Ellen made a choking sound, and Axel’s blue eyes went wide. “I would never,” he said.
“Both of you,” Aunt Ellen said. “Either make yourself useful or get out of the kitchen.”
* * *
The food was delicious.I hadn’t known that Axel cooked so well—though it made sense, since he lived alone and ate healthy. It seemed there were plenty of things I still didn’t know about him, even after being friends with him for months.
The fact that he had nowhere to go for Christmas, for example. I knew he had both a sister and a brother, and I’d assumed he’d go somewhere to gather with them.
Not that I was judging his family connections or lack thereof. I hadn’t spoken to my parents in weeks, and I’d spent last Christmas in L.A., hot and miserable, sitting like an outsider among Pierre’s friends and family, most of whom rarely spoke to me. That had been the pattern of my life for too long.
In fact, I realized as I speared another meatball—yes, the balls were amazing—I was happier now than I had been last Christmas, despite everything I’d been through. I’d had rough patches, but I’d rather be dateless and pathetic in Portland than ever go back to Pierre again.
“Has your mother called you?” Ellen asked me, as if reading my thoughts. She picked up a slice of garlic bread and gave me a look that wouldn’t be out of place in an FBI interrogation.
“She hasn’t,” I said.
“Hmm.” The sound Ellen made was disdainful. “That sounds like Theresa. Axel, has Brit ever told you about her mother, my niece?”
“She hasn’t,” Axel said.
“That’s because they don’t get along.” My great-aunt barged into the sensitive topic like someone who has lived too long to care. “Which, by the way, is all Theresa’s fault.”
I winced. “Jeez, Ellen.”
“Beautiful and stupid.” Ellen had turned toward Axel as she said the words. His eyebrows rose in surprise. “That’s Theresa in a nutshell—always has been. Beautiful and stupid. Even as a little girl. I’d look at my sister’s daughter and think, ‘Good lord, that girl is beautiful and stupid. It’s as plain as can be.’”
A shocked laugh barked out of me, and Axel coughed politely. Ellen had never said this to me before.
Ellen turned to look at me again. “When Theresa was sixteen, I told her she shouldn’t bother applying to any colleges. Her only hope was to find a nice man to take care of her. I meant it, and I’m a woman who has no use for menat all.” She shook her head. “She worked in an ice cream shop one summer and saved up a few thousand dollars because she lived at home. Then she gave all of that money to a man who promised to sell her a gel that would whiten her teeth.” She paused, looking at us for effect. “Let that sink in, children. Several thousand dollars—for teeth whitening gel. Which the man never actually gave her. And that wasn’t the only time she got fooled. She bought scammy supplements, useless face creams, and get-rich-quick investments. Theresa fell for anyone who said he had a bridge to sell.”
I scrubbed my hands over my cheeks. I hadn’t heard the teeth-whitening story, but it sounded like Mom. Anything that made a grandiose promise, no matter how unlikely—Mom always bought it. Often literally, with her own money.
“What did she say?” Axel asked. He had put his fork down and was leaning forward, as if this conversation fascinated him. “When you told her she should get married instead of going to college?”
“She got mad,” Aunt Ellen said. “She told my sister, and I got an earful. It wasn’t long after that I was ejected from the family. Apparently, we were supposed to pretend we didn’t know that Theresa was a good-looking dummy.” She shrugged, and in the gesture I could see that the estrangement had hurt her, but also that it was a long time ago, a healed-over wound. “In the end, she didn’t go to college anyway. She got married and had Brit.” She pointed her fork at me. “Do you want to know why I invited you to stay when you called? Because I always knew I’d get that call. From the day you were born. You’re so much smarter than either of your parents, so much better. It was only a matter of time before you’d had enough of how they treated you.”
My stomach twisted. I felt hurt rise up, mixing with gratitude for my aunt. What would I do without her?
I looked at Axel to find his gaze on me, gently quizzical. He was missing some of the pieces, of course.
“My mother doesn’t just fall for teeth-whitening scams,” I explained to him. “She also falls for dieting scams. She tried them all on me while I was growing up. I was doing juice cleanses when I was eight. She enrolled me in Weight Watchers at ten, because the doctor said I should lose five pounds.”
Axel’s expression didn’t change, and his gaze didn’t waver. He waited me out.
I cleared my throat. “Things got better when I went to beauty school. I loved my career, and I moved out. I made friends. My twenties were mostly fun. But guess where I ended up? L.A. of all places. With Pierre.” I couldn’t help the bitterness in my voice. “One of my stupider moves.”
“You’re here now,” he said calmly, somehow diffusing all of the tightness in my chest.
“Damn right, she is,” Ellen agreed. To me, she said, “I don’t care how long you stay, Brit. I just realized I haven’t told you that. Stay forever if you want. It’s fine by me.”
I blinked at her, my eyes stinging. “You can’t mean that. I can’t do that.” I hadn’t thought about how long I would stay, but I’d always assumed I would leave as soon as I feasibly could. As soon as I was back on my feet, whatever that meant.
“I do mean it,” Ellen said. “I like having young people around.” She nodded toward Axel. “Just looking at that one is good for my health.”
He gave her one of his knee-melting grins. “Not entirely useless?”
“Not entirely,” she agreed.