Our silent staring contest filled with animosity on my end and sincerity on his is interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. It’s followed by the annoying jangling of keys and Josh’s bright voice.
“Everett, you’re already here.” I throw a quick glare at him.Traitor.
Everett turns to face him with a carefree smile. “Yeah, I thought I’d come by a little early and say hi to your parents.”
“You got your clubs in the car?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t bring them down, so I’ll probably rent some at the country club,” he says, his eyes back on me.
Josh nods at the same time the front door opens again. It’s starting to feel crowded in my mom’s relatively small kitchen. Like the barely comfortable distance between me and Everett is becoming smaller and smaller with the growing scrutiny that may or may not be there.
Mina rounds the corner, an adorable set of overalls swallowing her small frame along with a large straw hat and thick-rimmed sunglasses. “Hey!” she exclaims when she sees me. “I didn’t know you were going to be here today too.”
I nod. “Looks like Mom’s recruited quite the workforce.” I peer outside at the beaming sun, showing the increasing temperatures in the mid-nineties by late morning. “Probably too late to enforce labor laws.”
“Aw, Mom’s first little labor unit,” Josh comments with a teasing smirk.
Everett coughs a laugh mid-sip, and my deadpanned look transitions into a death stare with narrowed eyes and a clenched jaw.
“Dad!” Josh calls in the direction of the stairway. “We gotta go!”
A muffled “I’ll be right down” echoes down from the second floor and the room falls silent.
“So, how’s the hotel? You get checked in okay?”
Everett tears his gaze away from me, and I feel like I can finally breathe. I start to fiddle with the tiny coffee stirrer in my cup and busy myself with tucking away the donuts in a corner next to the sink.
“Yeah. It’s not too far from here so that’s pretty convenient.”
“You really didn’t have to come down here this far ahead of the wedding,” Josh adds.
“I had some things I wanted to take care of anyway,” Everett answers. He glances again in my direction, and I almost want to jerk my head in his direction with my hands extended out in front of me like I’m challenging him to a rumble. Why does he keeplookingat me?
Luckily, I don’t have a chance to throw a silent non-verbal threat at him because my dad bounces into the kitchen. He’s wearing his plaid golfing pants and a soft yellow polo shirt with a beaming smile on his face. Golf days are Dad’s favorite. Nothing gets him excited like a day at the driving range with only the lush grass and eighteen holes in front of him.
“I’m ready,” he announces, reaching past me for a donut. “Good morning, Teeny Weenie.”
“Hi, Daddy.”
“You brought the donuts?” he asks, already stuffing half a maple bar into his mouth.
I nod. “I brought you coffee too, but Mom gave it away.”
He frowns in mock disapproval. “How dare she.”
“I tried to warn her.”
“She’s just showing Sadie some smocks to wear while you girls work out in the garden today.” My dad finishes the last bit of his donut like he hasn’t eaten in weeks and turns to my brother. “You kids ready to go?”
“Yep,” Josh answers. “James and Andrew are meeting us there.”
My dad reaches for yet another donut and winks at me. “Don’t tell your mom.”
I smile at him as he walks away. Josh stoops down to kiss Mina, and Everett glances in my direction.
“See ya, Teeny,” he throws over his shoulder as the two follow my dad.
I don’t answer or even look in his direction. Instead, I take a long soothing sip of my coffee while keeping my gaze on the flimsy plastic lid. My phone just buzzes in my purse. When I set my coffee down and reach for it, I’m greeted with the one name that could lighten my mood after a morning of it being soured by my past literally opening a door I didn’t want to be opened.
