She eyed me. “You better not be texting anyone you’re not supposed to or be looking at any pictures you’re not supposed to.”
“Of course not.” My smile was frozen on my face. I made a conscious effort to blink so I wouldn’t look so psychotic.
“Do you have something in your eye?”
I stopped blinking.
“Let’s see if Mom and Dad need help with anything.” I sprang up out of my chair, desperate to move my body. If I sat under my sister’s stare for a second longer, I knew she’d see right through my weak facade.
* * *
“So you’rethe one visiting from Atlanta? How exciting. I love it there. Isn’t it just such a fun city?” Kathy, one of my parent's neighbors, had cornered me while I was making a fresh drink.
People had shown up an hour ago, and their house had turned into the fifty-five-plus version of a college frat party.
“That’s my sister, Frankie. I’m Mattie. I live—well lived—just a few towns over.”
Kathy’s face immediately fell, and I knew my mother must have given her the scoop on my pathetic life.
“Oh, Mattie, sweetie. Your mom said you were staying with them. I’m so sorry about what happened. Men are scum, after all. I’m on husband number three, and let me tell you, it doesn’t get any better.”
“Great.” My lips hurt from keeping them upturned as I dumped a shot of whiskey into the plastic tumbler my dad had given me. I normally didn’t mix liquors, but tonight it felt like a great idea to sample everything.
“Darlene, come over here and meet Mattie.”
A woman with fire engine red hair wearing a bejeweled sweatshirt joined Kathy’s barricade.
“Oh now, aren’t you just stunning? I already met your sister. I can’t believe how gorgeous you two are.”
“Thanks.” I laughed out of discomfort.
“Darlene, Mattie is the one Mary told us about. The one that’s staying with them for a while.”
“Oh my god, of course. Terrible what happened to you. And with your best friend too. You know I got cheated on before I met my Stuart.”
Kathy nodded sympathetically. “The world of dating is just horrendous. I’ve heard it’s gotten even worse now with online dating. You can’t pay most men to commit.”
They continued to carry on about the horrors of modern-day dating while I sloshed my drink back and chugged almost all of it in one giant gulp. Tonight was not the night to watch my intake.
* * *
“And now they’reliving together in the apartmentwelived in together. Can you believe that?” Kathy, Darlene, and I were sitting on folding chairs in the driveway. I had lost count of what cocktail we were on hours ago.
“Unbelievable,” Kathy replied.
“They’re going straight to hell,” Darlene slurred.
Kathy and I cackled.
“C’mere.” I leaned into my newly captivated audience. “You want to know the worst part?”
Their eyes got wide as they waited for me to continue.
“They’re”—I paused to hiccup—“engaged.”
They gasped in unison.
“What a little punk.” Kathy spilled a little of her drink while attempting to take another sip. “Oopsie.”
