My moms, not so much.
On the night of her show, she rides with me over to Gabe’s house. It’s the first time I’ve seen her all day since she’s been busy with last minute prep and I was off preparing her surprise.
I can’t wait to show her later.
We’re all meeting at Gabe’s house beforehand to toast Josie’s success in private since she’ll be busy mingling and talking to the buyers at the show. As soon as we walk in, Debbie and Paula start banging their spoons against their champagne glasses.
“They’re here! Congratulations Josie!”
My mom is wearing a black dress and black heels that make her look way younger and Debbie has gone for a green dress with shiny sequins around the neck. When she sees us, Sasha starts pouring the champagne.
“I see you guys started without us.”
They swat at me playfully before kissing Josie and praising her dress. She’s in a fitted white sheath that makes her dark hair and ruby lips the standout. Beautiful as she always is to me, she’s even more so when she’s happy.
“You both look wonderful. I’m so glad you’re coming. These things are always a little crazy and it’s nice to have familiar faces in the crowd.”
“We’re always happy to support you, honey. So, what is this show about? More like last time? Some of those couples shots were pretty hot.” Paula fans her face, making us all laugh.
Josie blushes and glances over at me. We haven’t told them that I’m the model for her show yet and I’m not really looking forward to when they find out. Even when tastefully done, nudes are nudes. It’s still pretty embarrassing.
Gabe enters the room just in time to hear Paula’s question. “Yes, what is your show about Jo?” He raises his eyebrows innocently. Next to him, Sasha almost chokes on her drink.
Josie glares at him. “I did something a little different this time. I’m telling a story with pictures. I hope it does well.”
“It’s going to be great,” I tell her.
She leans into my side and smiles gratefully. I’m so proud to support her and stand by her side. Loving her is the greatest privilege of my life and I’m honored to tell her that every day. She should never have even a moment of doubt where her talent is concerned, but when she needs a reminder, I’m here for that, too.
I’ve even made an effort to reach out to her family, inviting them to dinner at Izzie’s one night. They didn’t come but I’m not going to give up. It’s not fun to hold my tongue around her parents but I’ll do it for her. I can play nice to make her happy. Everyone has to make compromises.
Gabe is always telling me that’s just part of life. We have some long-time customers that are total douchebags but we appreciate their business so I can’t always say what I think around them. Is it really any different for me to hold my tongue, put on a monkey suit and pretend I don’t know that Jo’s mother hates me?
Josie doesn’t know this yet but I invited them to her show tonight. Mr. and Mrs. Harlow probably aren’t ever going to be my biggest fans but they seem to have accepted that I’m here to stay.
That’s all I can ask for.
After sharing a toast, Debbie and Paula leave for the show. Josie hands me her champagne glass.
“I just need to double check that I remembered to put my business cards in the car. I’ll only be a second.”
I wander over to the mirror on the living room wall and fiddle with my tie. I’m not used to wearing them and I always tie them too tightly. It feels like I’m strangling to death.
“Here, let me fix it. You always do it wrong.” Gabe knocks my hand away and then does something that allows me to breathe a little easier.
He doesn’t look at me as he’s fixing the knot and I try not to stare at him. But it’s hard not to when he’s this close. Things have been better with us lately but I still feel the void in my life where he used to be. I have other friends, sure. Reed has been great, taking me out for a beer after work a few times. But nothing can fill the hole where my brother should be.
“First a tuxedo and now this? You really must be serious about her,” he comments finally.
“I am. I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”
He finally looks at me then. “I really am sorry about everything. I know I went off the deep end a little with the way I reacted. I want to explain it to you but I’m pretty sure I’m going to fuck it up.”
“Even if you do, I’ll listen anyway.”
He claps a hand on my shoulder. “You always give me the benefit of the doubt. Even when I was completely off the rails, you were always there to drag me back.”
“I tried to be. You’re my brother. We’re in this thing until the end.”