Page 77 of In It to Win It

I shake my head. “I have to go.”

She closes her eyes briefly. “Okay. You go. Talk to your dad. Think about it. We’ll talk again, when you’re ready.”

My throat feels like a fist is squeezing it, so I just nod again, grab my purse and my jacket, and open the door. I pause, look over my shoulder, and choke out, “Thanks for the dinner.”

Mom and Shirley both stand there, Shirley’s arm around Mom’s shoulders in a comforting gesture, and they share a look.

Wow. I stumble out to my car. Just . . . wow. I thought my life had been disrupted before . . . this really messes me up.

JP

I can’t drink much, since I’m driving home from Grandpa and Chelsea’s place in Santa Monica, but that’s probably a good thing, because otherwise the sniping Dad and Uncle Mark are doing with Grandpa and Chelsea might make me lose it.

Everyone feels the tension, I know. The room is thick with it and Mom’s face shows her discomfort. Somehow the rest of the family found out Everly’s been dating the mayor, and none of them are very pleased that she’s going out with an older man. Riley and Everly have never been exactly close, but when Grandpa says to Everly, “I guess it’s understandable that you’d date anyone you can, since your biological clock is ticking,” I think they’re both going to explode.

“Maybe she’s more than just a baby maker, Grandpa!” Riley shouts at him.

Everly shoots Riley a surprised and grateful glance. “Yeah. Maybe I don’t even want kids.”

“What?” Grandpa glares at her.

“Also, I don’t need a man to justify my worth,” Everly adds.

“Oh for Chrissake. Here we go with the feminist bullshit.”

Even I can’t take this. “Grandpa,” I say in a low, warning tone. “You don’t want to go there.”

“I suppose you’re a feminist too?” he says to me.

“Damn right.” I lift my chin.

Chelsea lays a hand on Grandpa’s arm and leans in to say something in his ear. He rolls his eyes. “My grandsons can’t be feminists.”

We all exchange glances.

“I am,” Théo says.

“Me too,” Harrison, his own son, adds.

“And me.” Asher grins.

“It just means that we think men and women deserve equal rights,” I tell Grandpa. “And women have the right to decide whether they want children or not.”

“Which means controlling their own reproductive health,” Riley adds.

Oh, here we go. I nearly grimace. This is a touchy subject in the family.

“Or who they’re going to date,” Everly adds, leaning over to bump my fist with hers.

Grandpa sighs.

“So, who’s going to win today, Cowboys or Chargers?” I ask loudly.

“How can you even ask that?” Théo jumps in to help. “We have to cheer for the Chargers.”

We start a debate about the game that is more heated than it would normally be, because most of us just don’t care that much about football, but it distracts Grandpa from his sexist views.

So yeah, this family dinner is about as much fun as a tornado in a trailer park. I need to get my ass out of here before I say something I’ll regret.

---