I didn’t know if it was the “darling” or how freewheeling Battle was with his cashews.
Or if it was a culmination of the last couple of days, where it was made clear, sometimes subtly, sometimes rudely, but always constantly, she wasn’t wanted.
Not to mention, Courtney nor Rally were making any pretense that, once this weekend was done, they were done with Chelsea.
Whatever it was, that’s when Chelsea did it.
It started with, “Do you have any family, Vivienne?”
This came so out of the blue, and, let’s face it, Battle and I were having a moment, I was liking that moment, so her horning in on it wasn’t my favorite thing.
I turned to her. “Yes, why?”
“What do they do?”
“My sister is a mechanical engineer. She works in the healthcare sector.”
“Impressive,” Rally remarked.
When I spoke no more, Chelsea asked, “Is that all?”
“Well, her husband is a nurse practitioner. And they have two kids, a boy and girl. They don’t have jobs, though, since they’re two and four.”
For whatever her purposes, Chelsea kept at me. “No more?”
What was she driving at?
“No. No more.”
“Just a sister?”
“Yes,” I said sharply. “Seeing as my mother died not long ago after losing a fight with cancer.”
A dead weight fell on the whole room.
“And my father died in a car accident, hit by a drunk driver when I was four,” I continued. “Three of my grandparents are still alive, but they’re all retired so they don’t do anything. However, after Dad died, Mom’s parents took us in. We lived with them until we went to college. So part of what they did was help keep us afloat, fed and happy.”
“What’s going on?” Prue called from the seating area, feeling the vibe.
“Nothing,” I called back and dropped my cards. “I think I’m out.”
“What was your point?” Rally demanded of Chelsea.
“I just wondered, since she’s here for so long, if anyone at home might be missing her,” Chelsea explained.
“You could have asked that,” Rally pointed out.
I fiddled with my cards.
“I’m sorry about your mum, Vivi,” Tempie said quietly.
“It’s okay,” I lied and looked up from my cards.
Tempie was watching me.
Rally was scowling at his cards.
But Battle was studying Chelsea.
