I managed a small smile of my own. "Probably."
"Sounds like you wasted a good day then," Dad said.
I began running the hem of my dress through my fingers. "Seems that way."
"That's a shame," Mom pouted. "But you know, if you still lived at home, you could've helped redecorate Jane's room."
"You're redecorating again?" I looked at Jane mid-question to find her face said it all.
"Baby pink," Jane deadpanned. "My room looks like a Disney princess threw up on the walls."
"Oh, stop it. It looks fine." Mom sipped her wine before turning her attention back to me. "How's the apartment?"
"Slowly turning into a mini rainforest," I smiled. "Kira has collected so many gorgeous plants—"
"Ugh. I can't stand having plants inside. Too many bugs.” She pulled a squeamish face.
"Not to mention the water spills on the floor," Dad added as he gestured for a waiter.
I gritted my teeth.
It was Kira’s idea to rent a place together when we graduated high school. Her two moms owned the apartment and offered it to us as a graduation present of their own. They thought it would be a good experience for us to get out into the real world, on our own, while we studied and worked. Of course, my parents never approved of the idea. They would’ve preferred I stayed home until they married me off to a good Christian boy.
My parents never approved of Kira as a friend. She was too eccentric for their taste. The moment she walked into my 14th birthday party wearing fairy wings, they immediately thought she was too different for conservative people like themselves. I just thought she was the cool new kid who deserved a friend.
Although my parents wouldn't speak badly of Kira in front of me, their expressions and subtle digs at her lifestyle choices could be extremely obvious at times. Like their sudden dislike for indoor plants, even though Mom kept violets in the kitchen window and parlor ferns at work in the foyer.
Mom was about to go on, but the waiter arrived.
“What can I get you?" he asked, his notepad at the ready as he eyed me a little longer than needed. He ran a hand through his honey-blonde hair before flashing a handsome smile.
I averted my eyes to the menu.
"You could save us from this dinner for starters," Jane mumbled.
I stifled a laugh while the waiter looked at her, confused. "Pardon?"
"Nothing," Jane sighed. "I'll have the steak, thanks."
"Honey. I thought you wanted something light. Like the salad?" Mom said while plastering a polite smile on her face.
"Fine." Jane mirrored her expression before looking at the waiter. "A salad, please. With a side of steak."
Before Mom could protest Jane's choices, Dad began his order. Genuinely unaware he interrupted his wife as he hungrily scanned the menu. "I'll have the lobster."
Breaking her slight glare from Jane, Mom pursed her lips and skimmed the menu before agreeing on the lobster too.
The waiter jotted down their orders before turning to me and smiling again. "And you?”
"Just the tomato and basil soup, please."
"Great choices." He flipped the notepad shut with a click of his pen and caught me off guard when he winked in my direction, which had Jane stifling a laugh this time.
I blinked at his boldness.
As soon as he walked away, Mom turned to the table with a little more excitement. "That's Oliver Tate, Mary's oldest son. She’s on the PTA. They have a daughter that goes to Jane's school.”
Jane rolled her brown eyes and grimaced. “Eliza Tate. She’s a stuck-up little—”
