I wave a hand toward dad. “Exactly. At least one person is on my side.”
Sadie sits up, pushing her hair behind her ear. Mom remains next to me, brushing her fingers through my hair.
“Okay, can we establish that we’re not Connor fans?” Sadie says. We all nod. “Excellent. That being said, isn’t there a possibility of there being a totally valid explanation for why he left?” She holds up her hands. “I’m not saying he did the right thing or that he couldn’t have called or messaged. I’m just saying, there has to be a reason why he left.”
I chew on my bottom lip. “I guess his grandfather got sick.” My voice is soft as I say it. “When Marion said Christmas was her husband’s favorite holiday and he died two years ago, that kind of aligns to when Connor left. But again, that begs the question of why not just tell me.”
“There’s an easy way to find out,” Mom says. “Just ask him.”
“I’d rather not,” I say. It’ll be like opening a can of worms and I already know anything he says is not going to be enough.
“Don’t be a chicken,” Sadie says. “If you don’t ask him, we will.”
These people have never heard of boundaries. I’m worried if I ask him and he says he left because his grandfather was dying, my anger will ebb a little and I don’t want that. I want to continue being angry at Connor for as long as possible because that will mean I’m not going to get my heart broken again.
“What are you going to wear?” Mom asks softly, again. “You need something with a little oomph, a little sexy and come hither.”
She does an overexaggerated pout and twists her body, pushing in her shoulders to highlight her cleavage--while wearing a turtleneck.
My sisters and I watch her in horror.
“Okay, well, we won’t be doing any of that,” Sienna says. “But I agree with wearing something sexy and come hither.”
“I don’t want to hear that,” Dad protests, cringing.
“I’m going to wear my cable knit turtleneck and the barrel jeans with boots,” I say, off the top of my head. It’s the least sexy outfit I can think of, and it will cover everything. Problem solved.
I forgotthat I don’t live in a democracy because I don’t get to wear what I want. Instead, I’m shoved into tights and a chocolate velour short skirt paired with brown boots and an oversized sweater.
“We still have to be mindful of the weather,” I reminded my sister when they held up a corset top.
Sadie blow dries my hair into big waves while Sienna does my make-up, as if I’m incapable of doing both those things. It reminds me of my second date with Connor when we drank champagne as they got me ready for the date. Back when theydidn’t know his name and thought he was just a cute guy I met outside the arena.
That was a fun night on all counts. Connor took me to see a concert by a popular pop princess, who was trying out some new songs in a small venue. He held me close, and kept the people away, making sure my drinks were fresh and safe. He was always so mindful of who was around me, like he expected someone to attack me when people were more likely to focus on him.
“Can you guys please be normal?” I ask my family, when we’re all dressed.
“We’ll try our best, but we can’t make any promises,” Mom says.
She hooks her arm through mine and leads me down the hallway to the stairs. Voices drift up to us as we go down the stairs and we find Connor and Marion talking in the lobby. When Connor looks up, I have this surreal thought like my family is giving me away to him.
It makes me want to run back up the stairs.
The corner of his mouth turns up just a little, and I think he’s having the same thought. Only he likes it. What is this bizarre idea he has that we’re getting back together? I suppose telling him that we have to spend time together doesn’t help me.
“Connor,” I say in greeting.
“Hellion,” he replies. I guess it’s better than baby girl.
I turn, introducing him to my family. He’s as charming and courteous as I expected him to be.
“My, you’re tall,” Mom says, tilting her head back to look at him. “Kissing must have been a real back bender.”
“Mom!” I cry, cringing hard.
“I didn’t mind,” Connor said, amicably. “It was like a reward.”
Everyone beams at me, except dad who’s still skeptical, and I roll my eyes. I can do without the cheesiness.
