and Rory says, "It's Charlotte's news. It was her thing."

"So why didn't you tell us?" Richie asks, swinging to face his sister, and Charlotte takes a big bite of chicken. She has no answer to that.

Charlotte checks her email before bed. Sometimes Logan emails her. It's fairly infrequent, but he always sends her a message on her birthday and Christmas. It's basically the same as what he writes in her cards, but he always emails without fail, or messages with other news. He hasn't emailed her about this though. Charlotte feels a little hurt, and her sneaking suspicion that it's Rory who makes him email for birthdays is confirmed. She closes it, scrolls through some online stuff, when there's a knock on her door.

"Come in," Charlotte says and is surprised to see Richie. Her brother barely comes in, and when he does, he rarely bothers knocking. "What's up?"

Richie walks in slowly and sits on the bed. "So Logan's moving here."

"Yeah."

"When's he going to show up?"

"I don't know," Charlotte says, glancing back at the computer. "He hasn't told me yet. Or Mom, I guess. She'd tell me. He hasn't said anything to me."

"Do you think Mom knows and hasn't said anything?"

Charlotte thinks for a moment and then says, "No. She told me almost as soon as Logan said he was coming back. I don't think she wouldn't tell me."

Richie nods. He plays with the bedcover a little, twisting the material between his fingers and asks, "Are you mad he's coming?"

Charlotte shrugs. "No. He's not a big deal to me."

"I'd be mad," Richie says. He looks at Charlotte and she shrugs again. They sit in silence for a little while. Her brother can be oxnoxious but he's also easy to sit with, understanding not needing to talk. Charlotte appreciates that.

"Are you going to see him?" he asks eventually and Charlotte sighs. "I guess. I'm not going to make any special trips or anything though."

"Nah, he's a jerk," Richie says, making Charlotte laugh. "We've got our own dad."

Charlotte smiles and Richie gets up, stretching. "Guess I'd better finish that English essay."

"You English essay? Richie, you read the book ahead of class two weeks ago."

"Yeah, but I haven't done the writing part, and sadly, my teachers sort of have a problem with that."

"I know the feeling."

Her brother gives a kind of wave and goes out. Charlotte smiles a little. When Richie's not being a pain, he can be kind of cool. Then she turns back to the computer and closes the internet with a sense of defeat. She supposes she'd better follow Richie's lead and get her work done too. Who knows? Maybe it'll shut up the questions in her mind.

At lunchtime the next day Charlotte and Ivy pour their respective snacks onto a tray in the middle of the table, creating a kind of smorgasboard. Ivy asks what's new and Charlotte, after taking her time to chew some fruit gums, says, "Logan's coming back."

"Who?"

"You know, Logan," Charlotte says, hating having to explain. "My - I see him like once a year."

"Oh, your real father?" Ivy asks and then at Charlotte's expression, "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"He's my biological father," Charlotte says sourly. "Not my real father."

She takes a large handful of chocolate and bites into it so as not to have to talk. Charlotte feels mad all over again and it doesn't help when Ivy asks, "So when is he coming?"

"I don't know. Soon, I guess."

"He hasn't told you?"

"He hasn't told me anything. He gets my mom to do it. Would a real father do that?"

Charlotte takes another piece of candy and Ivy winces a little.

"I'm sorry. It's just an expression."

"Yeah."

"I didn't mean it like your dad's not your dad or anything."

"I know," Charlotte says, softening a little. "It's okay."

"I feel like a jerk."

"You're not. It's fine."

"But does it feel weird?" Ivy asks, leaning forward. "Him moving back?"

"I won't see him more than I already do."

Ivy nods and muses, "Maybe I'll get to meet him."

"Why do you even want to?"

"I'm just curious."

"You're curious?" Charlotte snaps, feeling her bad mood return. She whips out her phone, bringing up a picture of him on an old email. "There. Curiosity satisfied."

"Charlotte -"

"Hey."

They're interrupted by Tyler coming over. He looks at them and asks, "Something going on?"

"No," Charlotte says quickly, putting her phone away. "Nothing."

"I have to go anyway," Ivy asays, getting up. "I'll see you later."

She sounds a little upset but Charlotte is still annoyed. She doesn't want to make a big deal with Tyler here either, and she quickly starts sweeping the candy into her bag.

"Can I get in on that?"

"Oh - sure."

Tyler chooses some chocolate from the pile and, along with some gum, takes a large mouthful.

"Interesting choice.

"Gross choice?"

"It can be both."

Tyler laughs and Charlotte can feel a goofy smile starting around her mouth. It seems to emerge whenever he's around and she desperately sends a message to her brain - quit it! Her brain doesn't listen. Tyler grins and asks,

"Wanna go for a walk?"

They head out onto campus and walk over to where the trees are.

"You fighting with your friend?"

"No," Charlotte says, already feeling a little remorseful. "No fight. We were just mad because my - never mind."

"I'm curious now."

Charlotte sinks down at the tree, her hands suddenly hot, and Tyler sits beside her.

"Okay," she says. "This is kind of a long story, but I have two fathers."

"You mean like Brad in English class?"

"No," Charlotte says, shaking her head. "My parents aren't gay. I mean, my other father's not even my dad."

"I don't get it."

"My mom was seeing someone else before she met my dad," Charlotte says slowly. "She got pregnant and they broke up. Then she met my dad and they fell in love. He's been my dad since before I was born."

"So your dad isn't your biological father?"

"No," Charlotte says. "But he's always been my dad."

Tyler is silent for a moment and then says, "So who's the other guy?"

Charlotte gets out her phone, finding the picture she showed Ivy.

"His name's Logan. He lives in London but he's moving to New York, and it's all been kind of weird."

"Do you get along with him?"

"I guess," Charlotte says. "I don't even know him. I see him like once or twice a year and he sends me gifts on my birthday and Christmas. Sometimes he sends stuff just because. It makes my mom mad because it's all really expensive, but it's the best part."

Charlotte is laughing a little but Tyler still looks intrigued.

"But he's half your DNA. Half of you is him."

"I guess biologically," Charlotte says, feeling uncomfortable again. "But Jess is my dad."

"Why'd your mom break up with him anyway? The other guy?"

"I don't know."

"Don't you want to know?"

Charlotte shrugs. She'd argue that she's never been curious, but Logan being so far away she's succeeded in not thinking too much about it.

"I'd want to know everything about my real father."

"He's not my real father!" Charlotte snaps. Tyler looks shocked and Charlotte sucks in a breath. Now he's never going to talk to her again, probably. "I'm sorry - I just -"

"It's okay," Tyler says. "It's obviously a big deal to you."

Charlotte nods but the air between them feels awkward and she gets to her feet.

"I think the bell's going to go soon."

"Probably," Tyler agrees. "Come here."

Surprised, Charlotte moves over and he gives her a kiss. It's not unpleasant but feels a little odd, given the mood. But he smiles as they move apart and says, "You're an intrigue." Charlotte takes it as a compliment.

Her mother picks her up at the usual time and Charlotte sits in the front. Richie and Annie are arguing over something so there's no way to talk to her, but later, once they're respectfully at a friend's house or watching TV, Charlotte corners her mother in the kitchen. Rory is making coffee, eating a cookie with her spare hand, and jumps when Charlotte says, "Mom, how come you broke up with Logan?"

Rory chokes on some crumbs and Charlotte waits for her to drink some water.

"Why?" she asks and Charlotte asks, "I'm just wondering. Aren't I allowed to ask?"

"Of course you're allowed to ask." Her mother shakes some more cookies onto a plate and sits down beside Charlotte at the table, pouring them some coffee. "It was all a long time ago."

"What happened?"

Her mother is silent for a moment. "I met him when I was twenty," she says. "I know that sounds old to you, but I was really very young. And he just swept me off my feet."

Charlotte takes a bite of a cookie and her mother goes on, "He was very rich. Of course, Grandma and Grandpa were rich, and Mom grew up rich, but I wasn't raised that way. My first home was a potting shed. I went to a fancy school, but it was totally separate from my life at home. I did a debutante ball for Emily once, but was kind of a one-off. It was fun but not too much on my radar, and then I met Logan. And he was so - he had fun with his money. He was part of this Yale society called the Life and Death Brigade and they had crazy parties and I did this insane stunt with Logan, where I jumped off scaffolding in a fancy dress -"

Her mother pauses to look Charlotte in the eye and says, "I'm not condoning any of this, by the way."

"Mom," Charlotte says impatiently and Rory continues, "Anyway, I started seeing him and it was all so much fun. He made me feel like I took everything too seriously, and with him I could loosen up, and I did, I guess, though I made a lot of dumb choices too. But I had to grow up and it was over."

"When?"

"Huh?"

"When was it over? Because that was when you were in college."

"Right," Rory says, sounding guilty. "We split up after college because I got a job reporting on the Obama campaign. And then we went several years without seeing each other, and then I saw him in Germany after Grandpa died. It felt so great seeing him, after so long, and we started dating each other again."

"How come it didn't work out?"

Rory takes a long drink of coffee before she answers.

"I had to grow up," she says. "Like before. I was in a tough time and I told myself it was fine to be with him, but it wasn't. We weren't kids anymore. We couldn't just run around drinking and going to parties and avoiding being adults."

What does that even mean, Charlotte wonders. Avoid being adults? They were already adults. She chews her cookie contemplatively and her mother winds up, "I decided to end things. And then I found out I was pregnant with you just a month or so later. And then I got to know your dad again, and fell totally in love, and that was that."

"You dated Dad in high school, right?"

"Yes," Rory says, laughing. "It was funny. But with your dad, it was like we had to grow up to be in a good relationship with each other. With Logan, it was more the other way."

Charlotte is confused and it must show because her mother elaborates, "I think we were good together when we were twenty, but not in our thirties. It was only good for that first time."

Charlotte nods and her mother smiles at her, gently resting her fingers under her daughter's chin.

"I know it all sounds kind of crazy," she says. "And I made some mistakes, but one day you'll understand. One day you'll fall in love and won't know what to do with yourself. Or maybe you'll feel that way when you're twenty too. Life gets confusing."

Charlotte smiles a little and goes back to her drink. She wants to ask more - how her mother made that arrangement with Logan, if she ever misses him - but her courage has run out. She takes a bite of cookie and remarks, "I think adults make things more complicated then they need to be."

Her mother looks at her and shakes her head. She looks amused, and says in an infuriating way, "Come back to me on that in ten years."

Charlotte is annoyed and gets up, scraping her chair back. "You're not listening."

"Charlotte, I am listening," Rory protests. "I'm just saying that when I was sixteen, I had a very clear view of how my path was going to look, and then I ended up somewhere totally different. And I think it would have helped me if someone told me I didn't need to have it all figured out."

Whatever, Charlotte says silently. She finishes her coffee, saying something about homework, and goes to her room. Taking out her phone, she sees the picture of Logan from before, and furiously, Charlotte deletes it before throwing her cellphone onto the bed. She doesn't want that confusion in her genes, and she is not her mother. She won't make mistakes.