I kinda agree. Even though I’d love for him to bail me out, he’s done enough for me, and I’m not sure I can ever repay him.
Rose shoots her a loathing glare and mouths,shut up.
Daisy cocks an eyebrow and presses a button on her remote. The sunroof starts sliding open. The mechanical noise bleeds into the silence like the awkward chorus to our tension.
Our mother snaps, “I’m not calling her date and cancelling on him. He’s doing me a favor.”
“Then I’ll call him. Give me his number.”
“He’s alreadyhere, Rose.”
Rose’s fingers tighten around her silver clutch. And Daisy stands up in between us, sticking out of the sunroof.
“Not helping,” I tell her.
I barely hear her voice that’s lost to the wind. “I don’t…like…trapped…”
I sigh heavily, feeling Rose’s panic and mine mix together in a toxic mess.
Rose nods to me likeI’ll handle this. I nod back. I have faith in her, but there is one person not even Rose Calloway can destroy with her words. “Okay,” Rose says, “I’ll be with Lily’s date, and she can go stag since I don’t have a date either?—”
What? I thought she invited Connor. Or…maybe I assumed she was going to bring him.
“I know,” my mother tells her, “I called Connor this morning and asked him if he was planning on riding with the four of you. I don’t know what was more embarrassing, being informed by your daughter’s boyfriend thatyoubroke up with him or calling him and being made a complete and utter fool of.”
Rose touches her forehead. “I highly doubt Connor made you look like a fool.”
“He didn’t have to. Just being on the outside of my own daughter’s life was embarrassing enough. I should have known what was going on. You should have told me.”
“Did he tell you that I broke up with him?” Rose asks now.
“Did you hear me?!” my mother shrieks, about to have a nervous breakdown. “I should have known.”
“I didn’t even tell Lily!” Rose screams, hair coming loose from its slicked back position in her pony. She holds the phone to her lips, putting it on speaker, not that we couldn’t hear it before… “Did he tell you that I broke up with him?!”
“Oh, let it go, Rose. The longer you control a man, the more likely they’ll leave you. Is that what you want? To be alone and miserable for the rest of your life?”
“I don’t know. You’re pretty miserable, Mother, and you’re married.”
My eyes widen so big that they may very well fall out of my face. Our mother inhales a sharp breath. After a very long pause, she says in a controlled, scarily calm tone, “I called a date for you, Rose. I’ll see you girls at the event.” She hangs up, and Rose collapses back against the seat, as though she just finished a UFC match.
I don’t think either of them won.
Poppy slides over to her and squeezes her shoulder. “She probably invited Sebastian to be your date.” Before there was a “Connor and Rose,” my sister took Sebastian as her arm candy to appease our mother.
Rose shakes her head and begins smoothing her hair back into place. “No, Sebastian went on a trip to the Cayman Islands with his boyfriend this week. She knew that.”
I can’t even imagine who she set Rose up with, probably someone she’d hope Rose would marry down the line. That’s how Samantha Calloway operates.
Jitters run through my body on high speed. Rose, my rock, has eyes as wide as a Kit-Cat clock. It’s like my mother has zapped her cold. When she wakes from her stupor, she reaches into the ice bucket and pulls out the expensive champagne. She chugs straight from the bottle. I jerk back in surprise. Considering Rose usually wipes the rim of her soda cans, I think it’s safe to say she’s upset.
Daisy remains oblivious outside, her long hair whipping behind her. I guess we all handle our mother in different ways. Rose yells. Daisy finds fresh air. I sink into a corner. Poppy remains calm.
Rose offers the drink to Poppy. She declines. “I’m safe from her. I have a husband.” Yeah, our mother has lost interest in Poppy’s relationships.
“She should know who I am by now,” Rose mutters. “I tell her all the time, you know?I’m never getting married, Mother. And it goes in one ear and out the other. I thought dating Connor would make things better. My first actual boyfriend. She’d be off my case. Instead, she’s whispering in my ear about what to say to him, how I should be, worrying over whether he’ll end things before I do.” Rose curses under her breath and stares up at the ceiling of the car. “How can you love your parents so much, but then absolutely hate them the next?” She inhales a deep breath. “I need to go back to therapy.”
I break into a smile, trying to lighten her downtrodden mood. “You know Connor goes to therapy compulsively too? I asked him where he was going last week, and he said to his daily therapist for just a regular session to let off some steam. Funny that you two have that in common, huh?”
