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El-Mudad appeared relieved at my inclusion of his girls as family. “I have no doubt that Rashida would love to introduce Olivia to all of the princesses.”
“And Amal?” Neil asked, popping the tension balloon that hovered over our heads.
El-Mudad’s mouth twisted in a grimace. “Amal...may take more convincing. As you learned today, she has a difficult time trusting new people.”
“She has a difficult time trusting new people who are romantically involved with her father,” Neil revised for him. “This isn’t totally unfamiliar territory for me.”
“Or me,” I added. “But, you know. From her side of things.”
“That’s true,” Neil said, his face lighting up. “We have a bit of an advantage here. Sophie has been through what Amal is going through. She would know better than either of us—“
“Yeah, I’m really glad my childhood trauma can help us out,” I said dryly. A uniformed staff member walked past with a huge silver tureen, and I quickly sidestepped with an, “Op, sorry.”
Neil gave me his half-smile.
“I can’t help it. I’ve been around my family all afternoon. The Michigan comes out,” I whispered. “Anyway, what I went through with my mom or, more accurately, what I put my mom through is nothing like what Amal is dealing with.”
“What did you put me through?”
All three of us snapped to attention at the sound of my mom’s voice.
“Are you supposed to be having a secret conversation?” she asked, gliding toward us in the red satin Marina Rinaldi tunic dress I’d begged her to let me buy for her. “This room is echoey.”
“My daughter is having a bit of difficulty accepting...certain realities about her father’s dating life,” El-Mudad explained smoothly. “Sophie was sympathizing.”
“Oh, can she ever sympathize,” Mom said with a huff. “Ran off a lot of men, this one.”
“If they didn’t appreciate your daughter, they didn’t deserve you.” The way Neil said the words made it clear he’d used that rationalization himself. I thought about his ex-wife, Elizabeth, and how she’d forged such a strong relationship with Emma, only to have it shatter into pieces during the contentious divorce. Was it any wonder children of single parents were slow to trust those parents’ new romantic partners?
“Luckily, the people I date have been very patient and understanding,” El-Mudad said. Warmth blossomed in my chest. He wasn’t talking past lovers. He was talking about us.
“My daughters are also very discreet,” he went on. “They know the importance of not sharing my private business.”
I saw Neil suppress a sigh of relief. So, Amal wasn’t the type to vindictively sabotage a relationship. I wish I had been so kind to my mother.
“Oh, she wouldn’t call her grandmother to report a condom wrapper under the couch?” Mom fixed me with a look that made it clear she had still not forgiven me.
I smiled sweetly at her. “Your hair looks nice.”
‘Thank you. Your Aunt Marie curled it for me.” She patted the loose waves. “I think she’s going to do this for the wedding.”
Getting my mom onto wedding talk was much safer territory, and I was happy to navigate it. “You don’t want a stylist?”
“Why would I need a stylist?” Mom frowned at me like I’d suggested she ride down the aisle on an elephant.
“Come along, El-Mudad. Let’s leave them to the wedding planning and find you a drink.” Neil clapped him on the back in the most awkward display of performative masculinity I’d ever seen, and they walked away.
“So, he has a girlfriend, now?” Mom asked, her lips barely moving as she spoke the words in a low voice.
“Yes.” It wasn’t a lie. “What happened to the echoey-ness of the room?”
She shrugged it off. “I didn’t say anything. I’m happy for him.”
“Well, I’m happy you’re happy for him.” God, her whole attitude made me bristle like an angry porcupine. “Let’s talk about something else.”
It stung so badly that my own mother actually thought I would cheat on my husband. In the first place, it wasn’t like cheating was some unforgivable offense punishable by an eternity in hell. I didn’t judge people; I minded my own business. Neil had cheated on at least one partner in the past, a fact that wasn’t exactly endearing or comforting but didn’t make me love him or trust him less. In the second place, I would never feel right breaking my vows to Neil, both the ones we’d exchanged at our wedding or any of the other, many promises we’d made to each other before and since.
And in another, horrible third place, I hated knowing that because of her strong feelings about infidelity, she would probably never understand our love for El-Mudad. We could never be ourselves around the one person I’d known best for my entire life, and I could already feel small tears in that bond with every passing day.
“Where’s Tony?” I asked, looking past her to the open ballroom doors. Someone entered, but not one of the family members. It was a man in a tux, complete with tails, who went to the grand piano near the tree.
