Page 22 of Can We Skip to the Good Part?
“Know exactly the words she needed to hear. Can you pass me that tray?”
“I didn’t. I just thought about what I would want someone to say to me.” She handed over the tray, and their hands brushed against each other in the transfer. Max ignored the pricks of warmth that moved up her arm. “I can finish up in here.” Ella turned, her hand on her hip.
Max held up both palms. “I think that’s my cue.” She crossed behind Ella on her way to the living room, hearing Morgan’s voice drift in through the window that divided the two spaces. But she had a final thought. “You know, it’s possible that all the things you seem to think about me aren’t exactly who I am.”
“If you say so.”
Wow. The softness Ella’d reserved for Stevie was nowhere to be found in her frosty delivery to Max. Ella clearly didn’t like her, and as much as she thought about all the things Rachel could have said about her to Ella, none of them would warrant this kind of ice out. “So it’s going to be like that?” She sounded so juvenile, even she could hear that.
Ella shrugged, features still. “We’re in a book club together. I don’t have to like it, but I can certainly be cordial, and it seems you can be, too. What more is there to say?”
“Nothing,” Max said, her own disdain emerging. Why had she liked this girl again? “I’ll leave you the kitchen.”
“Mhmm.”
Max grabbed one of the wineglasses Stevie had set out as she passed. She wasn’t driving tonight and planned to take advantage of it, sick of life’s bullshit and ready to forget it all. Ella Whatever-Her-Last-Name-Was included.
“Hey, you,” Morgan said from her traditional spot on the couch. The wine was already open, which was a good thing. Max helped herself to a splash of red. “How was your week?”
“Shit. And I don’t use the term lightly.”
“Oh, no.” Sweet Morgan’s face pulled into a frown. “Your mom?”
“I’m not sure she’s speaking to me after I refused to play straight in front of my grandmother.” She sighed, still feeling like she ruined the dinner, whether she’d been on the right side of the argument or not. Everyone should get to enjoy their one day of the year. She still had trouble forgetting the look on her mother’s face when she’d told her extended family that she was a lesbian a few years back. Her splash of wine was gone. Another was called for.
“Do your parents like you?”
“Um, I think so,” Morgan said with an apologetic cringe. She was showing her innocence again. “They’re married and settledand more supportive than most of the parents I know. I mean, they make spaghetti every Thursday. Some people might say boring.”
“I would never say that. Mine aren’t awful by any means, but sometimes they make me feel like …”
“You disappoint them,” she said quietly.
“Yes. That.” Max tossed back the rest of her glass and then set it aside. Maybe she’d take a break.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
She turned back to see Ella standing a few feet behind her with a completed cheese and charcuterie tray worthy of a photo shoot.
“I hope Stevie won’t mind me finishing up on her behalf.”
“Where is she anyway?” Morgan asked, craning her neck to see down the hall.
“Me?” Ariana asked, appearing in the entryway. “Right here. And, surprise! I brought Olive. She was loitering out front, so I thought, why not?”
Olive, bless her, dropped her brows and reddened. “I was just walking up. No loitering.”
Ariana loved to mess with her. She slung an arm around Olive’s neck and grinned. “It was a joke, Olive. You make it too easy.”
“I’m not a loiterer,” Olive said quietly to Morgan as she slid onto the couch.
Morgan patted her knee. “I know this about you.”
“Hi, there, everyone,” Stevie said, appearing from the hallway. “Brief announcement. I already told Ella and M, but let’s just get it out there.” Ariana and Morgan exchanged a look. Olive sat taller. “Dominic and I are going our separate ways.”
“Stevie,” Morgan said quietly. She was close enough to reach out and squeeze Stevie’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“He didn’t cheat on me. We still like each other. It’s probably just that I’m primarily interested in women.”
