“What didn’t you do?” Rebecca shot back.
“Well, I could have been a real dick and told you the thing Flowers really doesn’t want you all to know. This time last year she was actually homeless. That shelter she volunteered at today, yeah, that used to be her old stomping grounds. Wasn’t it, Flowers?”
I heard Jackie gasp. I heard the scrape of Evan’s stool, like the bomb E.G. dropped had physically moved him.
Rebecca whipped her head in my direction and I froze. Absolutely froze. Like a deer in headlights, until I realized if I remained like that, I’d likely get hit by the car E.G. was driving.
I needed to stand. Collect my purse and leave. I’m pretty sure that was the proper social norm in this sort of situation.
I didn’t do that. Instead I took a big forkful of green beans and shoved it into my mouth.
“Super delicious.” I forced myself to swallow. “Who knew beans could be this freaking good? So when do I get my pie? I was told there would be pie.”
TWENTY-FOUR
GRANT
He’d hit her with his best verbal shot, and she didn’t even flinch. She was so strong.
The last timeI was scolded by my mother, I think I was fourteen or so. I’d said something rude and made Becks cry. Beyond that, I don’t recall ever giving my mother too much grief. I was pretty quiet, always in my head as a kid, so I really didn’t get into trouble a lot.
However, now was not that time. I was sitting on my bed in my bedroom, of all places, because it was the furthest space away from the library, while my mother was taking me to task.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been more disappointed in you,” she ended with a huff.
“I’m sorry,” I said, looking down at my clasped fingers.
Iwassorry. For everything.
“Oh, I’m not the one you owe an apology to. That girl, who obviously has your number, by the way, or else she would have already left in tears, is the one you owe an apology to.”
“Flowers isn’t really a crier,” I said.
But yeah, I was going to have to apologize to her. That was going to suck.
My mother glared at me.
“I will. Are we done here?”
“I don’t know. You maybe want to tell me why you behaved like that?”
I felt I owed it to my dead wife.
My mom was probably not going to be down with that answer. And it didn’t really explain why I’d made Flowers the target of my ire.
“I don’t know, Mom. I was just…in a mood. Flowers usually knows how to handle my moods.”
“Hmm. Well, she shouldn’t have to. She was a guest in this house tonight. Not your employee. Just because you pay her, doesn’t give you the right to be cruel to her.”
“Cruel? I wasn’t that bad,” I muttered.
My mother crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, really? How would you feel if someone just announced your greatest tragedy to strangers as if it was nothing more than a funny anecdote?”
Shit. Iwascruel. This was going to suck.
“Can I just get on with it?”
“Fine,” she said, and stormed out of my bedroom. I glanced around the massive room, wondering not for the first time, why a bedroom needed to be so big.
