Page 41 of Reckless

Her mother harrumphed, clearly agitated that Harlow hadn’t risen to any bait so she shifted her tactics. “I’m sure that’s what your father did and why you turned out this way. Gloria? You call your mother by her first name now? Is that how you were raised?” Gloria, who’d been the one to insist Harlow call her that instead of mother, said imperiously.

Ok then, how about some radical truth?Let’s see how you like it. “You told me when I was fourteen that it made you look old when I called you mom and to call you Gloria. It’s a habit now. How are you?”

Her mother’s eyebrows rose. Clearly, she expected Harlow to shrink under that tone, and maybe she would have if she hadn’t been holding her niece who so clearly was not having anything Gloria was selling. And Gloria made no move to snatch Lulu from Harlow’s arms which she found really confusing. Her mother wasn’t one to sit around waiting for someone to comply with her demands.

Hector stepped between them and held his hands out. “Hey, baby, come give Daddy some love and I’ll let you eat off my plate. Mommy made short ribs.”

Lulu held Harlow’s face in her tiny hands and left a slobbery kiss on her chin before she moved to her dad.

“I got a call from some media person today,” Gloria said as she rose and headed to the table without acknowledging Miles at all.

“I’m giving this ten minutes and if it doesn’t improve significantly we are leaving,” she told Miles quietly. There was something with this call and when Gloria finally let it out, it’d be time to leave or confront whatever nonsense it was.

“I’ll follow your lead. But remember you’re here for your brothers, not her.” He kissed her cheek, and they went back to the table where he held her chair out before sitting next to her.

“No one is going to ask what this media person wanted?” Gloria said like she was confused.

“Who wants mashed potatoes?” Mindy called out and sent a giant bowl on a circuit around the table.

“What did that person want?” Luis asked, doing the legwork of their mother so she could continue this fit.

Mindy sent him a scathing look that made him flinch a little.

“Afterthosepictures showed up on the internet, naturally everyone is asking if Harlow is sleeping with her boss.”

Harlow whipped her head to face Gloria. “Stop making a picture of me standing in a clothing store being kissed quickly by my boyfriend sound like it’s a sex tape. And I don’t have a boss. I’m my own boss. Anyway, why would anyone askyouanything about me in the first place?”

Gloria sneered. “He’syour boss. You’re playing on his tour. I guess we know why.”

“Boys, can you please take your plates to the tv room?” Mindy asked and held a finger up to silence Gloria.

They were hesitant but when they remembered there were gaming consoles and sodas in the fridge in the garage, they scooted out with a backwards glance at their grandmother.

“I didn’t come over here to not be able to spend time with my grandsons. You can’t just withhold them.”

“No one invited you to come over here in the first place,” Mindy said through a clenched jaw.

Hector looked at his wife with a mixture of anxiety and pride.

“This is my family,” Gloria said as she leaned in, using her iciest tone on Mindy. “I don’t need to be invited.”

Exhaustion washed through Harlow as the inevitable began to play itself out just as she’d dreaded. The last thing she wanted was to be there, feeling this way because of Gloria.

“Enough.” Harlow stood. “Mindy and Hector, thank you for inviting us to your home. Luis, I hope this is rock bottom for you. God knows you should be ashamed of yourself for enabling her bullshit.” She nodded at her brother who knew a scene was going to happen when Gloria walked in. He knew she was right because he cast his eyes down without an argument.

“Don’t you speak to him that way,” Gloria said.

Harlow continued like Gloria hadn’t said anything. “I’m done trying to have a relationship with anyone who helps her harm me.” She didn’t say she hoped to see them the following night because the way she felt right at that moment was that she never wanted to lay eyes on Luis or Gloria again. Hector, who’d saidnothingto defend her was up there too.

But Gloria wasn’t done. Obviously. She was a world master champion shit starter. “So it’s true. You’re opening your legs to your boss?”

Hector groaned.

“Who I do and do notopen my legs foris absolutely none of your business despite your lifelong obsession with my sexuality. Do not insult Miles, who was invited to be here for a meal, not some sort of talk show set where half the family starts beating each other up. You’ve all embarrassed yourselves enough.”

“If anyone leaves, it should be Gloria,” Mindy said, surprising the hell out of Harlow. And everyone else from the shocked looks she was getting. “Go ahead and pretend you didn’t know this exact thing would happen, Luis. But this is my house. And Harlow and Miles are invited guests and family who brought wine, presents forallthe kids and a good attitude. Let’s contrast that with you, Gloria.Notinvited. Pretends your youngest grandchild doesn’t exist for some reason I think relates to why you don’t like your daughter. Or me. Whatever do we all have in common?” Mindy mimicked being puzzled while she tapped her chin.

In the tv room the boys hooted and laughed and had a good time and Harlow was relieved, so relieved, they weren’t touched by any of this. Because she felt sick. Sick that her mother would make Lulu feel like she’d made Harlow feel her whole life.

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