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Rhiannon’s skin was soft and her touch gentle as she rubbed her thumb over the back of her hand. Staring at her lips as they parted, Carmela was sure Rhiannon was going to
say something, but they just gazed at each other silently instead. Carmela was too exposed.
“Come on, Newbie. Let’s get ready,” she said, desperate to break the tension.
“Um, yeah, okay,” Rhiannon replied as if she’d been jolted out of a trance.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
FLYING high after an apparently successful broker’s open and new clients putting in an o er on a condo, Rhiannon was practically floating when she invited her parents out to dinner. Despite her mom warning her not to spend money she didn’t have yet, they’d acquiesced to her demands and agreed to let Rhiannon pick up the check. Even her sister tagging along couldn’t get her down.
“That was delicious, mija,” her dad said as he pushed his empty plate away from him.
“Wait until I sell that house on the island. I’ll take you guys out for lobster instead of ribs,” she replied, her smile wide and chest full.
“God, you’re so self-centered. You know I’m allergic to shellfish,” her sister snapped.
Rhiannon pressed her palm against her own chest. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I must have forgotten. I’m sure Mom will make you something to eat before we go. Or, you can take your chances.”
Terry’s response was a snarl.
“Girls, please. Let’s not do this tonight,” their mother begged.
The request she’d been making for over twenty years usually fell on deaf ears, but Rhiannon wasn’t letting her
sister ruin her mood today. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she stood, her eye on the server so she could slip him her credit card before her dad tried to fight her for the bill despite his promises.
Deciding on washing her hands before returning, Rhiannon popped into the bathroom, but she wasn’t alone.
As soon as she felt Terry walk in behind her, she knew it wasn’t going to be good. The things she said outside their parents’ presence were always vile.
“It must be so exhausting for you,” Terry said, resting against the sink next to hers.
Rhiannon didn’t look up from washing her hands.
“Listening to you? I know. It really is. Your voice should come with a surgeon general warning.”
Terry’s thick, dark eyebrows knitted together. “I’m so glad Mami and Papi dipped into their retirement to pay for that smart mouth you found at your les-fest college.”
Rhiannon flared her nostrils while she tried her best not to react. Nothing about Terry was subtle, including her attempts to bait her into a fight. “Don’t you ever get tired of being so nasty?” she asked, reaching for paper towels from the stack. “Even sadists take a day o once in a while.”
“I don’t know,” she replied, pretending to give the question some thought. “Do you ever get tired of running on that hamster wheel as fast as you can? I mean, it must be exhausting trying to earn my parents’ love.” Her words were laced with disdain so caustic they could’ve melted a hole in the tile floor. “Being their daughter isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, Pound Puppy. You can drop the song and dance any day now. I’m sure they love their little charity case as much as they love all the other pets they’ve rescued.”
And there it was. The mortal wound she loved to inflict every chance she got. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused
to show Terry any weakness. It was always best to ignore bullies.
“Do you feel better now?” Rhiannon asked, her knees trembling as she strode to the door. “Keep those insults coming and maybe one day you’ll get all that venom out and your shriveled little heart will grow three sizes.”
When she returned to the table without Terry, she smiled at her parents. True to form, her dad had tried to pay only to discover she’d gotten ahead of him.
“You know, it’s not nice to use your old man’s tricks against him,” he chided, looking up from his reading glasses before handing them to her mom to put in her purse.
“Well, I have learned from the best,” she replied, trying to sound normal but forgetting what that was supposed to sound like.
“Que paso?” her mom asked Rhiannon outside of everyone else’s ear shot as they shu ed out of the busy restaurant.
“Nothing happened,” she lied, but judging by the expression on her mom’s face, she wasn’t buying it.
