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Kayla wasn’t even perturbed by the presence of Kiersten Fredriksson, the so-called matriarch who had called Gustav her grandfather.I’m slowly learning about this family tree.There were so many Swedish names to keep track of that it made detecting the “outsiders” easier. Women like Gretchen, Mary, and June were not blood-related. It sounded like some of the naming conventions were dying out with the modern generations, which made Kiersten turn red when she overheard Thomas discussing his favorite baby names, but if there was one thing Kayla had learned… the farther from the top a family member was, the more they were forgiven for transgressions. Assuming they were otherwise in good standing.
This was something she intimately understood once she was left with Polly while Tove and Thomas facilitated a discussion between June and Kiersten. What they discussed? Kayla had no idea, although curiosity burned inside of her.
“So, you’re the one my Tommy bumped with his bumper?” The closer Kayla sat to Polly – especially inthisfantastic sunlight – the more she could tell that the young twenty-something was a bottle blond who at least had a natural tan.Is her personality put on, though?Or did Polly Fredriksson really talk like she couldn’t tell if she was a reborn flapper or a Paris Hilton wannabe? “Now you’re with Tove?”
“I suppose that’s how it went.” Kayla’s instincts ran the gamut of wanting to instantly trust Polly and refraining from seeing her as a convenient distraction in a family always looking for the next scapegoat. “After the incident, he took me to Tove’s office. That’s how we met.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, do you know her well?”
Kayla didn’t know what she expected from the woman who once claimed to be “the most sought-after catalog model in SoCal.” “Oh, everyone knows Tove.” Kayla couldn’t help but notice that Polly mispronounced Tove with one syllable. “She’s the one to call when you’re in a jam. If she doesn’t know how to twist the family funds to get you out of trouble, then she knowswhoto call. Tommy says that Tove is the reason he’s alive. So I guess I have her to thank.”
“Is that so?”
“Sure thing. Guess I can tell you since everyone already knows… but before he met me, my baby was a hot mess. Drinking, mostly, but he landed himself in jail more than once! It’s one of the reasons we broke up a while back, although we’re back together now.”
“I don’t mean to pry.”
“Why not? This whole family makes you lay it all out on their pristine white carpets.” Polly blew her bangs out of her right eye as she continued to watch Thomas laugh off some criticism hurled at him from June’s direction. Tove covered her face in embarrassment. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s been a good boy since before we met, but some old habits are hard to break. I got mad at him because he was flirting with one of his ex-girlfriends. That’s bad enough, you know, but she’s an alcoholic that was in the car with him when he got one of his DUIs. Like, I don’t need that in my life. The family money isdope,but around here I can get any guy I want. I stay with Tommy because he’s younger than the others by like twenty years. You ever date a guy old enough to be your dad?”
“Yes.”
“That so?” Polly swerved her head toward Kayla, taking her in again.Does she see me for who I am? How different am I from her?Kayla wasn’t model material, but from the day she realized older, richer men were willing to throw money at her for dates and relationships, she had taken care of her body and face.Grady caught on so quickly.He had one conversation with his sister about it.I had recently started a new waitressing position and was making good tips for the first time.Grady had asked if she was dating older men because she liked it or for the money. Kayla, still nursing some wounded pride about it, insisted that she didn’t mind the older men, but the money was not something to be turned down. Since it meant Grady could cut back hours at work and focus more on his health, he learned to not say anything unless he was truly concerned for Kayla’s physical safety. Which was never.
Polly probably recognized that in her fellow gold digger. Kayla wasn’t surprised. Back in Portland, she could spot a sugar baby from two miles away. They all ran in the same circles, be it online support groups or when left together at functions like this one.“So, where did you meet your daddy? Oh, me too.”Conversations as old as Kayla.
“Tove seems nice,” Polly said. “She tells Tommy what he needs to hear, and in a way that gets through to him. You can tell they see each other as siblings instead of cousins. I guess Tove used to babysit him when he was a kid.”
Tove babysat?Well, if she had a single mom who was sick all the time like Kayla, she supposed that made sense. Tove’s mother sounded stingy with the pocket money, even with the family money raining every day of the week.Or maybe she did it for free because she’s a good person.Too bad the family took advantage of that.
Yet Kayla couldn’t complain. She may not have been gay, but she knew a great catch when she saw one.Rich. Good with her money. Pretty. Good in bed. Nice and kind. Rich.Kayla would put “homeowner” in there too, but she expected that from anyone she married for money.
“How long have you guys been together?” she asked Polly.
“Who? Me and Tommy? Only like three years, tops. We met at the start of 2020 if you can believe it.” She grabbed her glass of red wine, the only sustenance she indulged in since coming to the country club. “Once things started going crazy, we eloped. We dated for like three months. Boy, lemme tell ya, the family didnotlike that. I thought he was going to get kicked out for a hot minute, but there was so much going on that year that was affecting the family that we eventually fell by the wayside. It helps that he’s the youngest in his line. Soooo few expectations. It’s his older brother Nils who has all the pressure. Also, the sister is a traditionalist, so whatever.”
“So many family politics around here.”
“Girl, you have no idea. I can only imagine what it’s like dating the token lesbian.”
“It hasn’t been so bad so far, but it’s only been a month.”
“You want some advice?” Polly dipped her face over the table, a finger tipped in royal purple polish wagging beneath Kayla’s nose. “Lock it down sooner rather than later. This family is ruthless toward outsiders, but once you’re in, through marriage or acceptance, they’re not likely to kick you out. Watch out for Kiersten, especially. That woman is a witch with a capital B. I thought Gretchen would be the big thorn in my side since it was her baby I stole, but she takes all her orders from the Queen Bee. I guess Gretchen wasselectedby Kiersten to date Tommy’s father. I mean, you didn’t hear that from me, but Gretch comes from big Seattle money. She was in before she said ‘I do.’”
“When you say lock it down…”
“I mean get Tove to put a ring on it. A woman that age dating again… ha! Bet it wouldn’t be so hard. You know, if I were gay, I would have gone for her instead of Tommy.”
“So you admit it? That’s why you first dated him?”
“I mean, he’s a cutie, but sure.”
Kayla did not speak as freely as she would have liked. Nevertheless, she still said, “You knew what I was immediately, didn’t you?”
“I’m not one to judge. We’ve all gotta secure our bread somehow. After this latest brush with divorce, I’m seriously thinking about forgetting to take my BC for a few weeks and rolling the dice. That way, even if we get divorced, I’ve got the kid bringing in the money. Gretchen would make sure of it.”
“That’s merciless!”
