Page 32 of Not That Into You

“John Cameron Stanhope.”

“Huh.” Somehow, I don’t think he’s honored to be sharing a first name with his brother and father.

Cameron glances at me. “What does ‘huh’ mean?”

I shrug. “Nothing.”

“You think it’s weird I have the same first name as my brother?”

I shake my head. “No. My mom, aunt, and grandmother all share the first name ‘Maria.’ They go by their second names.”

“Huh.”

I smile. “Exactly.”

“And here I thought my parents’ decision to name both of their sons after their father was hubris.”

I snort. “What about your sister?”

“What about her?”

“Does she share a first name with your mother?”

“No.”

My brows lift. “Wow. Your parents really leaned into the patriarchy when choosing baby names.”

“It’s the Stanhope way.”

Ugh. Before I can ask anything else, my phone pings with a text message. I glance at my screen.

Mom: Nica help

Shit. What’s going on?

Mom: Help me please

Is her back acting up? I quickly open my text app and respond.

Monica: What’s going on? Are you okay? What’s wrong?

I stare at my phone, waiting for my mom to respond. Maybe I should text my dad. Or I could call him. Actually, I should probably just call my mom. Why hasn’t she texted back yet?

Her next message finally comes through: a screenshot of her Wordle game.

Mom: Help

What the heck?

Mom: What’s the answer?

I shake my head. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What?”

“Nothing. My mom’s struggling with Wordle.”

He nods. “Today was a hard one. It took me four tries to get it.”

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