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“What about you, Drew?” Mom asked before I could derail her.
Drew sobered and rolled with it. “I have no family except Zel and Aithan and two close friends in California. My parents died when I was a teen and my younger sister, Millie, died four years ago.”
“Oh, I’m very sorry to raise painful memories.” Mom looked like she’d cry, which she would, if the conversation continued.
I redirected. “Mom, what crawled up Greer’s butt?”
She looked at me like I was an idiot. “Honey, her divorce?”
My jaw practically fell into my lap. “Herwhat?” Drew’s fingers tightened on mine as Aithan squeezed my shoulder.
Dad leaned forward. “She didn’t tell you?”
I slowly shook my head. “Nooo.”
“Oh.” Mom’s head pulled back in surprise, like a turtle seeking the shelter of its shell. “Well, you’ve had your own struggles recently. I suppose she didn’t want to upset you.”
My focus snapped to that. “I doubt that very much. How long has this been going on?”
“Well, Theo filed for divorce in August.”
August! That long?I couldn’t believe this was the first I’d heard of it.
“But they’ve been struggling for at least a year,” Dad clarified.
“Holy shit. She saidnothingto me.” I was shocked. My sister, whose career revolved around helping rich people save their marriages, was standing amidst the wreckage of her own. “Not a damn word.”
Aithan said, “That explains some of her behavior, right?”
Mom shook herself. “We won’t speculate about Greer’s thinking or her relationship.”
Drew and Aithan nodded. I rolled my eyes.
“Zelda?” she snapped.
“Alright, Mom. I’ll be for her what she never is for me.”
Dad asked, “What’s that?”
“Respectful.”
Mom stood. “Zelda. Come help me wash up the good china for tomorrow.”
“So you can pick my brain about the guys or lecture me about Greer?”
“Both.”
Drew kissed my hand. Aithan boosted me up from the sofa. Dad started interrogating them about their work.
Once in the kitchen I asked Mom, “When do you think he’ll pull out the ‘what are your plans for my daughter’ question?”
“Not this visit.” She handed me a dishtowel. “I’ll wash. You dry.”
The dishes were white fine-bone china with silver edging and a subtle filigree pattern in the center.
“I see why you’re so attached to Aithan and Drew. They’re handsome, successful, attentive, and charming. They’re very different, but they’re both deferential to you.” She side-eyed me. “A marked improvement over Tristan.”
“Why did you and Dad hide Greer’s divorce from me?”
