Page 81 of Red Mountain Burning
“I’m not sure you’re cut out for smoking,” Carly said.
“No, no. I think I proved how uncool I was the last time.” Margot sat down on the same brick step but several feet away. The inn was lit up and gorgeous on the other side of the property. Thankfully, it also blocked any view of the new Drink Flamingo site.
“I just wanted to thank you again,” Margot said.
“It’s really not that big of a deal. I feel like I’m starting to drown in your thanks.”
“That would be a good way to go, wouldn’t it? To drown in thanks?” Margot didn’t wait to see if her joke hit home. She said, “It is a big deal, Carly. It means a lot to me and your dad that you’d step in to help.”
Margot had heard that the Japanese were very comfortable sitting in silence and that they believed you should speak only if you have something important to say. Margot tapped into their culture as she breathed in a full minute of silence.
It was in the quiet that an authentic curiosity arose. “Have you talked to your mom lately?”
Carly shook her head. “Not in a few days. Why do you ask?”
Margot straightened. “Can I admit something to you?”
“I guess so.”
Here goes, Margot thought.No turning back now.“It’s always been in the back of my mind that Remi might fall in love with her again. Or go back to her. And I sometimes punish him for it for no reason at all.”
Carly blew out a puff of smoke with a snide chuckle. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I tried for a long time to get them back together, and it just kept getting worse. I’m not sure they were ever a good match.”
Though she felt bad for Carly, Margot was pleased to hear her take. “She’s really beautiful, but what’s she like? Are you more like Remi or your mom?”
“I guess more like my dad. Well…I can be a bitch, like my mom.”
“You hide it so well, though,” Margot said, letting the words slip out before she could stop herself. “I would have never known.”
Carly turned to Margot. “I don’t mean to be that way to you. It’s just...” She stopped and took a puff.
“It’s just what?”
Carly met her eyes again. “Nothing.”
“Oh, no, Carly. I’m not letting you off the hook. This is a safe space. You can say whatever you want. It’s just me and a billion stars.”
Her future stepdaughter flicked an ash. “You just seem, like, kind of fake half the time.”
“Okay, this just got real,” Margot said, breathing through the comment. At least, they were getting somewhere. “Tell me what you mean by that.”
“Well, let’s see. Is there anything more important to you than losing weight and fitting into that stupid dress and having theperfectwedding?”
Margot felt the sting of that one. “Maybe I do need a cigarette.”
As Carly reached for the pack, Margot waved her off. “Just kidding.”
She thought about what she might say next and then, “Yes, there are a lot more important things to me than getting into that dress and having a wonderful wedding. Jasper. You and Remi and your relationship. All the animals down in the sanctuary. The inn. It just so happens that fitting into the dress seems like the biggest challenge of all of those other things.”
“Why does it even matter? Who cares? And why go around acting like everything is all right all the time?”
“Is that what it seems like?” Margot asked.
“Totally. You’re living in la-la land.”
The gloves were off. Margot intended to tread carefully, but if they were going to build some sort of foundation with honesty, she had things to say. “Okay, fair enough. You make some good points. Let me ask you. Why do you go around hiding in that hoodie? You act like the whole world has done you wrong. Guess what? You’re not the only one whose parents got a divorce and found new love. In fact, last time I heard, more than half of marriages end in divorce. Look at Jasper. He’s not moping around like some sort of victim.”
Carly stared at her own feet.
