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I take a deep breath and speak through my smile. “It’s so great to have you drop by.”
She takes a seat in the teal velvet chair. “What kind of host are you to not have offered me a refreshment?”
I stand up. “What can I get you? We have water, sparkling and still, wine, champagne—”
“I’m good, dear. I was just at a breakfast meeting.”
I take a seat again.
She sifts through her purse. “You should hear the whispers. It’s quite exciting. I knew Eric was going to be a perfect match for you. I just hate that I have to hear the gossip from Jenny. I had to pretend I was already in the know.”
As she takes out a box of Altoids, I place my palm out. Rule of etiquette is, never refuse a breath mint. It means someone is trying to politely tell you something.
“I don’t want you getting your hopes up, although I’m pretty sure you have the calligrapher on speed dial.”
“Why would I need that when my own daughter is a wedding planner? I was just going to use whoever you use.”
“That would be Melissa. She does all our calligraphy.”
“Good to know. Tell her to keep the spring open. If you play your cards right, you could be Mrs. Eric Hollenford in May.”
“Eric was right. Our moms are crazy,” I say sarcastically with my hand on my forehead.
“Your attitude is unbearable. To meet a handsome doctor who doesn’t have children already and yet is comfortable with your situation is a godsend. You should be grateful.”
“Grateful that Eric likes my kid? I’m more hoping that Ainsley likes him.”
“I thought Ainsley had met him already. I heard from a woman in my Pilates class that she saw you and Ainsley on a picnic with a man last week.”
While Greenwood Village has been a wonderful bubble of a community to raise my daughter in, it is also just that —a bubble. A small town in many ways, where everyone seems to know everyone and word travels fast.
“That wasn’t Eric.”
Her eyes widen with a mixture of intrigue and skepticism. “There’s another man? Who is he? What does he do?”
“There’s no other man. It was just a friend who spent the day with us.”
“Jillian, I really don’t understand why you speak in code.”
I laugh to myself since that is what I’ve been mentally accusing Luke of. I suppose I have always lived in riddles, keeping a greater piece of myself close to the vest, as Tara would say. It’s not like I chose to be this way. I just am.Say please and thank you. Always look someone in the eyes when speaking. Show empathy when taking responsibility for your actions. Never speak about events that happen in the household outside of the house. Smile, even when you’re dismayed.
As a Hathaway, I was bred to exude confidence when I had none. To feign delight when I was distraught. And no matter what anyone asked, everything was alwaysgood.
My family didn’t plan to be fake. They just firmly believed that our business was of no business to anyone else.
The lessons are good, and yet they can make one forget the difference between fantasy and reality.
Tell a lie through a smile enough times, and you start to believe it’s true.
I strum my fingers along the top of the table and watch my nails hit the glass one at a time.
“I don’t speak in code. I merely tell you what you want to hear.”
“That makes me wonder what you don’t tell me. You should never keep secrets from your mother.”
“The truth often makes you jump to conclusions.”
She adjusts her silk collar. “I am very levelheaded. When have I ever overreacted to the truth?”
