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Wyle had a big grin on his face when my eyes found his. He thought this was hilarious. He despised my father, but he didn’t take shit as seriously as I did. He laughed most things off, even when he was angry.
And my grandparents were acting like this wasn’t the strangest fucking thing on the planet.
“Isn’t this wonderful news?” my grandmother said.
I don’t know if wonderful is the right word.
I wouldn’t bring up the fact that Wyle and I had actually taken bubble baths when we were kids with our new stepmother.
“Yes, it really is. Right, brother?” Wyle asked, and he couldn’t hide the mischievous grin on his face.
“It’s definitely… very unexpected. How have your parents taken the news?” I asked as I sipped my champagne.
“They were, um, surprised at first. But now that we’re expecting our first baby, I think they are more open to it.” She smiled and reached for my father’s hand. Claire was smart and kind and confident, always had been. So, this was baffling. She wasn’t doing it for the money, as she came from a very wealthy family. I didn’t have a fucking clue what she was thinking.
I had to give it to my father, he was putting on a good show. Like this was the happiest moment of his life.
I had a brief flash of a moment when my mother and father were laughing when Wyle and I were young. I occasionally remembered happy moments when love and laughter had filled our home. But I also remembered him demanding my mother travel with him often while we stayed with the nannies or with my grandparents. My father was a controlling man, and he expected a lot of the people in his life.
And after his wife got sick, he pulled away more and more each day. He’d be gone for weeks at a time. And life was easier when he wasn’t home, so we’d settled into our new normal during those years.
“They’ll come around. We’ve always been family, and now it’s official,” Dad said.
I didn’t know that he grasped the severity of knocking up and marrying his best friend’s daughter. It certainly wasn’t the best way to officially become family.
“Dinner is ready,” Mrs. Winters said, and I’d never been so grateful to end a conversation.
There was a tall Christmas tree in the parlor, and there was usually one in the formal living room, as well. I hadn’t been in there yet. Otherwise, my grandmother kept things simple this time of year, knowing that Wyle and I struggled.
It hit me in the moment that today was Christmas Eve, and normally, I wouldn’t be thinking of anything other than the loss of my mother. But I’d been so distracted in Cottonwood Cove, shopping for Georgia’s family and then making out with her like a fucking teenager in her parents’ driveway. I was almost in too good a mood to be bothered by the fact that my father had married my childhood friend. Nor was I feeling the darkness that usually overwhelmed me on this day.
We settled around the dark cherrywood table, set with sterling silver, linen napkins, and my grandmother’s fancy plates. My phone vibrated in my back pocket, and I pulled it into my lap and turned off the ringer, knowing my grandmother would blast me if she saw it. She had a strict rule about not using phones at the table.
However, knocking up your best friend’s daughter, who’s half your age, wasn’t a hard line for her.
The rules were always bent for my father. My grandparents tolerated him, and my mother loved him until she took her last breath. She never said a bad word about him, even though he’d been terrible to her. I’d never understand why he was the only one who didn’t have to live by any rules.
I looked down to see a selfie of Georgia. It was the bottom half of her gorgeous face with her slender neck and the necklace on display.
Tink
I love it so much. I hope you made it there safely. My family can’t stop gushing about you. And Gracie expects you to attend the tea party now. #anothertriptothetipsytea
I need to see your face.
That was all I could think to say, because it was true. Something about her face, her eyes, her smile—it calmed me.
Comforted me.
The photo came through, and she was clearly laughing because her mouth was wide open, and even her eyes were smiling. And my heart rate slowed. My anger dissipated.
She was better than a shot of whiskey.
I tucked my phone back into my pocket as servers filled our wine glasses and plates with silver domes were placed in front of us. My brother leaned close as he sat beside me. My father was deep in conversation with my grandfather, and my grandmother was asking Claire all sorts of questions about the baby.
“I’ve got to give it to the old dude. He’s not as predictable as I thought he was,” Wyle said.
“You couldn’t have given me a heads-up before they walked in?” I hissed and nodded at Mrs. Winters when she set the plate with the silver dome in front of me.
