Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67432 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Jesus,” Colton said. He formed a loose fist with his hands and put them up to his mouth. I reached for his leg under the table and gave his thigh a supportive squeeze. I wasn’t sure if that crossed some unwritten rule in our arrangement; it just felt like the right thing to do in that moment. This wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination.
Colton’s father shook his head and huffed out a breath before he bundled up his napkin and set it next to his plate, his steak untouched. “Tell the chef I thank him for the meal and I’m sorry I can’t eat right now.” He got up and disappeared down the hallway, his footsteps loud as he stomped up the stairs.
“What a fucking joke.” Archie mirrored his father by throwing the napkin on the table and rising up onto his feet, Wendy following him as he went down the opposite hallway, the two of them silent as they went to their bedroom.
That left Jen, Colton, Macy, and Luna at the table. Luna looked stunned as she took off her glasses and let them hang around her neck, running a hand through her white-and-gray curls.
Macy clicked her tongue and looked to her wife. “I warned you, didn’t I? My family is crazier than a gaggle of gays at a drag brunch full of bottomless mimosas and topless bottoms.”
That outrageous comparison cut through some of the thick tension hanging in the air. Laughter replaced the shouting from just moments before. I could tell Macy had seen quite a bit, being the matriarch of such a large and complex family. She had stayed silent during the arguing, but now she was stepping onto center stage with a story about the time the family vacationed in Sicily and got into it with a traveling clown troupe at a five-star restaurant.
It gave me a different view of Colton and his family. A lighter one. During a time when they were still a functioning unit, supporting each other instead of lunging for each other’s throats.
Except for Archie, who was absent from her story. It confirmed what Colton had told me before this trip: Archie had been the black sheep of the family at some point, being the only one missing. It must have been during his battle with addiction, which he appeared to have fought off successfully. Nothing about him in his current state told me he was back on drugs and gambling, but sometimes vices were as invisible as the damage they slowly incurred, until it was far too late to intervene.
The five of us managed to retain our appetite and finish off the meal. I tried to dig for some more information on the family dynamics, but it seemed like the table wanted to move on to other topics. I didn’t press, although I did have some new questions forming that needed answers.
Was Jackson really the cause of Amelia and William’s divorce?
How did Archie know so much about Jax?
Did Kendall know Jackson had been dating her mom?
And did any of it have to do with Amelia’s untimely death? I had gone into this thinking money was the prime motive behind a possible murder, but could it be something else?
By the time the chef took our plates, the mood had considerably shifted. Macy had a way of pulling in everyone around her with her animated storytelling, assisted by a couple of funny asides from Luna. They were like a practiced act, bouncing off each other, elevating one another. It was fun to watch and left me with a sore stomach from laughing so hard.
“Alright, it’s been fun, you all, but Luna and I need to get our beauty sleep. This jet lag is slapping us across the face and calling us Sally.”
“Which is actually my middle name,” Luna said cheerily as they stood up.
“And here I was thinking your middle name was Tuna this entire time.”
Luna shot Macy a glare that nearly tipped her off. “Only because you insist on calling me Luna Tuna, as if being compared to a stinky fish is some kind of cutesy compliment.”
“It’s better than Luna from the Black Lagoona.” Macy put her arms up and pretended she was some kind of zombie creature, grabbing Luna in her arms and kissing her cheek. It was heartwarming to watch the way Luna’s eyes lit up at Macy’s touch. They clearly loved each other, which made me wonder about their entire story. When and how did they meet? Was it this late in life, or had they known each other years earlier, only pursuing something now that the time felt right?
Like Colton and me… except they were the furthest thing from “fake” as could be.
“You guys headed to bed, too?” Jen asked before finishing the last of her wine.