Todd?”
“When my mother showed up.”
Charlie moved close to me. “Why the fuck are you making everyone margaritas, then?”
I wiped my hands on a dish towel. “Because no one likes Trent’s shitty beer.” I threw the towel down and saw Trent and Jamie easily within hearing distance. I went to greet Todd and Ivey.
I hugged Todd. “Oh my God, please put me out of my misery.”
He patted my back. “You got this.”
“I really don’t.”
“Sure you do,” Ivey Johnson said and gave me a strong hug. She pulled away and caught sight of Logan. “Well, this has to be your daughter. The spitting image of you if there ever was one.”
“Yes, this is Logan. Logan, this is Ivey, and you remember Todd.”
“Yeah. Hey. Nice to meet you.”
“Should someone go after the crying senior citizen who just ran past us?” Ivey asked.
“That was Brenda. She deserves every tear she sheds, trust me.”
“Mom, my God,” Logan said.
“Give it a rest, Logan.”
“You’re the one being a bitch, not me.” She turned and stomped up the stairs.
“Hey, Todd.” Charlie walked up with an extended hand. He looked at Ivey with the expression of a man who’d just won the lottery. Ivey was a short Black woman with gray eyes and dreadlocks tipped with multicolored beads, not exactly Charlie’s constituency, I’m ashamed to say. But, that wouldn’t stop him pandering to her. “Charlie Wyatt. Pleased to meet you.” Charlie, not stupid, had the wherewithal to offer Todd and Ivey nonalcoholic drinks. I directed him to the back refrigerator for the two gallons of tea I’d picked up from HEB on the way home.
Jamie and Trent were still glaring at me, Nora was waiting for me in the kitchen. Logan was going upstairs, apparently done with me for now. My mother was driving home through her tears. Alima watched it all with a cool detachment. Todd and Ivey followed me to the kitchen and asked if they could help.
“No, I just need to cut up these fajitas.”
I took up a fork and butcher knife and started in on the fajitas. They never stood a chance. I heard Nora and Alima introduce themselves to Ivey and Todd and have a banal conversation about what they all did for a living. That’s why I jumped when I heard Nora’s voice so close behind me.
“Need help?” Nora asked.
“I need to know what you said to make my mother run crying out of the house?”
Nora picked up a piece of meat and ate it. “Very good.” She leaned close and whispered in my ear. “I told her about our little moment in the laundry room and threatened to tell everyone here.”
The knife slipped and clattered to the floor. “Christ, Nora.”
“I wasn’t going to do it.”
Tiffany, Jamie and Kim came to the kitchen bar. “What’s wrong with your mom, Soph?” Tiffany asked.
I turned my back and rinsed the knife in the sink. Todd was next to me. “Let me have the knife. I’ll cut the fajitas.”
“Thank you.”
“Take deep breaths. We got you.”
Ivey was valiantly trying to make conversation with a group of people who, if they were any whiter, would have burned everyone’s eyes from the glare. Charlie’s Millennials had edged into the group and Joe and Trent and had started talking to Ivey. When she told them she was an ER nurse, Joe was off with one gruesome question after another. The Millennials caught each other’s gaze and rolled their eyes.
Jamie wasn’t going to be distracted by idle chitchat. She moved to the other side of Tiffany, as if to get as far away from Nora as possible. Weird.
“What did you say to Brenda, Nora?” Jamie asked.
“Is your cheek okay?” Kim asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Nora said.
My hands shook. I tried to shove them in my pockets, but my maxidress didn’t have any. I crossed my arms instead. Everyone was watching me with various expressions of concern, curiosity and conniving. I was pissed at Nora for putting us in this position. What explanation could she possibly give for that slap? The truth wasn’t an option.
Charlie walked back into the kitchen, brandishing two gallons of tea. “I’ve got sweet and un...” Charlie looked around. “What’s up?”
“Nora is an atheist,” I said.
A hush descended over the room, save a laugh from Alima.
“You insulted Mother’s faith, didn’t you, Nora?” I asked, staring at her pointedly.
“Yes, that is precisely what I did,” Nora said, struggling not to smile.
“You’re an atheist?” Tiffany said in disbelief.
Logan bounded down the stairs with her purse over her shoulder, heading for the