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“She has a son. You remember Tommy?”
“I don’t remember Iris, mom. I don’t even know who Tommy is, but I’ll tell you already the answer is no.”
She leaned back in her chair, clicking her tongue at me like I shamed her more than my sister. “He played soccer with Benji in college. Small world, isn’t it? He also knows Amelia! Turns out, he took a fancy to you after seeing your brother recently.”
“Why was Benji talking about me with some guy?” I rolled my eyes, watching a couple make out as they walked by us. Mom chuckled, but it wasn’t sweetness. It was mom-knows-best and I’m-an-idiot-for-declining-this-arrangement.
“You came up in conversation.” She shrugged, avoiding my eyes. “What can I say? My daughter is beautiful, she’s without attachment, she lives in the city, she’s a professor.”
“I thought Sadie was your favorite,” I rebuked, watching mom’s pupils shrink. Completing a quick prayer, mom finally engaged with me.
Only partially listening to her describe Tommy Esposito and his physical attributes, I knew he was a loser because she wouldn’t state a single professional accomplishment. When she was between telling me about his gym schedule and how much he loved his mother, I noticed my phone glow with an alert that a package arrived at my home.
“This Saturday,” I heard mom say as I looked at the message on my phone, “at some place in Greenwich.”
“Okay,” I blindly replied, realizing the package was Rhys’s print. “Wait. What?”
“You’re meeting Tommy Esposito on Saturday,” she answered. “And I’ll call Iris to tell her tonight. Now, I’ve had too much coffee and I need to get ready for my book club. Can you get me home, Mia?”
Just like mom to make plans and change the subject. Why didn’t I say no? Because she hadn’t listened the three hundred previous times I tried to decline, and I caved because she was grieving Sadie’s innocence, which was long gone since we were teens. I was more eager than usual to accept her offer to get her home because I had a package waiting for me in the lobby.
