Page 12 of Hale Yes
Ma tsks. “Oh, that seems silly to go all the way to California for some meeting. Don’t they have something closer to home?”
Don’t roll your eyes, Nic. Don’t do it.
My eyeballs quiver in their sockets but maintain an even stare. “The Academy holds their conference in a different place each year, Ma. Next year it’s in Dallas, and then the next two will be in New York and Miami.”
“Well, I think it’s ridiculous to spend all that money on flights and hotel and?—”
I cut my mother off. “All my expenses were paid by the Academy, and they also pay a generous speaking fee.”
Her lips flatten. “Oh. Well.” She seems disappointed that I cut off any reason for her to criticize me.
Rory leans forward. “How much do you get paid for something like that?” When I hesitate, he prods, “Five-hundred bucks?”
Angelica flashes her most darling smile, her voice turning syrupy. “Don’t embarrass her, honey. It probably wasn’t that much, and Nicci just doesn’t want to say.”
“Twenty-thousand.” I blurt out the truth before I can think better of it, and everyone’s eyes go wide. Pop’s fork clatters to his plate, and Ma makes a little squeaking sound. Angelica looks constipated.
Fuck.
“Dollars?” Rory asks incredulously.
No, pesos, you idiot.
Instead of saying that, I rush to explain. “I was also the keynote speaker for the closing dinner. That’s why it was so much.”
“Well, that’s… that’s something else,” Pop says.
My eyes flit to my mother. I don’t know why I always look to her for approval I never receive, and it annoys the hell out of me that I do.
“I’m sure you did well,” she says, and I feel my body relax a little before she adds, “I certainly hope you didn’t wear your hair like that if you had to get up in front of people and talk.”
I finger the dark curly hair at my shoulder, kicking myself for not putting it in a bun like I usually do. I don’t have perfectly straight blonde hair like Ma and Angelica. It’s honestly a bit wild unless I use a ton of product in it, which I made a point to do tonight before I came. But it wasn’t enough. It’s never enough.
Before I show all the emotions that are trying to seep in around my carefully stacked walls, I toss my napkin on the table and stand.
“Thanks for dinner, Ma, but I have a long drive back to the city. Pop, I’ll take a look at that computer problem you were having before I go.”
And I depart, out of the kitchen and down the wood-paneled hallway to my father’s office. An annoying tear attempts to leak out, but I don’t allow it.No fucking tears, Nicolette Bell. You’re thirty-three years old, for Marie Curie’s sake.
The chair behind Pop’s desk is covered with russet brown leather that’s worn in spots from age. I settle into it and boot up his desktop. There’s an audible whine from the machine, and I shake my head. He refuses to buy a new one, though this one is well past its prime. I look around for the laptop I bought him but don’t see it.
While I’m waiting, my eyes scan over the papers scattered across the aged wooden desk. All of them have some form ofPAST DUEstamped in red on them. I frown, but before I can investigate further, I hear footsteps, so I face the computer and begin typing.
“Hi, honey.” I smell my dad’s Old Spice cologne as he sinks into the guest chair, but I don’t turn around.
“This shouldn’t take me long,” I reply as my fingers fly across the keyboard, entering code to help me find the problem.
He’s silent for a long while before finally saying, “You know how your mother is, Nicci.”
I continue my work, never breaking stride. “I do.”
Another few beats of silence. “She’s not all bad.”
“That’s quite an endorsement,” I shoot back. “They say Ted Bundy wasn’t all bad either. I heard he didn’t desecrate the corpses ofallhis victims.”
Pop snorts before quickly clearing his throat and attempting to sound stern. “Nicolette, you know Bridget adores you, but she has to make sure Angelica feels important too. Your sister has had such a hard life.”
“Yeah, receiving so much affection growing up must have been really hard on her,” I scoff, spotting the problem on the screen and initiating a sequence to get rid of the malware. I don’t mention that any difficulties in Angelica’s life were of her own making.
