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“You look gorgeous,” Grady said when she swung it open.
He was in a black suit and a tie nearly matching her dress. He looked delicious.
“You clean up pretty well, too.”
“We’re going to make a hot couple.”
Normally, she wouldn’t have been nervous. This would have been just another charity event she would have loved and been honored to attend, but this was different. People had a skewed idea of her now, and those who would usually flock to her…well, she expected them to stay away. She wasn’t going to push her luck. If people didn’t want to talk to or be seen with her, she wouldn’t force it. But having no one to talk to other than Grady? That would take some getting used to.
The great thing about their building was its proximately to downtown. They were at the hotel where the reception was taking place in a matter of minutes. Reese had hoped they’d be sitting with the Radcliffes, but she was out of luck. They’d been placed at a table with the foundation’s major donors. Reese would be on full display, trying to charm them if possible. A tall order for a social pariah.
But first, she and Grady circulated through the room. He took hold of her hand, and after they’d both grabbed a flute of champagne, they chatted with various people. Reese put on her megawatt smile and when the various guests chatted with her, she felt her anxiety ease.
They don’t hate me.
“What a terrible thing going on with you,” one older lady said. She had to be in her eighties, with her shiny white hair pulled into a bun and her makeup effortlessly done. Her red lipstick was hard to miss. “That woman should be sued. You should sue her. You know, she’s just jealous. Don’t let it bother you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Alderman. I appreciate your support.”
Mrs. Alderman was old money, but she had a heart of gold. Reese had seen her before at charity events, but she had never had the opportunity to speak to her. Mrs. Alderman loved to dress up for parties and dragged along her husband of fifty-something years. They had three children, but the Aldermans had made it clear to anyone listening that they planned to donate most of their fortune to charity. And the York Cancer Foundation charity was one of them.
“I read Josh Semple’s article,” she said, dropping her voice. “I hope you and your father can work things out.”
Not her too!
She hated that the world now knew she was estranged from her father, and she had both her parents to thank for that revelation.
“I say, never say never.”
“Good, dear,” Mrs. Alderman said, patting Reese on the hand.
After chatting with several more donors, they took their seats. Dinner was a long, drawn-out affair, but Reese kept a smile on her face and spoke with everyone at her table. The night was going well. Between the main course and dessert, she excused herself to use the ladies’ room. There were a few other women in the room, but none seemed to take notice of her. As she touched up her makeup and put on more lipstick, she could feel a pair of eyes staring at her through the mirror. A woman, her expression blank, kept her gaze focused on Reese.
“Nice evening, isn’t it?” Reese said cheerfully.
Reese saw the women’s jaw tense. She was likely in her late thirties to mid-forties. She was dressed in a classic black dress and enough gold jewelry to be blinding.
“I’m adopted.”
Reese felt her words like a gut punch. She knew she couldn’t react. She’d hear the woman out, take her abuse, and apologize. She knew the drill.
“One of our sons is adopted,” the woman went on. “So to see and hear that people like you make fun of people who are adopted, to attack them, to make fun of them and use it against them is disgusting. You are disgusting. How dare you even show your face here. My ten-year-old son saw what you said, and we talked about it, but it upset him because now he’s going to wonder if someone like you is going to say something nasty to him. To make him feel less of a son to me and my husband. So fuck you.”
The woman was shaking now, and Reese thought to reach out, but she was certain that was the last thing the woman wanted from her.
“I don’t think there is anything I can say that would be appropriate, but I am truly sorry. I was a stupid kid who said some really stupid things. I had no real idea how much those words would hurt. It’s not something I believe…”
“Then own what you did. Apologize for being the nasty piece of work you are. You ruined that young woman’s life.”
If only this woman knew.
“I’m sorry for the way her life turned out, but I can’t and won’t take responsibility for the course her life took. I’m not going to say more about it.”
“Coward.”
The woman snatched her purse and stormed out of the ladies’ room. Reese took a couple of deep breaths, her body vibrating. She’d wanted to tell that woman what Jen had done to her, and that while she herself had retaliated in the worst possible way, Jen was no saint.
But the woman had taken a side, and she was never going to change her mind on who she thought Reese was.
