do still need your help.”
“Yeah. Whatever you need.”
I checked myself in the mirror. My hair was up in what Logan called my artfully messy bun that had ironically taken an inordinate amount of time to make look effortless. Natural makeup and lipstick, a sky blue maxidress with a sweetheart neckline and spaghetti straps. I leaned forward, dabbing at my lips, and noticed faint freckles on my chest and down into my cleavage.
“I’m showing too much skin, aren’t I? Not very appropriate for a future state senator’s wife.”
“You look beautiful. Dad’s gonna love it.”
I smiled at her. I wasn’t dressing to impress her dad or his political operatives. I wanted to show Nora what she was missing.
“You aren’t going to tell Dad, are you? About catching us.”
“No. Can you get to the store and back in twenty minutes?”
“Sure.”
I kissed her forehead and told her I loved her. She grasped my hand before I could turn. “What did you mean about Grandmother earlier? Did she catch you and Dad?”
I cleared my throat. “That’s a story for another time, okay?”
“Promise?”
I nodded because I couldn’t lie outright to my daughter.
I walked down the stairs on shaky legs and saw Charlie talking to his two political operatives.
“Sophie, Avery and Mark are here,” Charlie said, stating the obvious.
“Hi, Sophie,” Avery said. “Good to see you again.”
“You, too.”
Avery wore a simple sundress that hit midthigh, and nude wedges. Her long blond hair was pulled back with her sunglasses, and she wore less makeup than when I’d met her previously. Her casual, country look, no doubt. She was dressed a lot like me.
The bespectacled young man stepped forward. “Mark Pryor.”
I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. Have you met my mother, Brenda?”
“Yes, just now.”
Brenda’s lips were puckered, no doubt puzzling over what to think of Mark. Was he gay, or a hipster? Could either of those two things be a Republican? What did it all mean?
“Charlie, can I talk to you for a sec?”
As soon as we were out of sight of everyone, his expression changed to one of frustration. “Are you going to berate me—”
“No. I want to apologize for snapping at you. It was unfair.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t want there to be an undercurrent of anger between us tonight. I know this is important to you. So. No trouble or attitude from me.”
He rubbed my arms and smiled. “Thank you.” He kissed me gently on the lips. “I love you.”
I smiled, and murmured the words back, then went into the laundry room and called Todd. “What are you doing?”
“We’re watching...what are we watching again?” A female voice in the background replied. “Downton Abbey. Why?”
“Pause it. You’re driving over here and having dinner at my house.”
“Hang on.” I heard a shuffling as Todd got up off the couch. He said, “Pause it for me, will ya?” and the background noise went quiet. “What’s wrong?”
“Besides the fact I just caught my daughter and her boyfriend fucking in her bedroom, my dinner of four people has ballooned into sixteen, only two of which I like.”
“Calm down, Sophie.”
“Why do men always go straight to calm down?”
“In this case, because you sound unhinged.”
“Yeah, I am a little unhinged. I feel like I’m about to jump out of my skin. I have to keep it together and all that, pretending, is just about...”
“Okay, okay. You’re right. Tell me.”
“My mother just walked in the door, uninvited. My daughter and her boyfriend were naked upstairs. Nora is on her way with her lesbian lover, and six of our high school friends are coming, all of whom want to know why Nora left town eighteen years ago. Oh, and Charlie’s Millennials are here.”
“His Millennials?”
“Two DC political hacks who think electing Charlie to the Texas State Senate is a great stepping stone to bigger and better things.” I barely held back a sob. “Please come. Knowing you’re going to walk through my door in an hour is the only thing that’s going to keep me from drinking.”
“I’m on my way. Ivey will understand.”
“Bring her. What’s one more?” I exhaled. “And I’d love to see her.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
I exhaled and stared at Nora’s name at the bottom of my very short Favorite Contacts screen. I touched it and waited for her to pick up.
“Hey,” she said. “I’m glad you called. I don’t like how we left things the other day.”
“Neither do I, but we’re going to need to put a pin in our drama for the night.”
“Okay, but before we do, I need