Page 116 of Joey

“Brooke?” Wald knocks on the door. “Are you ready? A footman just came to the door and said it’s time to go downstairs.”

A footman. What the fuck is a footman, anyway?

I don’t know. But I want one. I want a house that comes with footmen.

I want the fucking fairytale.

It’s too late for me but it’s not too late for Maisy.

I’m not saying Joey wouldn’t be an awesome father but Maisy Kane already has everything she needs.

And it’s real.

There. I admitted it. That’s what I think.

“Brooke?” Wald asks again.

“Coming,” I say. “I’ll be right out.”

I apply fresh makeup—just a bit of mascara and a shine of lip gloss, which is funny, since I started this week with the big dream of being a Bright Berry Beach independent cosmetics saleswoman and makeup is the last thing on my mind right now—then adjust my hair and finally slip on the off-white shift dress I brought. It’s very understated. But I had no idea what to bring when we were packing this morning so it will have to do.

I take one last look in the mirror. Suck in a deep breath. Then turn and let it out as I open the door.

All three of them are wearing suits. Wald is wearing the same fashionable light gray one he put on this morning, now paired with a crisp white shirt instead of light blue, and a light gray tie. Huck is wearing light tan with a dark tie—very Room with a View—and Joey is wearing black on black.

He catches me looking at him. Makes a face. One I think I recognize even though he insists I don’t know him.

His expression says… Might as well look the part. And the part he’s playing today is… bad guy.

“I love that dress,” Huck says.

I’m not sure it’s a dress anyone loves. It’s that nondescript. But I say, “Thanks,” anyway. Because… well, that’s the polite response.

“Ready?” Wald asks, looking at Joey.

“Sure,” he says.

But he doesn’t look ready. None of us actually look ready.

And what are we supposed to be ready for?

What do they think is happening?

It’s just a dinner. Probably a very nice dinner. Maybe a huge overstated table that is so long it requires more than one chandelier to light it up. Probably fine china too. And flatware made of real silver.

It’s gonna be stressful because this is not really my scene, but I’m sort of excited about the dinner.

The footman, who is dressed in what I think might be called livery—it’s black with white accents and fancy ornaments—bows to us and says, “Please follow me.”

It’s a long, slow walk down the many stairs and there’s a hum of conversation filling the house. Like there’s hundreds of people here, but when we get down to the main foyer, it’s not hundreds. Maybe three dozen. Four if you count all the spectacularly dressed children.

“Hors d’oeuvres in the foyer,” the footman says. “They’ll call you for dinner.”

“Thanks,” Joey mumbles.

Huck leans in to Wald and says, “Now what?”

Everyone is staring at us and I suddenly get the feeling this is the family. These are the special people who live in this special place.