“Apparently, she had some friends at Rally and Court’s wedding. One of them called to chat and shared that her children were there, and even though Tempie was very with Hamish, and Chassie was with Christian, the only thing Mum cared about was that her friend told her we seemed very close. Therefore, she phoned in order to understand, should I marry, if she can continue to use her title.”
I sat, stunned silent.
No, I sat, pissed-off silent.
Called to chat and shared that her children were there?
What kind of person was a friend who casually dropped, “Hey, saw your kids you haven’t bothered yourself with in decades. Don’t worry about the youngest three, but the eldest is seriously hooked up. So you might want to check the status of your title.”
Scratch that.
What kind of person could be a friend to a woman who would desert her children so she could frolic in Greece and make everyone call her duchess?
“Vivi, have I lost you?” he called.
“You’re telling me,”—my voice was vibrating with fury—“that woman phoned you after decades of desertion, solely to learn if she can continue to be a duchess after you get married?”
“Yes.”
“You have to be joking!” I shouted.
Snowball glared at me, but I was too incensed to check how Gingerface and Baby Blue, snuggled together on the chaise, responded to me suddenly shouting.
“Sweetheart—”
“Fuck her,” I spat. “What a fucking bitch.”
“Yes, darling, and as lovely as your response is on my behalf, if you’d calm down, I can share I’m calling to ask if you think I should tell the girls she phoned.”
“Fuck no,” I bit.
“Vivi—”
“Did she ask after them?”
“No.”
“Then, again, fuck no.”
“I’ve thought about it, and if she called one of them, I’d want to know,” he shared.
“Did she give any inkling her call was a clumsy attempt to reach out and maybe begin communicating with you again?”
“Not an inkling.”
“What did you tell her about the duchess thing?”
“Strictly speaking, since they never divorced, she’ll always hold that title. Though it has a dowager in front of it, she doesn’t have to use that bit.”
“And you told her that?”
“No, I told her Tempie is very much in love, and I was too, Chassie was dating a fine man, and Prue was on the cusp of signing a lucrative publishing contract. I further told her I hoped she was healthy, wished her well, and hung up on her.”
“Good,” I said shortly.
“Vivienne.”
Okay, he needed me, and he didn’t need me to be an angry shrew.
