“We haven’t confirmed that yet.” That’s my mother, always giving people the benefit of the doubt.
I turn to my dad. Despite the newspaper in front of his face, I know he’s still listening to the conversation. “Please, talk some sense into them.”
He folds down the corner. Reading glasses sit on the bridge of his nose, but he dips his chin to look at us over the rim. “Justin is working. Drop it.” The paper flips up, and he continues reading as if his word is the final say.
“Listen, if Justin really cared about you, he’d find a way to show up for you when it mattered.” Clearly, Anna has no intention ofdroppingthe subject.
“Rick isn’t here.” I nod to the husbands at the other table. “How come Rick gets a hall pass from family activities?”
“Well, Rick is hunting. It’s the last one of the year.” Juliet bounces her baby in her lap, and it’s like I’m looking at a carbon copy of myself. Juliet is only fifteen months older than me, but everyone assumes we’re twins with our matching blonde bobs and our affinity for bright-red lipstick. Her innocent shrug makes it seem like she truly believes Rick’s excuse is better than Justin’s.
“Rick never shows up for you, but nobody questions whether or not he loves you.”
“Because Rick comes around when he’s not hunting, so we know him and therefore know he loves Juliet,” my mother explains. “But Justin doesn’t come around when he’s not working, and we know nothing about him, including whether or not he loves you.”
“Who’s Justine?” Aunt Carma leans into Juliet, asking her on the side.
“It’sJustin.” A condescending pat on my aunt’s shoulder accompanies Juliet’s answer.“He’s Summer’s boyfriend.”
Aunt Carma’s head flips to Hailey. I can’t see her expression because of the massive sunglasses, but I can imagine her pinched brows. “Summer has a boyfriend?”
“See.” My mom gestures to her as if that one comment from my semi-delusional great-aunt proves everything.
“He would come around if he wasn’t working,” I defend. “All-Weather Blankets just launched. He has to work day and night to keep up with the demand.”
Erin frowns at me. “Is that really the kind of life you want? A husband that’s a workaholic and never shows up?” That’s a low blow coming from Erin since I’ve always looked up to her so much.
“Yeah,” Anna agrees. “You hate to be alone. You’d never be able to handle life without a plus-one.”
“That’s not true.”
My sisters eye each other before Hailey speaks up. “Uh, yes, it is. Ever since you got left at Greg Hiddleston’s party in the seventh grade, you’ve made sure you always have someone with you. That’s what’s happening here.”
“Are you saying that Summer is just keeping Justin around so she doesn’t have to be alone during the holidays?” Juliet asks.
“Yes, but it’s backfiring because he’s a workaholic,” Hailey says.
“I am not keeping Justin around so that I won’t be alone during my favorite time of year. That’s ridiculous. And he’s not a workaholic. This is just a nose-to-the-grindstone kind of situation. It’ll pass.”
“You guys have been dating for a year and—”
“Nine months,” I correct my mom.
“Fine. You’ve been datingnine months”—she looks directly at me as she overemphasizes the words—“and I’ve only met him twice. I know your mailman better than Justin.”
“That’s because Dale, the mailman, is very friendly.”
“My butcher’s name is Dale,” Aunt Carma says from the cheap seats.
“And Justin isn’t friendly.” My mom folds her arms.
“Heisfriendly. You just haven’t given him a chance.”
“In the two times I’ve met him, I definitely gave him a chance.”
“It’s been more than two times.”
Right?
