Page 29 of Your Rule to Break

“Well, EJ, if you want to leave early, say the word and we’re out of there.” When I use the new nickname, her eyes damn near sparkle.

“Thank you, Zack with a K.”

“Your home is lovely.It must’ve been special to raise a family here,” I say, taking a sip of the red wine Ethan, Emilie’s dad, handed me as soon as we got settled.

The vibe is tense. Eliza and Mitch sit on a couch next to Elaine, their mom. Ethan sits alone, and I sit next to Emilie on a love seat. The room is set up for social gatherings but it feels like the people currently present aren’t.

“Oh, we lived in Michigan. Moved outside the city when Eliza went to NYU. She got an early acceptance into the law school.”

“Wow! You’re doing the law school thing?” I ask, trying to bring Eliza into the conversation.

It’s like I can feel Emilie’s shoulders move up to her ears as she drinks her wine.

“School wasn’t for Eliza. Not a good fit for our girl. Instead, she works at Ethan’s practice as an administrative assistant.” Elaine smiles at Eliza. “She and Mitch dovery wellfor themselves.”

Emilie coughs, covers her mouth, and takes a drink of water. I nod because I have no idea how to respond to that.

I’ve been here for fifteen minutes and I’m starting to understand. I can’t necessarily put my finger on it, but it’s clear Emilie doesn’t fit here.

“Emilie, have you heard from Jen?”

“No, Mom. Not since I went back to Michigan for a girls weekend that was a disaster. I don’t anticipate I’ll be hearing from Jen, or any of them, for a while.” Her voice is pointed, defensive.

“Oh, you can’t just throw away friendships, Emilie. Those girls have been with you since high school.”

The rage radiating from Emilie is something I could reach out and grab. Instead, I reach for her free hand, the one not holding her glass of red wine like it’s a life source.

“They didn’t want to hang out with me. The only reason I got an invite was because I work with Willow. They wanted concert tickets, or a lunch date, or who knows what else.”

Fuck. That stings.

Elaine rolls her eyes and scoffs. “Don’t be dramatic. You don’t have many friends. It’d be a shame to lose someone like Jen. Her dad and yours still play golf at the club when we’re back in Michigan.”

How does this keep getting worse? Doesn’t she see how uncomfortable this makes her daughter? I try to think of a time I saw my mom do this with Riley, and I’m at a loss. They’ve had their fair share of mother-daughter fights growing up, but this is different.

“I won’t be friends with someone who doesn’t want me just so it’s more comfortable for Dad and his golf partner.” Emilie’s words are sickly sweet, dripping with sarcasm, and the smile she wears goes from ear-to-ear.

My eyebrows raise with each word that comes out of her mouth, and I look down at my shoes. I’m trying to wrap my brain around the idea of someone not wanting Emilie. That just doesn’t track with what I know about her.

“Well, I can’t get Willow tickets, but if you ever want to see a Cosmos game, I’m sure I could hook you up.”

Honestly, I don’t want to give these people anything besides a reality check, but I’d do anything to change the topic of conversation, and the offer kind of just fell out of my mouth.

I’m desperate to change the vibe; the air is thick like smoke you shouldn’t breathe in.

“Wait a second… I just got it,” I slap my knees, sit up straighter with the realization. “You all have ‘E’ names.” Eliza slowly blinks, while Mitch looks confused. “Big fan of the fifth letter in the alphabet or a coincidence?” I shrug my shoulders.

“Yes, we all have first names that start with the letter E,” Elaine replies, her words like a scratch on a record player you want to run from.

“Oh man, you guys were on fire last week. Great first game,” Mitch chimes in for the first time tonight. He pulled himself from his phone for long enough, and I don’t know if I’ll ever him like him more than I do in the next few seconds.

“Appreciate it. Hoping for a good season.”

“Have any trick plays drawn up like the Super Bowl?” her dad asks.

“We might have something up our sleeves.” I give them the generic answer before drinking the rest of my wine. I’m for sure not about to share playbook secrets with these people.

“Are you really coming to the wedding? With Emilie as a date?” Ethan asks, like Emilie isn’t sitting next to me.

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