Susan directs everyone into groups of two. Meredith and Grant.Click.
Her and George.Click.
Katherine and Hudson.Click.
I do it over and over again until she’s satisfied. And I can’t help but wonder if I actually want this career anymore.
30 Hudson
Watching Mira taking orders from my mother makes my stomach roil. If anyone treated Mira that way at the bar I’d escort their asses out faster than Lilah could pour a Guinness. I want to tell my mother to stand down, that we’ve gotten enough family memories for the evening, but protesting would only lead to more questions, and Mira made it clear she didn’t want to cause a scene.
She’s handling herself like a champ though, taking punch after punch from my mother, but I can tell that her resolve is beginning to fray at the edges when she suggests that Katherine and I get a few shots together. Since Katherine’s still pissed about our fight from earlier, she keeps her distance as we stand like awkward pre-teens at a middle school dance.
“Get closer,” my mother orders, moving Katherine so that she’s standing in front of me.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Katherine sighs, throwing an arm through mine, throwing on a smile. I grit my teeth, making sure to never break eye contact with Mira through the lens.
After she’s satisfied with the family photos, Susan drags Mira around each table, forcing her to capture a photo of each guest with the couple. She hasn’t even bothered to learn Mira’s name, referring to her as “the photographer” each time she needs her attention. I keep a watchful eye, making sure I can step in if I need to. I don’tthink I’ve ever seen my mother thank, tip, or appreciate anyone who has ever waited on her, and tonight is no different.
She orders Mira around for the rest of the night, only letting up after the tables are bare and the candlesticks blown out.
I move towards Mira, eager to help her pack her bag and get out of here, when Katherine blocks me.
“So you’re withherthen?” she asks, the sharpness of her words catching me off guard.
“Derrick saw you two making out in the hallway,” she clarifies, as hurt radiates off her. “Is that why you wanted her to stay in our room? So you two could ... what, hook up in secret?”
“No, of course not,” I reply, appalled. Even though we were broken up I would never be that much of an asshole. “I didn’t know she was going to be here.”
“Were you going to tell me? That you were together?”
“Would you tell me if you were seeing someone else?”
“But you’re in love with her,” she says, a sheen in her eyes.
It takes me a moment to realize it isn’t a question but a statement. And I can’t deny it anymore.
“Yeah. I think I am.”
Katherine dabs at the corners of her eyes, before taking a deep breath and running out of the room.
“Is she okay?” Mira asks as I grab her bag from her hand.
“I’m more worried about you? I’m so sorry about Susan.”
“It’s fine,” she says, waving off my apology. “But as someone who’s dealt with so many Momzillas in my day, your mother takes the cake.”
“She’s not really meant to be outside a five-mile radius of her country club.”
She laughs and I feel the pressure release from my chest.
“I should have fought harder about all those photos with Katherine.”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Then why do you look so upset?”
“I guess I never stopped to think about how this is going to work,” she says, gesturing to the space between us. “I think I’m just worried about how your mother’s going to react when you show up to the next family gathering with the photographer by your side?”
