“Sure doesn’t look like there’s a snowstorm coming,” Neil said as he pointed toward the cloudless sky. “I think we’re good.”
“Yeah, but it’s frickin’ freezing here,” Hailey complained. She pulled a hat out of her jacket pocket and pulled it down low.
“Cold and clear,” Ben agreed. “Are we ready to get this done?”
“Yes, Chef,” Neil joked as he popped the trunk to start unloading equipment.
“Hailey, I want you on camera two for today, to keep things moving,” Ben continued as he helped grab carrying cases. “We’re doing a three-shot for some of it and I don’t want Neil bouncing around between cameras.”
I glanced at Neil and he frowned briefly but refrained from complaining. Progress!
“Can I help unload?” I asked.
Ben shook his head. “We’re good.” He waited for me to meet his eyes and lowered his voice. “Worry about you, okay?”
We shared a moment of quiet solidarity, two soldiers preparing for a skirmish.
“There she is!”
The sound of her voice made me jump like the car alarm had triggered right beside me.
I could feel Hailey watching us so I locked into my stage persona. “Hey,” I drew the word out, to avoid having to call her Mom.
Her kitten heels clacked on the slate walkways as she practically skipped to me.
The last time I’d seen my mom for a brief three-day break for Christmas, but we’d had a full house of aunts, uncles, and cousins, so we’d had minimal alone time. Now, I was about to be her sole focus, and in front of cameras no less.
My mom had never wanted to pursue acting, but she could have, given her natural gift for theatrics. I could feel Neil and Hailey pausing to watch our reunion, and the way my mom beamed at me and summoned a few tears really sold the happy Hallmark vibes.
“Baby,” she cooed as she wrapped me in her arms, rocking us from side to side. “Welcome home.”
I fought to keep from stiffening up. I pretended that we were ballroom dancing and I had no choice but to follow her lead, until I started to feel smothered.
“How are you?” I asked as I pulled away from her.
She looked perfect, as usual. I’d been cursed with a hot mom who’d had me young, which meant she loved it when men joked that we could be sisters. Her hair was a few shades blonder than mine, with a center part and smooth layers. She’d always avoided the sun, so her skin was flawless alabaster with just the right amount of pink on her high cheekbones. Every bit of her was calibrated to be polished, from the way her shoes matched her nails to her lashes curled in perfect crescents. She was wearing a hot pink cashmere wrap as a coat despite the frigid temperature, which was meant to look casual but I knew was planned way in advance.
“I’msohappy that you’re here!” She turned to the team and waved both hands, pageant queen–style. “Welcome, everyone. I’m Tricia.”
“Neil,” he said, walking toward her with his hand extended.
“I hope when you leave you’ll feel comfortable giving me a hug instead of this formal stuff,” she flirted as they shook hands.
He laughed. “This is Hailey, and you probably already know Ben, because who doesn’t?”
Hailey shook her hand as well, and then we all turned to see what Ben was doing, only to discover that he was missing.
“Where’d he go?” Neil asked, craning his neck to look around the yard.
We spotted him farther down the long driveway on his phone. He glanced at us without so much as a wave of acknowledgment and continued walking away.
It felt like his own bit of theatrics, to avoid getting mixed up in the homecoming, and I loved him for it. My mom wanted the world to stick to her choreography, and the fact that Ben wasn’t falling in line for her welcome home performance was the perfect “fuck you” to kick off the visit. Not a big enough thing to cause real drama, but he seemed to intuitively understand that he needed to piss on her fence.
Gratitude warmed me, but I caught myself before I could get all moony over the man. He had a job to do. There was still a good chance that he could push on the bruise between me and my mom to drum up drama for the show.
“Is Mr. Albright home?” Neil asked as he pulled another case from the car.
“Call him Tim, sweetheart,” Tricia replied in her honeyed voice. “And yes, he took today off but he’s on a call in his office. He’ll magically appear when we’re ready to go.”
