of my life.” A laugh from Justin followed that felt like a pot of gold at the end of this thorny rainbow.
“Yeah, who would you have to trounce you at basketball if I wasn’t around?”
“No one, and that would be so sad for my ego.” Nate smiled and sat on the end of his bed. “Look, my best advice is to go in there today and show Peter what a good guy you are and what a great job your mom has done raising you. You don’t have to interact with him any more than you want to, but I know your Aunt May is anxious for you to meet Peter, since this is the first time he’s come home after you were born. But you have every right to treat him like a stranger. You don’t have to call him Dad or give him a hug or anything. You just go in, say hi, tell him you love your mom, and then walk out with your head up. He’s the one who lacks something, not you. He’s the one who missed out, not you, and certainly not your mom. You’re a great guy, and he’ll know that right away. Got it?”
“You’re the best, Nate. Thanks for not getting all girly-gushy on me.”
“That’s what guys are for, Justin. Hang in there. Give your mom a break in all this, and have a good time. I can’t wait to see what Roger thinks you want from his possessions. Maybe he’ll give you one of those dead stuffed animal heads on the wall of his study.”
Justin pretended to gag, and they chatted for a few more moments before Justin said his grandparents were there to pick him up and his mom was banging on the door. Nate set the phone down on the nightstand and stood massaging the back of his neck for a moment. He hoped he had done the right thing. It felt like the right thing, so it couldn’t be all bad.
Grabbing his towel, he moved toward the shower again. And the phone rang, again. He really needed to think about installing Caller ID. Who else was calling him on a Sunday morning?
“Hello?”
“Hey, Nate, my boyo,” his grandmother said in far too frail a voice. “You need to come over here and help your granny. I think I’m not in too good a shape, and your mom’s out doing some grocery shopping while all those churchgoers are pretending to do more than preen in their fancy clothes. Might be a heart attack or something. If you could hurry?”
Nate was already out the door and in his car with the cordless still against his ear. “I’ll be right there.” He floored it, not caring that he only wore sleeping pants and yesterday’s T-shirt.
Throwing the phone on the seat, he made a beeline for his mom’s house and whatever happened to be waiting for him there. It looked like he might not be able to make the lunch today, but he was sure Claudia and Justin would do just fine without him tagging along to run interference that they wouldn’t need. They were strong and had each other. They always had.
****
“For the last time, Zoe, I’m fine!” Claudia enunciated each word clearly and slowly, as if explaining a particularly difficult concept to a small child. They had an hour left until the lunch at May’s, and Zoe had not let up, even for a second, since Claudia had tromped into her room hoping to escape Zoe’s presence and unwanted fashion consult on Claudia’s closet.
Slamming the armoire door closed, Claudia whipped around, blonde hair flying in her face, to stare her sister down. She knew she sounded bitchy, but she didn’t care anymore. This day could just go right to hell. She’d gladly provide the handbasket.
She understood that Zoe wanted her to look good for this meeting, to “wow” Peter, in Zoe’s words. But after her initial thoughts of panic and making him miss what he’d thrown away, she no longer wanted to deal with that kind of crap. She just wanted to survive it. He would be gone soon, and she wouldn’t be a thought in his head—the same as it had been for ten years. Dressing the part of some vixen was not going to change that. In fact, she didn’t want it to. Part of her almost wanted to dress dowdy so as not to draw attention to herself. Pull out another pair of flats and fade into the