Mom turns her attention to Ellis. “I’ve never liked you. I’ll be polite to you in public for Elliot’s sake but I’mdoneholding my tongue about you in private. I think you’re a crass, arrogant, stupid man who thinks his money means he can do whatever he wants to people. Well, let me tellyousomething—next time you show up at our home, Stella can come in but you can’t. I will never turn my back on our daughter, because I love her despite how angry she sometimes makes me.
“But you? You’re just white trash with money. I’ve met people like you before. You’re the kind of person that can’t stand for others to be happy because you’re not capable of being happy. There’s a hole inside you that can’t ever be filled, so you tear everyone else down around you, try to stuff their rubble inside you, and then gloat about it. It’s a sport for you.”
Her focus returns to Stella. “You would have let us lose the farm without so much as bothering to ask if you could help out. Well, we’ve signed a contract to sell the farm to Elliot’s library foundation, and we changed our wills last week. You don’t get a single damned penny. I don’t know what nonsense you and Grace Martin got up to over the years, and I don’t want to. Just know that we are so disappointed in you, Stella. You had the potential to do great things and instead opted to chase money thrown at you by all those mega churches and groups and such that don’t do a damned thing to actuallyhelppeople. They’re like institutional versions of your husband—they want to tear others down to make them as miserable as they are because they think everyone should be miserable.”
No one speaks, at first. That even Leo and Jordan are standing there silent and wide-eyed with shock tells me…
Well, it doesn’t tell me a damned thing in this moment except that they as completely caught off-guard by all of this as much as me and Stella are.
Stella nervously licks her lips. “Mom, I—”
“No,” Dad says, stepping up next to Mom and draping an arm around her shoulders. “Your mother’s absolutely right. We’ve done a lot of thinking and praying about this, and we talked to our pastor about it. What’s important islivingby what you believe, not saying one thing and then doing another. This isn’t even about your abortion. It’s about how we researched some of the groups you work for and we were horrified by what we learned.”
Ooookaaaay, that’s even more news to me.
Red fills Stella’s cheeks and she points at me and Leo. “I thought you were disgusted by them!”
“Weneversaid that,” Dad says. “We’ve been praying on it and talking to our pastor about that, too. And most of our friends have reached out to us. Nearly all of them,includingour pastor, were of the mind that if they love each other, then why shouldn’t they be happy? Their relationship with God is none of our business. And it doesn’t mean we can’t love them and enjoy their company or welcome them as family.”
Mom nods. “I’m ashamed to admit I was embarrassed, at first. Horrified, even. Because I worried what everyone would think. It wasn’t until we’d returned home and were able to think, and able to talk to our friends, that we understood we didn’t have to remain chained to the past and to how we were raised. We even found out that some of our friends, their son is gay, and they were afraid to tell anyone because they worried they’d be ostracized.
“Well, that’s not very Christlike, is it? Ostracizing someone we love? We don’t think so. Maybe it’s time we start living by what the Bible and Jesusactuallysay instead of by the cherry-picked bullshit some rich people who make money peddling their version of the Scriptures says it means.”
Seriously, I legit think I’m going to pass out from the shock of all this and it’s only when Leo pats my hand with his free hand that I realize I’ve clamped down on his so tightly that it’s likely not comfortable. I loosen my grip a little but don’t release him.
“Elliot nearlydied,” Mom continues. “Leo nearly died. Both of them selflessly, and in service to our country. What haveyoutwo done except take money to lie for big donors who only care about making more money, not about what’s true and right?” She sends a darkly pointed glare at Ellis. “You’ve never served, have you?” But she plows on without waiting for him to answer because we all know the answer to that. “Even your father served in the army for a couple of years,” Mom says to Stella.
“All your life, you’ve acted like you’re special without doing anything to show for it.” Mom points at the floor. “Here and now, no longer, will we put up with that nonsense. You are an adult—fucking act like it for once. And if you can’t? Then leave.Now.”
When Leo and Jordan look at me I realized the wordless, gasping noise I just heard came from me.
I’veneverheard Mom drop the F-bomb.
Ever.
Shae clears her throat and steps forward wearing what I know from eight years spent as her VP is an evil smile. “Ms. Woodley, Mr. McMurtry, let’s get your pictures taken with the newlyweds and then you can move out to the tent with the other guests while we finish in here.” Her smile fades. “Elliot isn’t the only President in this room with the ability to give orders to the Secret Service. If you so much as cough wrong today Iwillhave you escorted out of the event and won’t hesitate to call an impromptu pool spray saying why.”
Ellis releases Stella’s arm, leaving a handprint behind. “Yes, Madam President,” he mutters.
Shae curtly nods. “That’smore like it, asshole.”
CHAPTERFIFTY-FIVE
I hopemy smile looks normal for the rest of the pictures because following Mom and Dad’s smackdown of Stellis—not to mention Shae stepping in—I’m legit in a daze as their words spin through my mind.
Here I thought the seismic shift in my life today would be saying my vows to Leo, not watching my parents finally hold my little sister accountable for her actions.
Honestly? That was far more satisfying to me emotionally than hearing my father tell me he’s proud of me.
I shove those thoughts away as we head outside. Walking into the reception tent is terrifying in some ways because I do so as a married man and holding my husband’s hand. It’s overwhelming, and I have to focus on breathing because I damned sure don’t want to faint in front of all these witnesses.
At least the reception isn’t being live-streamed the way the ceremony was. My press office will release an edited, condensed version within the next day.
There’s another round of applause for us as we make our way through the tent to the long table at the front for the wedding party, where Leo and I are seated at the center.
Nearby, I see Stella and Ellis wearing stony expressions when they’re not forcing smiles while talking to the other people seated at their table.
We get settled and then someone brings Jordan a cordless mic. He picks up his champagne glass and when he walks around the table to the middle of the dance floor I realize this is the toast section of the festivities.
