She laughs because Hank has made it clear he doesn’t like it at all.
I like Phoebe. I haven’t known her long, but every time we’re together we have a good time.
Over the years, I’ve drifted away from my high school and college friends, and now my inner circle are women I met because their husbands are friends with Ben. Part of that is because Ben is way more social than I am and always making plans for us. But the other part is that Ben didn’t really love my old friends and they weren’t exactly crazy about him, so it just seemed easier not to force them to be around one another.
We talk for a few more minutes before Wesley drags her off to introduce her to another couple.
Ben is back at my side, steering me toward our table, but then pauses in the middle of the room. “We need to speak to your family, so let’s go ahead and get it over with.” He pulls me in a new direction and we head toward where my parents are sitting with my brother, Silas, and sister-in-law, Margaret.
Ben’s mask slips perfectly into place as we approach their table. My feelings are a bit harder to hide. Ben will spend most of the night trying to impress my dad, while Dad throws well-aimed barbs in my direction, dismissing my social media account as a waste of time and demanding we finally make them grandparents.
I take the open seat next to Margaret, letting Ben have the one closest to my parents.
“Oh, I love that color on you. Yellow can be so hard to pull off. Did you see the monstrosity Mrs. Weston’s wearing? She looks like an ear of corn.”
“I haven’t run across her yet,” I say, laughing at her description.
Margaret is blond and thin and naturally tan. The Southern Belle trifecta. And her forehead hasn’t moved since high school. She’s constantly getting work done to improve upon her natural beauty, even though most people would give their big toe to look half as good as she does without all the improvements. She takes another sip of her wine as she gives me a rundown on what everyone else is wearing. By the way she’s giggling, I know she’s on at least her third glass. Margaret likes to have a good time, and it’s likely she’ll be wobbling out of here tonight.
Silas leans forward, nodding to where Ben and Dad are deep in conversation on the other side of me. “Warning, Dad’s going to push for you to come home for a church thing. It’s all he talked about on the driveover.” Silas is younger than me but with his deeply tanned skin from spending so much time working on the farm, he could easily be confused as my older brother.
“Okay, thanks for the heads-up.”
It’s only a few minutes later that Dad looks at me past Ben. “Camille, your mother wants to know if you’re coming to the fall festival at church that’s coming up in a few weeks.”
My mother is sitting next to him, talking to an older woman I recognize from our hometown. She sent me one text about this a couple of weeks ago and nothing else since then. Dad only wants me there because he thinks it reflects poorly on him when I’m not present.
And honestly, it should, since he’s the main reason I won’t be there.
“I’ll talk to her about it in a bit.”
He throws me a look but doesn’t say anything else. Thankfully, Ben distracts him by asking about the upcoming election.
I turn back to Margaret and Silas. Their heads are bent while they talk quietly, but the body language tells me they’re arguing about something, which is not unusual. Silas would never say it but I think he’s as unhappy in his marriage as I am in mine. While I’ve managed to keep a healthy distance from my parents, Silas and I are still close. We may not see each other very often, but he calls and checks in on me regularly and we grab lunch whenever he’s in Baton Rouge. I’m worried about him, though. I was hoping he’d get out of Corbeau and not get sucked into working with Dad, but he seems to get deeper and deeper into the family business every year.
It’s no secret Dad is shady as hell and gets away with things he shouldn’t. The cops in Corbeau are on the payroll and the mayor is in his pocket. And Silas is following in his footsteps.
“Camille! It’s so good to see you!”
Several friends of my mom’s stop at the table and exchange pleasantries, all of them telling me how long it’s been since they’ve seen me and asking when I’m coming to visit.
Silas escapes by going to speak with a judge who’s running for one of the open state legislature seats. I’m sure my family is backing his campaign since our motto is “Can’t have too many friends in power!”
As soon as the ladies move on to another table, Dad stands up. “Walk with me to get a drink.”
I glance at Ben. He and Margaret are talking to one of Margaret’s friends, whom I recognize as a bridesmaid at her wedding. “Okay, sure.”
The line is long even though there are several bartenders working behind the counter. I’m already regretting this.
“Your mother is hurt you don’t come visit more often.”
Ugh. There it is—the guilt trip. I know better than to get cornered by him like this, especially after Silas’s warning. “I see Mom when she comes to Baton Rouge to get her hair done or meet with the Garden Club.”
“It’s not the same as coming home for a visit. I don’t know the last time you’ve stayed at the house. And you know she’s ready for grandkids.”
Nope. Not doing this with him. “Then maybe she needs to talk to Margaret. She’d see Silas’s kids way more often than she would mine since they’re practically next door.”
Before he can say anything else, I decide to turn this on him and maybe even get a few answers of my own. “Hey, remember that guy from Corbeau who got arrested for that hit-and-run and went to prison?”
