Orchid chuckled. “You’re messing up my makeup by making me laugh,” she said.
“Although it turns out I could’ve come at Thanksgiving. I didn’t know Rina would be there.”
“Who’s Rina?” Orchid asked.
“Phoenix’s ex-girlfriend. He brought her to Thanksgiving for their first date after meeting at a Starbucks or something.”
Orchid turned, forgetting about the mascara.
The details slapped her.Ex-girlfriend? Thanksgiving?He’d dated after his accident, when she couldn’t get excited about any of the guys she’d met. Though he was acting like the one wronged, she wasn’t sure which of them deserved the title more.
She faced the mirror to brush base powder all over and feather on lipstick in a shade of purple that matched her eggplant-hued dress.
Harry popped his head in the door, no knock. “Hey, dolls,” he said. “Din-din.”
“Are we feeding me to the wolves for dinner?” Orchid asked, dabbing a final touch of blush on each cheek.
“That’s right. It’s like a shark’s cage three days late for mealtime down there. What’s wrong with everyone? Thinking you’re with Caleb?”
“What?” Orchid whirled, forgetting the brush in hand, incredulous. “Who thinks that?”
He counted off on his fingers cheerfully. “Let’s see. Phoenix. My mom. Who told my dad, who is totally confused about why you’re even here.”
“Oh, no,” Orchid said, “I can’t go down there.”
Lucy looped one arm through Orchid’s. “Oh, you have to. No one’s going to notice anything stupid I’ll say with you there!”
Strengthened by the buoyant couple on either side, Orchid inserted her feet into silver heels and descended the steps.
Most were already seated at the oval dining table, replete with fine porcelain, crystal and layered linens. The remaining guests straggled in to find empty seats.
Orchid slipped in next to Caleb, who was engrossed in conversation with Stew and George. Veronica, seated between Betsy and Phoenix, ignored Orchid’s arrival.
Lucy sat on her other side, and Harry took the last empty chair, next to his girlfriend.
The conversation quieted as Betsy suggested prayers. She reached out on either side to hold hands with Veronica and George. Everyone else followed suit. As Orchid took Caleb and Lucy’s hands, she gauged Veronica holding Phoenix’s shortened forearm with absolutely no trace of self-consciousness.Could I be so nonchalant?
Orchid bowed her head for George’s words.
Then, a server arrived with a steaming bowl of soup for each person.
“Watercress,” trilled Betsy.
“Bon appetit,”boomed George, the French phrase reminding Orchid of her trip to Cannes with Phoenix. She looked up at him to catch him gazing at her. As she caught his eye, he looked away and returned to converse with his mother.
She had no appetite, so she turned to Caleb.
“Working on any cool new tattoos?”
“We’re working on a kick-ass one for a hunter. It’s like the designs you’d find on high-end gun handles.”
“Really?” Orchid asked.
“You getting one?”
“Haha, very funny,” she said. The server took her untouched bowl and placed a plate in front of her.
“Veggie lasagna with béchamel sauce, and white asparagus,” Betsy said. “Even though there’s no rule about it, we avoid meat on Holy Saturday.”
