Page 98 of The Invitation
Sutton rests her hand on my thigh. “You don’t know that.”
“Oh, I kind of do. And she’s literally the only family I have. I don’t want to lose that, do you know what I mean?”
“She’s your mom, Georgia. She loves you more than anything in the world. Sure, she might’ve had a bad experience with Ripley’s dad, and she might’ve talked shit about it. But when it comes down to her daughter being happy with a really good man, she’ll be supportive.”
I look at her. “Do you even know Felicity Hayes?”
She smiles sadly.
“I wish I could compartmentalize my life,” I say. “Deal with my mom in this box, and the rest of my life in another one.”
“That’s called having boundaries, and yes, you should do that.”
I frown, knowing she’s right.
I have such a hard time drawing boundaries with Mom. At the moment of my life when I should’ve been doing that—creating the framework for our relationship as adults—she was going through the most traumatic part of her life. She lost my dad, then lost Reid Brewer, and then whatever else she’s gone through quietly. And instead of putting up boundaries, I became her therapist.
When she was depressed in bed, I brought her ice cream. I paid the bills. I did her laundry, washed her sheets, and let her cry on my shoulder while trying to motivate her to keep going.
Everyone needs a friend sometimes, and I was hers. We’ve just never gotten past that.
My phone rings and I snatch it up, hoping it’s Ripley. Instead, it’s Mom’s name that flashes on the screen.
“It’s like we beckoned her,” I say, gathering my willpower before I answer. “Hey, Mom.”
“You are never going to guess what happened to me today,” she says, her voice loud and full of emotion.
Here we go …
I pull the phone away from my ear and place her on speakerphone. “You’re right. I’ll never guess.”
Sutton takes a long swig of her wine.
“Eloise and I had dinner last weekend,” she says, talking a mile a minute. “And we were gossiping, as you do.”
Sutton makes a face, contesting that point.
“And I might’ve told her something that Barbara told me,” Mom says. “Barb didn’t say it in confidence, exactly. I’m sure shedidn’t want the world to know she was sleeping with her son’s best friend. But I don’t see it as an awful thing, so I casually mentioned it to Eloise thinking she’d keep it between us.”
“Right.”
“And that bitch went behind my back and told Louisa and of course Louisa ran straight to Barbara and told her what she knew.” She pauses to take a breath. “Barbara knew I told because I was the only person she said anything to. Now I’m the bad guy.”
I sigh. “Well, Mom, you did betray her confidence.”
“I told a mutual friend.Eloise betrayed me, Georgia. Now, none of my friends will talk to me, and there’s an event next weekend and they’re freezing me out.” She starts to cry. “What am I going to do now?”
“Learn a lesson,” Sutton whispers. “That would be a good starting point.”
“Mom, calm down.”
“How? How can I calm down? I’ve lost everyone in my life besides you. That backstabbing Louisa has just stolen my entire social life. I can’t make new friends. I’m too old. Been there, done that and it sucked the first time around. I don’t want to make new friends—I like the ones I have. Had. Whatever.”
She breaks down into a fit of sobs. Her words are slurred, mixing with the tears, and I can’t make sense of anything she’s saying.
“Why don’t you take a bath and relax and give this some time to settle?” I suggest. “Everything looks better after a bath.”
“I’m beside myself. How could they do this to me?”
