My sister claps excitedly, then deflates. “Ugh. I wish Craig were here so he could weigh in.”
“Yes, where is my future son-in-law again tonight?” my mother asks.
“Work,” Izzy answers. “He’s trying to get ahead on his projects so we can go on our honeymoon unbothered, but it’s really taking him away from the wedding planning. We’re already short on time, so it’s just stressful.”
“Good thing you have the best wedding planner around.” Elaine beams at her daughter, squeezing her arm.
Odette returns the smile, but there’s a frailty at the edge that I’m not sure her mother catches.
Or maybe anyone else, for that matter.
Can’t they see she’s freaking out? Can’t they see these bad reviews are crumbling her business? Don’t they notice how she’s barely holding on to her dream?
“Oh my god!” A loud gasp from my mother. “Your face!”
Izzy snorts a laugh. “He gets that reaction from all the ladies.”
I flip my sister off and push my glasses—which have apparently slipped down my nose—back up as my mother rises from her chair and rounds the table to me.
I hold my hands up in an attempt to ward her off, but it’s no use. She snatches the sunglasses off my face, her eyes widening as she lets out yet another gasp.
“Noah Brian Stevens! What on earth did you do to yourself? Got something in your eye, my ass.”
She glowers down at me, and I can’t help it—the young boy in me comes out instantly as I slink lower in my seat, my shoulders drooping with shame.
“Sorry. I just didn’t want to worry you, is all.”
“Now I’mextraworried. What did you have to lie about? What was so bad that I couldn’t handle it?”
I force myself not to look at Odette. Ireallydon’t want to rehash this whole ordeal yet again. It was bad enough with Izzy earlier.
“Nothing was bad about it. I just ... I got a little disoriented and ran into my bathroom door. That’s all.”
“Disoriented? Disoriented?! What’s wrong? Are you sick?” She presses the back of her hand against my forehead. “You don’t feel hot. Did you pass out? Were you dizzy?”
“Mom!” I yell, pulling away from her and pushing to my feet. Literally anything to get away. “Stop it. I’m fine. Totally fine. Not dizzy, not sick. Nothing. Maybe disoriented was the wrong word.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “Don’t you yell at your mother, Noah. You might be grown, but I’m still your parent.”
I sigh, running my palm over my face. I wince when I hit my nose, which prompts my mother to launch at me again, but I ward her off.
“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to yell. I’m just— Would you knock it off?” I say to Izzy, who has been cackling loudly this entire time.
She doesn’t bother listening. She just laughs louder.
I roll my eyes at her antics. Of course she finds this hilarious. I’m sure I would, too, if this were anyone else, but it’s not.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” I tell her again. “But I’m okay. I promise. It’s just a bump and some bruises. Nothing is broken. I’ve sustained worse injuries playing hockey.”
She shakes her head, and I know I’ve successfully distracted her. “Tell me about it. I still can’t get the sound of you colliding with that guy from the Carolina Comets out of my head.”
I never told her this because I didn’t want to worry her, but it took me a long time to stop thinking about it too. The hit came in my second-to-last year from Adrian Rhodes, a beast of a man and a player, and knocked the wind out of me so badly that I couldn’t finish the game. It was clean, but it hurt like a son of a bitch. I ran into him and his wife at a charity thing a few months later, and we all had a good laugh about it.
“See? So, this?” I point at my face. “It’s nothing. It’ll be gone in a few days, and we can all joke about how dumb I am for forgetting I have a bathroom door.”
She tips her head, considering me for a moment. Eventually, she nods. “All right. Fine. Just ... don’t lie to me next time, all right? I can handle it, no matter how gruesome or ridiculous it might be.”
“I won’t. I promise.” I hold my hand out. “Can I have the sunglasses back? Elaine doesn’t want to look at this ugly mug while she enjoys her dinner. Do you, Elaine?”
