Page 68 of A Very Miller-Cooper Life

“I’m sure you are,” Reagan said with a wink. “Are you going to be just as glad when we relive high tea in a few days?”

I thought Reagan was crazy when she said we should go to “high tea” for old time’s sake, but the way my mom’s face lit up when I told her we wanted to made it all worthwhile. “I have a good feeling about it. My mom is a completely different woman than the last time we went and it’s just family this time, so we don’t have to worry about trying to impress anyone.”

“Carter and Olivia are going to hate it.”

Reagan and I both laughed together. “I know they are,” I said. “That’s part of the reason I want to do it.”

“Exactly. Everyone deserves to be subjected to high tea at some point.”

*

“Remind me again why we have to do this,” Olivia said, her voice whiny as if she was a child.

“Because it’s important to your grandma.”

Olivia pushed out her bottom lip. “I still don’t understand what the hell high tea is if it doesn’t involve marijuana.”

I tried to keep a straight face as I leaned in to whisper to Reagan. “Totally your daughter.”

Olivia lifted an eyebrow and smirked. “What was that?”

Reagan playfully slapped Olivia’s arm. “She said don’t do drugs.”

Olivia snorted. “Yeah. Sure she did.”

Carter shrugged. “If it makes grandma happy, how bad can it be?”

“Kiss ass.”

Olivia rolled her eyes at Carter and Carter stuck her tongue out at her in response.

All I could do was shake my head. “How is it that you two are nearing thirty and whenever you get together you still act like children? It’s the same with your brother.”

Olivia put her hand on her hip and raised both eyebrows at us. “That’s what you get for having three of us at once.”

“Nobody asked for that. Trust me,” Reagan said with a laugh.

“Whatever.” Olivia tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Get what over with?” my mom said as she walked into the hallway where we were waiting by the door to leave.

“Mama’s driving,” Olivia answered quickly. “She always makes me sick.”

My mom waved her hand and headed out the front door. “Don’t worry. High tea isn’t far from here.”

“Perfect,” Olivia said with a sarcasm everyone but my mom caught onto.

As soon as we walked into the building, I noticed both Olivia and Carter eyeing up the bar. “Just say you’re going to the bathroom,” I whispered to them. “Your grandma will never know the difference.”

The girls took my advice to heart and three different times announced they were going to the restroom together, each time coming back a little more giggly than the time before.

“Like mothers like daughters, huh?” Reagan whispered after their third bathroom trip.

“Not going to lie, I’m kind of jealous,” I whispered back.

My mom looked between all of us with a big grin on her face. “I’m glad to see everyone is having such a nice time.”

If my mom was completely unaware of what was happening at high tea when she was in her fifties, she was even more unaware now that she was in her eighties. So much so that it almost made me feel guilty.Almost.

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