Sybil nodded, more than happy to accept the scraps Brooke had offered her.“I would like that very much.”
“But,” Brooke said, her voice tightening again.“Anna is owed an apology as well. And you are not to be rude to her again. I will not stand idly by as anyone is rude to my partner.”
Sybil smiled softly then, in a way entirely unlike any smiles that Brooke had ever seen from her.“I do like her spirit. She’s a bit fiery, that one.”
Brooke couldn’t help but blush.“She’s something else.”
“I do like her.” Sybil’s grin widened then.“Even if she did call me a bitch.”
“You were being a bitch,” Brooke pointed out.
“I know. It was, however, quite refreshing to meet someone willing to call me one.”
“Don’t tell her that, or that’s how she’ll save you in her phone,” Brooke warned. She could sense that this conversation had run its course. They had been gone for too long from the brunch table. The whole party was probably held up, stuck unable to order in their absence.“Shall we head back?”
Sybil nodded, but stayed frozen where she stood.“Would it be unreasonable to ask for a hug?”
Brooke felt her entire body stiffen. She shook her head, and for the first time in nearly fifteen years, she hugged her mother.
When Brooke pushed open the bathroom door, Anna and Nate were waiting with their arms crossed just outside the door. Anna looked ready to kick the door down. Nate looked only mildly more reserved.
“Everything okay?” Anna asked, her chin lifting. Brooke wasn’t entirely sure that Anna wouldn’t punch Sybil if pushed.
Brooke shot a pointed look at her mother. Anna was still owed an apology.
Sybil cleared her throat and rolled her shoulders back.“Yes, Ms. Fourchette,” she began, but her tone dropped. Her eyes flashed from Anna’s to Nate’s to Brooke's before she tried again.“Anna, I do believe I owe you an apology. I’ve not been a gracious host to you this week.” Her jaw clenched, but she continued.“If you’d be so kind. I should like it if we might start again.”
Anna softened, the corners of her lips lifting into a smile.“I would like that, Mrs. Kent.”
“Sybil. You may call me Sybil.” She extended her hand to Anna.
Anna shook it without a second thought.“Thank you, Sybil. I would be delighted if we could start again.”
Nate looked absolutely shocked. Brooke was pleased. It wasn’t as direct of an apology as she thought Anna deserved, but it was a start, and it was a lot for her mother. Nate rocked back and forth on his toes. It was clear that none of them knew how to segue themselves back to brunch.
“Shall we?” Brooke finally asked.
“Sure thing, Honey-B. That sounds perfect,” Anna said happily. Sliding her arm into the crook of Brooke's elbow.
When they were seated at the table again, Anna leaned over, far closer to Brooke than necessary, though neither of them minded. At this point, Brooke wanted to just pull Anna into her lap.“What happened in there?” Anna asked, her lips brushing against the shell of Brooke's ear.
Brooke felt the tips of her ears go hot from the unintentional contact. Although she wasn’t sure that it was unintentional at all. That thought just made her ears heat up farther. Brooke hummed and quickly glanced around the table. Most of Nate and Mel's wedding party were pointedly giving them a moment. Brooke couldn’t imagine how awkward it must have been to see them all come back from the bathroom together. She couldn’t imagine how stressed the situation must have made Mel or Nate for that matter, if he went so far as to join Anna outside of the restroom.
“In sum, she apologized. She acknowledged that I have no reason to forgive her, and she said that any future relationship can be on my terms, but that she’d like one.” Brooke smiled softly. She couldn’t believe that had actually happened. It was even more surprising than Anna being in love with her, which she didn’t think anything would ever be more of a surprise than that.
When her father had told her how they supposedly felt the night before, she had been so blindsided and fairly certain that he was confessing his own feelings on both of their behalf, trying to mend the situation without Sybil’s knowledge or approval, but it had been real.
Anna let out a breath of relief.“I’m so fucking proud of you, Honey-B.”
Brooke didn’t care who could see or who was watching, she leaned forward and kissed Anna gently, with a soft, chaste kiss. Not only had her mother actually apologized, she had gotten to speak with Anna. Anna, who had been so lovely and wonderful and receptive to Brooke's concerns. It was all Brooke could do to not drag her back to the restroom.
When brunch came to an end, Brooke and Anna walked out with the rest of the Kents. Nate and Mel had told Brooke and Anna that they could just ride back to their flat with them, but Sybil and Augustus lingered with them as they walked out to the parking lot.
“Brooke, dear, it was lovely to see you,” Augustus said, his deep voice, booming.“And Anna, it was lovely to have gotten to meet you. I should look forward to seeing you again.”
It was clear that he didn’t know how to tell them goodbye. For any normal family, hugs would be in order, but as it was, there was an awkward gap, a severe lack of physical affection, even from before the incident. Anna, however, had no such qualms. She broke the tension like a knife, slicing through warm butter. She pulled him in for an easy hug, in such a way that only she could do.“It was so nice to meet you, Augustus. I hope to see you in my restaurant one day.” She shot him a charming wink.
Her action freed up his ability to reach for a hug from Brooke, which she returned. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed hugs from her father. He hardly spoke to her in her childhood. Probably because they had nothing in common other than being absolutely dreadful at small talk, but he had always hugged in the mornings before school and every night before she went to bed. Looking back on it, he had even awkwardly hugged her before putting her on a plane to her boarding school, but she had been too sad, hurt, and angry to hug him back. She hugged him this time, though, and it was something she had desperately been missing.
