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When they came in through the door, a group of people chatting by the door greeted them cheerfully. After a few hugs, Saundra went over to the table stacked with all the other gifts. Miles followed along behind her, uncomfortable but determined to put a smile on his face. She appreciated that he was at least making the effort, but all she could think was that it would have been so much easier if he’d just stayed home.
“What’s the theme of this party? Diarrhea?”
“Miles!” Saundra whispered harshly.
“I’m sorry, but look at the colors. The kid’s six. There should be superheroes or dinosaurs or something.”
“Maybe these are his favorite colors,” she tried, but even as she said it she knew that wasn’t true. He loved the color red.
“You made it,” her sister cried out from the kitchen and came over for a hug. Mom and Dad followed over, giving her hugs and stiff handshakes to Miles.
Fortunately Miles was polite, keeping that plastic smile on his face. She knew how he felt about her family. In all fairness it was in direct response to how they felt about him. Miles had a good heart, but he didn’t do well when people disrespected him. After their first meeting and the grilling her parents gave him, it’d been bad blood ever since. Now the best they could do was smile and get through the uncomfortable moments they had to be in the same room together, but they did it for her sake.
“Everything looks great,” Saundra said to her sister.
“Oh thank you. Yeah, don’t you love the way the colors really bring out the wallpaper?”
“I had no idea Jimmy was so into interior decorating,” Miles said and smiled to everyone. “If you’ll excuse me.”
The smile faded just a bit from her sister’s mouth. It didn’t disappear entirely, but more shifted from genuine excitement to polite manners. “I have to check on the cake,” her sister said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before leaving.
“I see Miles is as pleasant as ever,” Mom said, giving him one last glance as he made his way out to the backyard where all of the kids were playing.
“Mom, be nice. He’s here for Jimmy. You know how he loves him.”
“We should all be so lucky,” Mom said, then turned on a bright smile. “You know, Nancy’s son is in from town and—“
“Goodbye, Mom,” Saundra said sharply. Mom sighed and put up her hands and walked away.
“Pumpkin,” Dad said, “she means well.”
“She does that every time. I really don’t need it right now. I really don’t need it right now.”
Dad’s entire countenance shifted to one of concern. Now and forever, the way he loved her made her feel so warm and secure. She would always be a daddy’s girl. “What’s the matter? Things not going well?”
She sighed heavily, torn between if it would be right to talk about it or not. The last thing she wanted was to give her family more ammo for not liking Miles, but at the same time, she always felt like she could tell Dad anything.
“I don’t really want to get into it here, but no, not really. Miles lost his job again.”
“Again? Isn’t that like the third one?”
Saundra grimaced. “We went right by third back in May.”
“Oh pumpkin, I’m sorry. What happened?”
Saundra threw up a frustrated hand. “I don’t know. Dad, I really don’t understand. I’ve never met anyone so unlucky with this stuff. He had some guy coming at him, and he had to fight to defend himself and got fired. It was the same thing at the job before that, and the one before that he was sticking up for someone else.”
“Can’t blame the guy for standing up for himself,” Dad said helpfully.
“No, I know, but it doesn’t help when rent is due.”
Dad rubbed her upper arms comfortingly. “Do you need some help, pumpkin? I know you’ve got a lot of pride, and I’m not trying to step on any toes, but the stress of money can really make it difficult to get through things sometimes. I can already tell you and Miles are strained.”
Saundra’s brows pressed together. “You can tell that?”
Dad gave a sad little smile. “You know how I feel about Miles. But, he always made you happy, so I supported you regardless. You’re always all smiles around one another, thick as thieves. Right now it seems like you can’t wait to get away from one another.”
The tears threatened to come fast and loose and she bit her lip to try and control herself. “Things are really hard on us right now. He’s pulling away, daddy, and I don’t know why. I think it’s the job thing, but he won’t talk to me.” She choked out a sob and put the side of her fist against her mouth to try and stifle any more. “He always talks to me.”
