Page 30 of True Blue

“I greeted you this morning when I came over.”

“And that was only in passing as I headed to church,” Dawn pats her cheek. “Affection, please.”

With a reluctant sigh, Teddy lets go of me, crosses to Dawn, and gives her a quick peck on the cheek.

“I’m so happy you brought your girlfriend,” Dawn beams, brushing a hair away from his forehead. “But I’m still your number one girl, right, Theodore?”

“Yeah, sure, Mom,” Teddy says, and it sounds like an automatic reaction rather than a meaningful one.

He looks at me and rolls his eyes in a way that’s supposed to feel like a joke.

But it doesn’t.

Because Dawn is looking at me with a strange smile on her face.

One that feels like she’s declaring victory.

6

INDIE

SEPTEMBER

Two hours later, I practically drag myself into the apartment, Teddy following close behind.

“That wasn’t so bad, right?”

No, it wasn’t bad.

Teddy’s aunts, June and Robin, were nice.

His uncles, Jerry and Patrick, were nice.

The meal—all gluten-free to my surprise—was nice.

Everything was nice, which felt strange because it all seemed like a veneer.

When Ellie introduced me to the rest of the family, his uncles barely spared a glance, eyes seeming to look right through me.

The aunts were outwardly friendly, asking questions and oohing when they learned I was an oncologist, which I explained was how I met Ellie and Teddy.

“And you’re allowed to date a patient's family?” Dawn had asked during dessert.

Her voice seemed to have climbed a couple of octaves in the company of others. The tone was soft and saccharine. “I wouldn’t want this relationship to cause you trouble.”

The hour-long meeting I had with HR, while filling out a mountain of paperwork, ultimately said it was fine.

“My superiors at the hospital are all aware. Since Ellie has completed treatment and is in remission, we currently don’t have a patient/doctor relationship, so there are no ethical violations.”

“Now we’ve moved into an in-law relationship,” Ellie winked from beside me, making Teddy and me share an amused look.

When I glanced back over to Dawn, her eyes were already on me, sharp and assessing. That was pretty much the standard expression she wore while looking at me. It would melt the second Teddy even glanced in her direction, the serene smile back on her face.

His sisters were genuinely kind, and I found myself gravitating toward them all evening. They seemed to have mastered the minefield that is Dawn Williams, easily deflecting backhanded compliments and comments about their outfits or about living across the country and across the world.

A tension hung in the air, and I seemed to be the only one who noticed. Or, maybe being a newcomer made me more aware. Either way, I couldn’t relax all night.

One thing that kept me tense was the way Dawn and her sisters would say something to their husbands, who would respond dismissively or not at all.