“Serena’s around here somewhere,” he says, scanning the room.
As if summoned by her cue, she appears at his side.
Her ivory sheath dress clings as if it were airbrushed on. She offers a smile that stops just short of genuine and steps in for a two-handed hug, like she’s bracing herself for contact with something contagious.
“Rhea. You made it,” she says, with just enough emphasis to make it sound a little like disappointment.
“I did,” I reply. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
Serena blinks—just once—like I’ve suggested scrubbing the baseboards.
“I think the wedding staff has it under control.”
Right. Of course they do.
Translation:We hired professionals, sweetheart. No need for your small-town elbow grease here.
Before I can retreat to the nearest potted plant, Carter’s dad, Brad, and step-mom, Laurie, appear.
They actually light up when they see me.
“Rhea!” Brad says, his voice warm and familiar as he pulls me into a big bear hug—the kind that really means something. Laurie follows with a softer, motherly squeeze and a hand on my arm that lingers.
“We've been waiting to see you all afternoon,” she says. “Although, if we’re honest, we have to admit we were a bit disappointed that little nugget wasn’t coming along.”
Brad winks, “So, of course, we’re going to need to see pictures. Lots of them.”
My heart stutters thinking of Esme. Far away.
“She is pretty great. Growing fast,” I say, trying not to let too much emotion crack through the words.
Brad nods. “She’s got your eyes, I can see that. And probably your spirit, too.”
And just like that, I feel it—this impossible swell of gratitude and jealousy all tangled together. Because they’re kind.Trulykind. Always have been.
They don’t treat me like an outsider. They never have.
Even though I never lived with Brad. Even though hewas married to my mom for just three years, long before she met my dad and long before I was born.
Somehow, Brad—and eventually Laurie—always made me feel like I belonged. Like I might’ve been part of something bigger, something secure. The kind of family that gathers for every holiday and sends handwritten birthday cards and remembers the names of your friends.
The kind of family Carter got to step into full-time the moment prep school started.
Meanwhile, I was with my mom—both of us reeling. We’d just learned my father had been involved with someone else for years. And a baby growing in the belly of the younger woman?
That was the final nudge he needed to leave for good, never looking back.
My mom’s depression grew so dark, it practically swallowed our house whole.
Meanwhile, Carter got laughter and structure and Sunday dinners. I got silence. And a note on the fridge that said,Frozen meal for dinner.
It’s not that I didn’t love my mom. I did. Fiercely. But so often, life with her felt… heavy. Isolated. And so achingly alone.
Brad and Laurie were a window into what it might have felt like to live with people who waited for you to come home just so they could ask how your day was, because they genuinely wanted to know.
Brad leans in a little, his voice lower now. “Rhea, I just have to tell you again, what you did for your mom in those last months... it was everything. She wasn’t alone because of you. That means more than I can ever say. And I still want to kick Carter in the ass every now and then for how little he helped you out.”
My throat tightens. I nod, unable to speak.
