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I knelt and hugged her. “Hi, sweet girl. Don’t you look gorgeous.” She was wearing the cute denim dress I’d bought for her last week when I happened to run across it. And for some fun, I’d gotten her tights with reindeer on them.
“It’s a lot of denim,” a disapproving voice I hadn’t heard in a long time said.
It was then I looked up and realized I was being stared down by three people who didn’t seem to approve of the moment I was having with Whitney. I stood slowly and took Whitney’s hand. I needed her to ground me while I faced her grandparents and mom.
Jonah’s mother, Carol Adkinson, was the one who had lobbed the offending comment my way. She stood with her arms folded and her brow so furrowed she resembled a Pug, but her attitude was all Pit Bull. I would have said she was an attractive woman with her long silver hair and trim figure, but the angry waves coming off her made her ugly to me. But I would be cordial for Whitney’s and Jonah’s sake.
“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Adkinson.” I turned to Eliza, who I could tell was trying to put on a reasonable face, but by the way her jaw was pulsing, I knew she wasn’t the same woman from Thanksgiving who wanted to be my friend. The way she was staring at Whitney’s hand in mine said she’d like to chop off my hand and throw it in the garbage disposal. “And it’s nice to see you as well, Eliza. I hope you had a good flight.” I hoped she’d have an even better one to wherever she was going next, but I kept that to myself.
She flexed her fingers like she was counting in her head, trying to compose herself. She looked stunning while doing it. She’d pulled out all the stops and looked amazing in a sleek cream pant suit that fit her like a glove. I felt drab compared to her.
“My flight was excellent. Thank you for asking,” she stiffly replied, not bothering with any other pleasantries.
When Jonah finally joined us outside his kitchen, he wrapped his arm around me. “Mom, Dad, you remember Ariana, right?” He tried to ease the tension that was strung tight now between what looked like two camps. One for me, and one that would like to see me lose everything.
Jonah’s dad, Paul, at least, had some manners. He buttoned his charcoal corduroy jacket and ran a hand over his balding head before walking my way. He stuck out his hand. “I’m glad you could finally join us.” He had to add a jab in there.
I took his soft looking, age-spotted hand and shook it anyway. “I’m sorry I’m late,” I apologized again and for the last time.
Carol began untying her apron. “I don’t understand why we had to wait on a package. It couldn’t have been that important.” She threw her apron on the counter and grabbed a serving dish.
I wanted to yell that she had no idea what she was talking about, but Jonah beat me to the punch. “Mom, it wasn’t just any package, and we aren’t going to discuss it further.”
He had no idea how much I appreciated his candor and the fact that it sounded like he hadn’t mentioned what I was waiting for. I could only imagine what his dentist parents would think of that.
Carol tsked.
Eliza spun on her heels. “We should eat.”
“Excellent idea,” Paul agreed.
Paul, Carol, and Eliza each grabbed a dish from the kitchen counter and headed toward the table in the kitchen nook, which was decorated to look like a fancy five-star restaurant in white table linens and crystal candlesticks. I knew those weren’t Jonah’s. Did his parents pack that kind of stuff in their luggage? Weird.
“I want to sit by Arianna,” Whitney announced, which I loved, but I knew it wasn’t helping my cause.
Eliza slammed a silver platter onto the table. It was full of unrecognizable green leafy things that looked less like food and more like she had gone out to the forest near Jonah’s home and foraged.
“As long as I can sit on the other side of you,” Eliza tried to sound lighthearted, but she sounded more like a razor blade.
I looked up at Jonah and his eyes said, hang in there with me. What my grandma said about showing them who I was sounded in my head. And in a couple of hours, it would only be Whitney, Jonah, and me in Christmas dinosaur pajamas, binging on cookies and movies. I could do this. Maybe? The helpless little girl in me kept wanting to come out. I held her back, took Jonah’s hand, and let him lead us to the firing squad, I mean table.
Whitney did, indeed, sit next to me. Thankfully, Jonah took my other side. Unfortunately, that meant I was staring straight at his parents across the round table. They looked between me and Jonah like I was their worst nightmare come to life. Then they looked at Eliza with pity. Did they even care that it was Eliza who’d left Jonah? Or that she hardly saw her daughter and couldn’t even find the time to call her regularly?
