We had all gathered for lunch. Mom intentionally took the table as far away from ours as possible. We had to push two tables together to get Dixie, Victor Pierre, Aden, and Camilla, in with the two of us. Dad still sat with Mom, as he saw that as his duty but looked pretty miserable. I felt terrible for him, realizing that, much of the time, he was just going along with Mom to keep their marriage civil. She could be really domineering.
Mom wouldn’t even look our way through the entire meal, preferring to pretend that Chris and I didn’t exist. I should have let it go, but if there was one thing I had inherited from her, it was bull-headed stubbornness.
Mom walked back into the house to get fresh lemonade, and I saw my chance, quickly getting up from the table to go and catch her without even telling my tablemates where I was going. Though I was pretty sure most of them could guess.
My courage grew with every step toward the house. Decades of frustration built up into a fit of righteous anger. Mom had always tried to lead me around by the nose. Even after I had grown up and moved out. The booby-trapped reunion was only the most recent example. Never mind the fact that I was in my thirties by that point.
“Mom,” I said, my back straight and eye steely.
“What?”
“You need to back off. Don’t try to get me back with Ellis. It is not going to happen. I am not confused. I am not wrong. I am with Chris, and I love him. I am carrying his baby, and we are going to get married.”
I knew even as I said it that it was true. It wasn’t just a lie to throw Mom off the trail or a passing fancy. I really did love Chris and wanted to marry him. I was carrying his child and had already started thinking about where we should buy a house. I looked back over my shoulder to make sure that he hadn’t heard. It seemed really early to have such certainties, but I did and had the feeling that Chris felt the same.
“O-okay, I’ll back off a bit,” Mom said, upset but keeping it together, “but Ellis really is perfect for you.”
“Then why did he cheat on me?”
“Some men do that,” Mom said, as though that excused it.
“And some men drown kittens and poison orphans. I wouldn’t want to be with them either. Ellis is a master manipulator. He’s playing you like a fiddle, and you just don’t see it.”
Mom moved stiffly past me to take out the fresh lemonade and didn’t look at me the rest of the day. Despite the silent treatment, I knew I had gotten through to her. She only ever got that mad when she knew that she was wrong.
Later that night we had a bonfire down on the beach of the lake. Technically they weren’t supposed to be allowed, but my parents owned the land, so there wasn’t much the authorities could do. The penalty was only a fine, and most of the local cops felt funny fining someone for burning wood on their own property.
Chris and I cuddled under a blanket, the night colder than most had expected. Ellis was nearby, glaring at us, making sure we didn’t get up to any funny business. At least until Aden came by and sat beside me, blocking his view. I could always count on my big, smart cousin.
“So,” Aden said, with a wicked grin, “have you decided what you are going to do with the signed NFL helmet you got in the divorce? I think it could work great as a planter.”
“Oh, no,” I declared, grinning at him.
“A punch bowl?” Camilla asked, joining in.
“No.”
“How about a candy bowl?” Chris suggested.
“It’s a bit big,” I pointed out.
“Right, like the jockstrap that went with it,” Aden said.
“You could use if for bacon grease while cooking,” Camilla suggested.
“Now, that’s a good idea!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ellis getting angrier, narrowing his eyes until he was doing an unintentional Clint Eastwood impression in our general direction.
“Maybe Jeepers could use a new litterbox,” Chris suggested.
“It is meant to be a display piece!” Ellis shouted, loud enough to set a cluster of crows to wing.
I shrugged casually. “It might be on display somewhere, but I pawned it for $13 two months ago. What can I say, I was feeling a bit petty and needed the money for cat food.”
There were several bouts of laughter around the fire, even from Dad. Ellis got so angry. His ears turned bright red, visible in the firelight. They always did that when he was really pissed off — or when I wouldn’t let him put it in my ass or dinner wasn’t on the table when he got home.