The meal was subdued as if everyone was walking on egg shells, trying not to offend me. I took small portions of the beef burgundy and a roll when they passed. For the most part, I pushed the food around on my plate, bringing my fork to my mouth every now and then but not taking a bite. My stomach wouldn’t be able to handle this much food at once. Throwing up didn’t really have a lot of appeal with the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.
“How did Linda’s dance recital go?” Jason asked Jenna.
Jason was our age and a cousin on my dad’s side. Well, technically a step cousin as Dad had married Mom when I was three. He was skinny and tall and had a mop of curly brown hair. He should look like a giant geek but instead managed to pull off sexy professor. I couldn’t remember what career he had chosen, but it was no doubt something brainy.
“She was so cute,” Mom said. “Our little bumble bee.”
“She had a lot of fun. We have photos if you want to see them later,” Jenna said.
“I didn’t know Linda had joined dance,” I said.
The smile fell from Jenna’s face and her eyes cooled when she glanced at me. “You never asked.”
Ouch. The glacial tone left no doubt as to her feelings at my distance over the last couple of years.
“I’m glad she’s enjoying it. We had a lot of fun dancing when we were kids.”
“Yes, we did.”
The conversation faltered after that and only the sound of the clink of silverware against plates filled the awkwardness that ensued.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything. I hadn’t intended to bring the conversation to a screeching halt.
“Your father and I were thinking you could borrow the old minivan,” Mom said. “It’s just sitting in the garage gathering dust. It would be good for it to get some use. Otherwise it’s going to develop problems just sitting there.”
Here we go.
“Thanks, but I’m happy with my bike.”
Mom’s offers of help always came with hefty strings attached and since I had no intention of dancing to her tune it was best to refuse outright.
“It’s not safe for a woman to be riding around the city at night,” Mom tried.
A lot of things I’d done in my life hadn’t been safe. I had yet to let that stop me. If my parents had their way, I’d be cowering in my bedroom, scared of all the dangers the big bad world presented.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You won’t be fine,” she snapped, slamming her fork down. “You’re an accident waiting to happen.”
“Elise,” Dad said quietly.
Mom took a deep breath, reigning in her frustration as her guests studiously avoided looking at either of us.
“It doesn’t hurt anybody to take the van, and it’d make your mom worry about you less,” Dad said.
I set my fork down. “That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?” Jenna interrupted. “That it wasn’t your idea? That you have to refuse just to be difficult?”
No, the point was that I was an adult and could choose how I lived my life. Not having a car was a choice, one made under financial duress but my choice nonetheless. My parents were not going to dictate how I got around the city like I was sixteen again.
“I’ve already made my position clear on the matter,” I said calmly.
Jenna let out a long sound of frustration. “And just like that, case closed. You’re done talking, and you don’t care if anyone else has anything to say. Always have to have it your way, don’t you, Aileen?”
My jaw clenched on the words I wanted to spit back at her. It wouldn’t help anything to let the frustration I had out. It would just make things worse.
I changed the subject, “Instead of discussing a car I don’t want, why don’t you tell me why you invited all these people here for a dinner that takes the award for most awkward?” I met my parents’ eyes with determination.
