Page 41 of No Longer Safe

“Tonight?”

I pulled back confused. “What about tonight?”

“I know there’s a big party but maybe we could sneak off somewhere.”

At least he wasn’t thinking he was going to die out there. That was what I was worried about or him getting ‘accidentally’ shot. Alexei was ten steps ahead of all of us. I didn’t know what his angle was but I planned on figuring it out.

“Sneak off?” Since when did Brian want to sneak off?

“You ready to go Brian boy?” Alexei said cheerfully from the doorway. “We are about to set off. I’d hate for you to get left behind without a golf cart to get there. It’s about a twenty-minute walk.”

He’d love for Brian to get lost on the rolling property and probably die out there, I just knew it. I narrowed my eyes at Alexei. He smiled politely. Who was this Alexei? That was the scariest part.

“Yeah, I think so.” Brian dressed casually, like the rest of the group, thank goodness. I was still worried about him going alone, but he was a big boy, he could handle himself, right?

“Alexei is up to something,” Carina said as we ate finger sandwiches by the pool. A large pitcher of lavender lemonade sat beside the big assortment of finger foods we’d been nibbling on for entirely too long.

“I don’t want to talk about Alexei,” I groaned. He was the last thing I wanted to talk about because I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I needed a break. I needed a mental break from all of it.

“Okay, how about wedding dress shopping then?”

I perked up. “How about Sunday?” That would give us enough time to get through all the parties happening over the weekend and get back to the city.

“I’ll have Emeline set something up.”

“You don’t want your mom there?” I knew better than to ask but I also didn’t want her to forget.

She looked out at the pool and her face transformed into devastation. “I want nothing more than for my mother to be here, but I’ve given her ample time, explanation, and money. She still will not come. The ball is no longer in my court.”

“I hate this so much for you. I wish she would at least try.”

Carina took a sip out of her fancy, cocktail glass and sighed. “One day she will regret it. When she doesn’t know her grandchildren and she’s all alone. I tried to get her to move here. I tried to pay off all of her debts. She won’t speak to me.”

As if right on cue, my phone rang. Carina peered over at me. It was my mom. They’d been driving through the mountains on the other side of the country and hardly had good cell reception. I still hadn’t told them about my proposal to Brian or my traveling with Carina. Though I did update my stories on socials. I just didn’t think they saw it. My brother and sister did, thoughthey never commented or sent me a message. Communication was a two-way street and they’d never reached out. I was always the one bridging the gap and I was tired. I was tired of others not putting in work when it came to our relationships so I let it die. If they wanted me, they knew where to find me… or rather, they used to. Now I was a world traveler.

My mom’s youthful face popped into the frame and she grinned! Dad whooped and hollered in the background. “We did it! This stupid, RV satellite WIFI finally works!”

It was a little choppy but I wouldn’t burst their bubble. Mom’s hair was grey and long past her shoulders. Today she wore it up in a bun held together with wooden chopsticks. There wasn’t a lick of makeup on her face and she didn’t need it. She’d never worn it. She said it made her feel claustrophobic. My dad rested his chin on my mom’s shoulder and beamed at me. My chest hollowed out at the sight of them. I’d missed them so much and it never hit me until I talked to them after months of spotty cell service.

“Hi sweetie! We have been following your adventures on social media! How exciting that you’re doing all sorts of traveling.” My mom’s voice cut in and out but I got the gist of what she was saying.

Dad’s hair was combed back away from his face and hadn’t lost all of its dark color like Mom’s had. There was just a sprinkling of grey here and there. He insisted the color in people’s hair went away because of a lack of zinc in their diet. Mom said she didn’t care and loved the silver so she didn’t need any more zinc. Dad on the other hand was scared of getting old and looking old so he took more zinc than he probably needed to. “Brian finally decided he was ready to leave the safety net of home?”

Dad hated Brian. He would never say it or admit it, but he did. Carina laughed and hid it behind a cough. I cut eyes at her.

“Is that Carina?” My mom interrupted. “Tell her ‘hi honey’!”

“Hi!” She called out but didn’t enter my camera frame. She was now sporting some large black sunglasses and I had a feeling she was hiding unshed tears behind them.

“Carina is getting married!” I said excitedly.

“Oh, we know, dear, we saw it on socials already,” Her tone saidduh. “He is certainly a looker!”

Before I could stop her, Carina was up out of her chair and grabbing my hand. She shoved my hand into the frame and said “So is Audrey!”

Dad frowned and Mom’s face seemed to freeze. “What?”

That wasn’t exactly the reaction I was hoping for but it was also why I hadn’t told them yet. I should have told them before this though. What a mess.

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