“Lucy!” Katherine cries, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Sorry, yes, I know she wants us to check on the flowers.”
“And she’s probably going to be waiting up for us. She’ll just happen to be in the kitchen, making herself a hot cocoa or something when we come in.”
“Probably.”
“But I want to stay with Ed.”
“I know.” I’m grateful Hunter didn’t ask me to stay. I don’t think I would have been able to say no. The last thing I want to do is sleep in my teenage bedroom, staring at the new wallpaper Mom’s put in there that is an explosion of lighthouses and seashells. It’s truly hideous.
“Why do we do so much to keep Mom happy?” she asks.
“Because we know if Mom’s not happy, life is pretty miserable,” I say, taking Katherine’s hand in mine.
“So we all dance around her, making sure life is just how she wants it.”
I’d never thought about it, but Katherine’s right. We all capitulate to Mom. Even Dad. “Yeah. I guess it’s just easier that way.”
“When I’m married, I’ll have to put what Ed and I want first. Do you think she’ll understand?”
I shrug. Honestly, I don’t think Katherine getting married will affect our mother’s expectations that she always gets her own way. “I think it will be better when you move. Does she know yet?”
Katherine shakes her head. “No, I want to leave it until after the wedding. I don’t want to risk a big argument before. I think I’ll drop a few hints while we’re on the honeymoon. Maybe even send her a few links to places in the area where we want to live.” She tips her head back on the headrest and turns to look at me. “You were smart, running off to New York. You got away.”
“I don’t feel like I got away. Not really.”
A beat of silence passes between us.
“Fuck it,” Katherine says. “We’re fully grown women. If we want to roll in at three in the morning or even six, that’s what we’ll do. I want to go and fuck my fiancé. Driver, can you take us to the Harbor Inn?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lucy
The rehearsal dinner is being held at Mom’s favorite restaurant in Boston. Tonight, my hair and clothes are back to “normal.” The fact that Mom came into my bedroom first thing this morning to check on what I was wearing and “casually” inquired about how I’d be styling my hair didn’t make me feel better about my choices for the club last night. The fact that Hunter couldn’t keep his hands off me definitely did.
“So Lucy, when are you coming back to Boston?” Mom’s oldest friend, Yvonne asks. We’ve all gathered in the small bar at the restaurant before taking our seats. Hunter’s across the room with Ed’s parents, and I’ve barely seen him.
“You mean after the wedding?” I ask, confused.
She laughs so loud I swear the entire restaurant turns around to stare at us. “No, silly. I mean for good. You need to find your husband and bring him home to Massachusetts with you. Like your sister.”
“Katherine never left Massachusetts.”
“Exactly. You’ll be hitting thirty before you know it. New York isn’t made for people past thirty.”
It suddenly strikes me that everyone is expecting me to move back home. It’s not just Mom. Everyone’s just assuming that’s what will happen. The thought hits me in the stomach like a fist. I can’t think of anything worse than leaving New York. It’s my sanctuary. “I like New York.”
“Oh, I love to go for the shows. You can’t beat Broadway for the musicals. But to live?” She recoils from her own words. “And the traffic. Where’s the green space?”
“We have Central Park.”
She laughs like I’m Jerry Seinfeld at his peak. “I’m serious. You don’t want to bring up kids without space for them to play.”
“Well, I have no plans for children at the moment.”
“Yes, dear, but you will one day, and you’ll want them to be close to their grandparents, won’t you? You’ll be able to have weekends on the Cape. You just need the man to make that happen.”
