“King!” his mother shouted, even though she was onlya few feet from him. She and Sunny were sitting in the folding chairs in front of the picture window. She waved him over.
The last thing he wanted to do was deal with his mother tonight, but duty called. He walked over to them, but he didn’t sit down.
“I have a splendid idea, King.” She looked up at him, a small frown on her face. “Please sit down. I’m straining my neck looking at you.”
He sank down on a chair, the headache that had started at the beginning of the dance lesson intensifying.
“Sunny was just telling me that she gets nervous speaking in front of crowds.”
“Alittlenervous,” Sunny said, pressing her bottom lip. “I can do it—”
“I told her not to worry, that you’ll be the emcee of the showcase. It’s perfect! You have excellent public-speaking skills, and you’re such a charmer. You still own a tux, don’t you?”
“Karen,” Sunny said, touching Mom’s shoulder. “I don’t think that’s necessary—”
“Of course it is! Do you have a tux, King?”
“Yes.” He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. The tension wouldn’t ease.
“We’ll take Olivia with us so you can get a tie and cummerbund to match her dress. Better yet, we can dress-shop with her, too, so you can both have the perfect outfits.”
Kingston turned to Sunny, who looked overwhelmed and helpless. The Karen Effect. He was beyond familiar with that malady.
His mother was looking at her phone calendar. “What day is good for you? Oh, and we need to coordinate with Olivia too. I have several stores in mind where we can shop.”
His head started to spin. This was his sabbatical. Not hers. But she was taking control of it anyway. He still hadn’t told her how much time he had off, other than six weeks for the dance course. He didn’t want to be emcee or wear a tux. He didn’t even want to dance anymore. The only thing he wanted was a relationship with Olivia, and that was permanently out of reach.
“King? King!”
His mother’s face came into view. “What day is good for you this week?”
He started to tell her to pick a day. He didn’t care. But as he opened his mouth, something clicked inside him.
I don’t have to do this. I can tell her no.
He turned to Sunny. “Can you excuse us for a minute?”
“Sure. I have a phone call to make anyway.” Their instructor jumped out of her seat and scurried into the back room of the studio.
Mom faced him. “Good, I wanted to talk to you alone anyway.”
“What about?”
“Your and Olivia’s party.” She lifted her phone and started tapping on the calendar.
“What party?”
“Just a little celebration. A chance for your colleagues and our friends to meet her and vice versa.”
“Mom—”
“It will be semicasual. Cocktails and finger foods. Shecan wear that cute dress she had on last week, the fuchsia one. It brings out her olive skin tone—”
“No.”
Her head lifted. “What?”
“There will be no party, no tuxes and cummerbunds, no shopping or emceeing.”
