My mom’s sister, Barbara, or Barbie, as she liked to call herself, was on my right, and my cousin, Greg, was on my left. I was tucked in with my elbows pinned to my sides, desperate to avoid elbowing Barbara’s new boob job and the layer of hair gel threatening to fall off Greg at any moment. Jayden looked as comfy as a clam between my Aunt Sue and her eligible daughter, Megan. They were both busy talking his ear off about what he did, how Megan was single, too, and even how Megan had once placed second in a junior high spelling bee. I was doomed for life if spelling was a new requirement for getting dates.
“So, Violet, when did you move back to town?” Steve, Sue’s husband, was just making conversation, but I was trying to disappear.
“I’ve been back for a little over a year.” I smiled and stabbed my fork into a piece of turkey.
“Oh?” Aunt Sue decided to abandon Jayden and focus in on me with her laser eyes and slightly crooked lipliner. Despite that, her lips still looked great. She and Megandidhave great genes—andat least one of them could spell. “Where were you this time, honey?”
That piece of turkey went down wrong and tears filled my eyes as I silently choked. I was too stubborn and embarrassed to let anyone else know, so I suffered in silence until I could swallow the dry meat down and suck in air again. I gulped down half of whatever was in the glass in front of me and then cringed at the taste of bitter red wine. I couldn’t catch a break.
“Goodness, Violet Faith, you left your table manners at home.” Mom laughed when she said it, but it drew even more eyes my way and did nothing to make me feel any better.
“Austin.” I cleared my throat and sought out a glass of water. “I was in Austin for a year before coming back home.”
“And before that? It was Miami, right? New York? You can’t settle down anywhere, can you?” Aunt Sue sighed,almostlike she felt bad for me. “Have you managed to find work yet?”
I was going to fly out of my chair and burst through all the ceilings of my parents’ house until I was free. I could feel the energy surging through my body, preparing me for liftoff. Only,I didn’t take flight. I was still stuck there, answering questions that, while they never felt great to answer, were humiliating in front of an ex.
“Vi works. She makes things pretty.” Rose, thinking she was helping, came to my aid. “Thingshaveto be pretty. Look at this table.”
“That’s not a real job.” Uncle Jack, the oldest relative present, was hard of hearing until he wanted to step into a conversation.
“I have my own business.” I inhaled deeply and forced a smile. “I started it once I got back to town, and it’s starting to pick up. I’m actually having a big sale-”
“But you still can’t get a man to put a ring on your finger.” Aunt Martha, ever the pain in my ass, wagged her finger at me. “Look at Rosie. Engaged to a doctor!”
“I’m a doctor, too, Aunt Martha.” Rose’s voice was lost in Martha’s rant.
“Married on Christmas night! It’s so romantic. And hereyouare, looking like a roughed-up Orphan Annie. When are you going to let your hair grow out? Men love long hair. And maybe get a tan. Tans make you look thinner. Look at me: I got a tan and lost fifteen pounds!”
Roughed-up Orphan Annie? Jesus. I made the mistake of meeting Jayden’s eyes from across the table and saw that his were full of tears from holding back laughter. Dropping my elbows onto the table, I gave up. Fuck table manners.
2.
***Violet***
“WhyChristmasnight,Rose?”Megan smiled sweetly at my sister before dropping her eyes to Rose’s flat stomach. “That’s so fast. Any reason?”
Rose, always full of sugar and spice and everything nice, smiled and nodded. “We don’t want to wait. We’ve been together for so long already. I don’t want to do a long engagement. I just want to be married to this man already.”
Mom clasped her hands together against her chest and sniffed. “It’s so sweet. I just love their love.”
Seeing that she couldn’t get to Rose, Megan turned to me. “Going solo to yet another event, Violet?”
What happened next was shameful. I stooped to a level that I’d never stooped to before, not even as a child. I pretended to chew my food for way too long to give myself time to think, but I still couldn’t climb out of the hole my brain had dropped into. Finally, I opened my mouth and told a lie. A lie that was humiliating to tell, even if I was the only one to know it. “No, actually. I’ll be bringing my boyfriend, if Rose has enough room on the guest list.”
“Boyfriend!” Rose gasped dramatically. “Since when?! And we’ll get to meet him? We’ve never met anyone you’ve ever dated.”
“I was starting to think she’d made them all up.” Megan smiled sweetly and waved her fingers at me. “Of course, I’m teasing.”
“No, this is huge. I’ve never met a single boyfriend of Violet’s.” Rose clapped her hands and squealed. “This is going to be the best wedding ever!”
I could feel Jayden’s eyes on me, sharper than anyone else’s. Had he thought he was the only boyfriend I’d refused to bring home? Hardly. “It is! It’ll be the best wedding ever, and then you and Anthony can ride off into married bliss. Or at least honeymoon bliss. Do you know where you’ll go?”
“Let’s focus on this boyfriend. Is he after your money?” Pat Thomas was always worried about money and its safety.
“What money?” Uncle Roy snorted as he laughed. “She’s been trying to start her own business making thingsprettyfor a decade. She’s got as much money as I’ve got islands in my name.”
“Actually, Uncle Roy, my business is doing really well. According to that assessment, you’d have several islands. Do you?” Lies. All lies. I was a big, fat, lying liar and I was going to burn, but I’d do it with my pride, at least. “And no, Dad, my boyfriend isn’t after my money. He has his own.”