No response. She was either out with her band, or she was here and already had her phone off in thewarmup. Sometimes, she might forget to turn it on. Unlike me, she wasn’t perpetually connected to the world outside. She said it killed her buzz. I felt the same way before blazing onto a cross-country course. I prayed it was the former, not the latter, though. If she was far, far away, this moment would feel less awkward.
My brother Nate stood.
“Are you getting beers?” I asked.
Nate rolled his eyes. “Why, Betty? You have legs.”
“You know what tomorrow is,” I pouted. “Have pity on me.”
“Fine. What do you want?”
“An IPA,” I said. “The weirder the better.”
“Fine, fine.”
He left in a huff as I saw Ingrid and Keir bonding over pictures of their son.
“You all are in a place with booze, and you have no booze,” I said, annoyed. “Keir, buy your wife a damn beer.”
“Fine,” Keir groaned. “I will. Stout?”
“Or a lambic,” she answered.
He traipsed off, and Ingrid spent the next ten minutes gushing about her son’s achievements in finger painting. I adored my nephew, but couldn’t imagine a life where such a thing amounted to seconds—let alone minutes of conversation.
“Are you zoning out?” Ingrid asked.
“A little,” I admitted. “I don’t… I don’t have kids, Ingy. You gotta forgive me.”
Ingrid picked up and moved into Keir’s seat to be closer. “Someday you will, though. Wait. Does she not want kids? Because that’s a deal breaker?—”
I didn’t have time to respond to her rather heavy question about my love life and future family plans because my mother overheard. Thankfully, she only caught the tail end of Ingrid's statement.
“What is a deal breaker?” Mum passed with a beer in each hand.
She handed one to Pappa as the boys divvied ours.
“Here you are, princess,” Nate grumbled.
“Thank you, sweet brother,” I said, flatly.
And with that, the whole thing kicked off. A young woman with dark Mahogany skin and braided hair entered the stage to brightly greet us.
“Thank you all for coming to the Voices Across Europe acoustic challenge. This year, we have an amazing lineup of artists. But, before I get to this, I am told we have some special guests.”
Oh, here it goes!
A mild panic bubbled within me. I prayed that Mary wasnotlistening to any of this. If she were backstage, I worried she’d hear I was there and freak out. This little competition didn’t mean anything, but if confidence in riding was anything like onstage confidence, it only took one bad fall to shake you.
“In the audience with us are Prince Peder, Princess Sanne, and their daughter and our host here for UniVox, Princess Elisabeth. Alongside them, straight from the UK, The Duke and Duchess of Inverness and Prince Nate!”
The crowd turned in the direction of her outstretched hand and cheered mightily. I loathed this bit. I just wanted to drink a beer and hide.
“And given that it Princess Elisabeth’s birthday tomorrow, we must appreciate that she has chosen to spend the time with us.”
Photographers turned, surprised by our presence, snapping away. The entirety of the stands waited. I smiled and nodded even as I died inside.
Please don’t let Mary see this!
