That had been intentional, and Mom gave me a look that suggested she knew it. I smiled apologetically. “Sorry. Dahmer managed to escape, and I had to chase him around,” I said. It was partially true. He’d tried to escape, and I did have to chase him, but I caught him pretty quick.
The rest of the time, I’d dawdled. It was kind of challenging being around Kelsey and our parents at the same time. She seemed able to handle adulthood a lot better than me, and I always felt that difference more when we were all together.
Mysinglenessstuck out like a sore thumb.
Kelsey sat across the table beside Mom’s chair, with Elliott to her right beside dad. I took my place in one of the vacant chairs, trying not to look at the empty one beside it.
I couldn’t understand why my mother wouldn’t just remove the bloody chair. It wasn’t like someone was randomly going to occupy it without me giving her a heads up, anyway, and frankly, the sight of it made me feel morose.
That empty chair was the perfect metaphor for my life.
In an immature act of defiance, I pulled the empty chair to the corner of the dining room before I moved my chair to the middle, ignoring Mom’s lifted eyebrows and the smile Kelsey tried to hide.
“So, Gwen, how’s work?” Mom asked as I settled into my chair and moved my placemat over.
She passed me the mashed potatoes, and I kept my eyes on the bowl as I scooped some onto my plate. “Work’s good.” I shrugged, passing the potatoes along in time to reach for the dish of green beans. I took some before giving that to my dad.
“We’ve got a new welder who really knows what he’s doing,” Dad commented. I froze for a fraction of a minute before reaching into the basket in front of me for a dinner roll.
Kelsey caught my eye, her lips curling in an enigmatic smile. My eyes narrowed at her in warning, and she lifted a brow. I knew she wasn’t about to blab my dirty secret in front of our parents, but I didn’t want her dangling it, either. Mom was just as sly as Kels was. My sister and my mother were cut from the same cloth, while I was more aloof.
The black sheep, because my father certainly wasn’t aloof. He was commanding and intimidating at times, with a soft underbelly—for us, anyway.
“What do you think, Gwen?” Dad added, glancing at me pragmatically before taking a bite of grilled chicken. Uncomfortable, I shifted in my seat, pushing my glasses up on my nose.
“He seems to come highly recommended,” I said, my tone a smidgen too high. I cleared my throat, holding up my finger as I guzzled back a long sip of water. My eyes landed on Kelsey while I drank, and she mouthed ‘very’ at me with a bemused smirk. I wrinkled my nose at her, turning my attention back to Dad. “Mitch said he was impressed.”
“Yup,” Dad nodded, a satisfied smile on his face, his eyes distant. “He was a smart hire, for sure. He used to own a shop just outside of Ottawa.”
“Dad.” I frowned, shaking my head slightly. “Employee confidentiality,” I added pointedly. Although my heart raced with unease, I drank up this new bit of information greedily.
I didn’t want Alaric to be a conversational topic tonight. I needed to nix it before I gave myself away. Unlike Kelsey, I was not very good at concealing my emotions.
“Right.” He winked at me, likely pleased that I was finally displaying some kind of workplace morals. I’d taken my job a little more seriously lately because now I had a reason to look forward to going in every day.
“Well, that’s good,” Mom said, her eyes going from me to Kelsey and to Dad again. She sensed something was up.
Kelsey caught on too, and she cleared her throat. “So, Mom, about Sunday…”
“Oh yes, dress shopping!” Mom smiled, her eyes brightening as she focused her attention completely on my sister. I sagged with relief, and Elliott grinned with amusement at me.
“I’ll pick you and Gwen up around eight thirty. Janice is going to meet us in Toronto, and before lunch, we’ll hit up a few of the bridal stores I picked out.”
“That sounds perfect.” Mom nodded, her smile growing.
“I also figured we could drive to the venue and check it out. Gwen hasn’t seen it yet.”
“I’d love to see it again.” Mom replied earnestly. She was completely in her element. I’m pretty sure she was more excited about the wedding than even Kelsey was. I knew she’d been waiting for this day since the first moment she held Kelsey in her arms. For me too, which is why she usually put pressure on me about my dating life. Mom wanted me paired off with someone, living a life of domestic bliss.
Conversation faltered for a moment while we all dived into our dinner. Everything melted on my tongue, the way only a home cooked meal made by my mom could. I closed my eyes, savouring the flavours for a moment before her voice had me crashing back to reality.
“So, Gwen. Have you decided who you’ll be bringing to the wedding?”
“Renly.” I shrugged, shovelling a bite of potatoes in my mouth.
Mom pursed her lips. “Don’t you want a date you can actually, you know, connect with?”
“I connect just fine with Renly,” I pointed out, knowing what she was referring to, but pretending to be obtuse.
