Jamie never really told her parents who Etta was. Howmuch money she had. What she did for a living. In part because it wasn’t really their business until now… and because they were anti-capitalist protestors who once chained themselves to a post on Wall Street with the rest of their commune friends.
This was going to be a nightmare. Assuming Jamie lived to wake up from it.
Chapter 25
Nobody had anticipated the arrival of Luna and Saul Joy. Not the staff, not Etta, and certainly not Jamie, who had no warning that this storm was coming.
“Your parents… seem nice.” Etta only got two seconds alone with Jamie when she broke away long enough to hide in her office. Jamie was right behind her, gone when her father was distracted with their guest room, and Luna went screaming into the backyard, her yelps of joy over Etta’s flower garden sounding like shrieking cats.Speaking of…All but one cat had made itself scarce. Beatrice’s favorite swished its tail outside the guest room. As for Barbarossa? She was probably yowling beneath the bed, as she usually did when something even slightly disruptive happened in that part of the house.
“My parents are nuts.” Jamie stayed a respectful distance from Etta, afraid that touching her fiancée might make her collapse. “I promise I had no idea that they were coming.”
“You haven’t told them much about me. Your father was shocked that I didn’t have a tattoo, and your mother won’t stop touching me.”
“Wait until they realize that you own this house and that you’re one ofthe richest people they’ve ever met.”
Etta’s mouth twitched. “Rich because I have you.”
“Don’t even start, please.”
Sighing, Etta poured herself a drink at the wet bar and tossed it back in one gulp. “I wouldn’t truly dream of it. I’m already tired from seeing them for half an hour.”
“You sure that’s not olfactory fatigue? It’s okay to say it. They smell a little. They don’t wear deodorant and haven’t showered more than twice a week since we lived in our house.”
“Think it might be about time to tell me about your parents?”
Jamie rubbed her face with her fingers, as if that would save her sanity. “What is there to tell you? They’re a couple of crazy hippies. They live on some farming commune out in the middle of nowhere. I’ve often worried that they were in a cult, but I suppose not, if they’re allowed to leave. Besides…” she rolled her eyes, “they are very nonreligious. I don’t think an actual cult could convince them to join, even if it tried.”
“Good to know.” Etta poured another drink, this time handing it to Jamie. “Now, tell me how much they hate big business and why I should be wary.”
Jamie had no idea where to begin.
“I don’t think they will be rude to you,” Jamie said in the end, “but don’t be surprised if my father especially says derogatory things about your career off the cuff. He would definitely have me marry another hippie or, barring that, at least a working-class person… who never has the chance of rising in the world. My parents are the exact opposite of the kind you’re used to seeing around the office.”
“That’s both good and terrible.”
After finishing her drink, Jamie handed her the glass. “My mother adores you already, though. I can tell. She only looks at people like that if she thinks they’re ‘deplorably gorgeous.’”
“Deplorable, huh?”
“She thinks that makes her sound fancy. My parents… can be hypocrites.”
“Aren’t most of us?”
“They’re… yeah. I told you that they’re the reason I have my dumb name, right?”
Etta took her glass and downed the remaining few sips. “I like your name. Ms. Joy.”
She narrowed her eyes at her fiancée. “They picked the name ‘Joy’ on their honeymoon when they were high as fucking kites.”
“Yeah, you told me.”
“My mother changed her name. Used to be Sandra. Saul and Sandra Warner would’ve been their names by traditional conventions.” Jamie didn’t wait for a reply. “Yes, Warner. My dad’s name used to be Warner. No relation, I’m sure.”
“Surely.”
“My mom legally changed her name to Luna sometime shortly after I was born. Get it? Saul and Luna Joy?”
Etta cocked an eyebrow over the rim of the glass.You’re not getting any more alcohol out of there, honey.
