Page 86 of The Weekend Crashers
She’s going back to Ethan’s, and this time she’s not leaving until she speaks to her daughter.
Piper wakes up and reaches for Ethan, but he’s already gone from their bed. She looks at the ring on her finger and sighs withcontentment. It’s so cozy in the warmth of the comforter, she feels she could stay there forever. Then she sits up with a start: Maggie.
She jumps out of bed. Seven hours of sleep hasn’t alleviated her anger. If anything, she feels worse. Maggie’s transgression becomes more and more damning the more she thinks about it. She doesn’t want to be bogged down in this negativity; this should be one of the happiest weekends of her life. So she turns things over and over in her mind, looking for some angle that gives her an emotional exit ramp, a way to just let it go. But she keeps coming back to this: The one thing she always knew for sure was that she and Maggie never lie to one another. But her mother did lie. She did!
Even if Maggie genuinely thought Ethan would somehow be putting pressure on her with a marriage proposal—and Piper still doesn’t understand that logic—that misbelief should have ended Friday night when Piper confided in her. She should have told Piper the truth.
She finds Ethan in the kitchen, his back to her while he rummages through the refrigerator. She plans to walk right over and put her arms around him, but stops short, her attention caught by a vase of towering white lilies, their heady, intoxicating scent mixing with the aroma of fresh coffee.
“What are these for?” she says, kissing Ethan on the cheek. He’s freshly shaven and dressed for work. He doesn’t answer, but takes her hand and leads her to a chair at the table in their tiny little corner breakfast nook.
“I know you’re upset with Maggie. But I don’t want that to overshadow the joy we should be feeling.”
She kisses him. “It’s not. And I want to keep it that way.”We wanted it to be ours. Piper can hear Lexi saying the words that she didn’t fully appreciate at the time. But now she understands them completely. “So I have a request,” she says,stepping back just enough to look him in the eyes. “I don’t want a big wedding. I want to elope.”
Ethan frowns. “Really?”
“Yes. It’s the only way to get married on our own terms.”
“Let’s see how you feel in time. I know you’re upset right now, but I think you’d really regret excluding your mother.”
“I won’t. I’m thinking about a lot of conversations I had with people this weekend. I’m not the only one who feels this way. In fact—you know Cole?”
“Don’t remind me,” Ethan says, but smiles. They can laugh at his jealousy now that they’ve come through the weekend.
“Cole hid an entire relationship from his father just to avoid upsetting him. And it all came out over the weekend, and it made me realize how questionable some of my own choices have been. Like, how much am I doing because I want to, and how much have I chosen to make my mother happy? No more of that. It’s you and me.”
She can tell by the expression on his face that he thinks she’s being reactive, but he won’t push for now. He just kisses her cheek, takes her hand and suggests they go grab breakfast at Barney Greengrass before he heads into the office.
They grab their coats and take the stairs down to the first floor. She stares at the ring as she walks. After all the time she spent thinking about it, now it’s on her finger. She feels a little foolish for all her worry. All this time, Ethan was never the problem. It’s been her relationship with her mother.
The lobby, as always, smells like their first-floor neighbors’ cigarette smoke, and one of the overhead lights is out, making the narrow space dingier than usual. Also unusual is someone sitting on the vestibule bench... knitting.
And that someone is her mother.
“What are youdoinghere?” She glances back at Ethan, who holds up both palms as if to say,Calm. Easy. It’s okay.
Maggie jumps up, her face tense and determined.
“I understand that you’re upset with me. But Piper, you can’t just refuse to talk. And I’m not leaving until we do.”
Piper shakes her head. Beside her, Ethan says, “I have to get to work, anyway—”
“No,” Piper says sharply. “We’re going to have breakfast.”
“I’ll wait for you outside,” he says. Before she can object, Ethan is off down the corridor, the heavy front door opening with a groan and then slamming shut behind him. Her mother grabs hold of Piper’s left hand.
“Are you—”
Piper turns back to Maggie and shakes her hand free. “Yes. We’re getting married,” Piper says.
“Oh, sweetheart. Congratulations.”
She moves to hug her, but Piper takes a step back.
“Congratulations?You told him not to propose. This only happened in spite of you.”
“I understand how you feel. That’s why I want to talk it through.”
