Page 64 of Home Sweet Home

Kenny poured red wine into a Solo cup and handed it to Evie before turning to West. “Wine, man? I’ve got Jack too. Remember that being more your speed.”

“Love some,” West said.

Evie took a sip. “This is a lot of alcohol for four people.”

“Can I have some?” Ryleigh asked.

Kayla handed Ryleigh a grape juice box. “Here you go.” She turned back to Evie and winked. “Pre-wine.”

“Daddy.” Ryleigh tugged at Kenny’s arm as she sipped on her juice box, pulling him toward the reception space, where Cuddles and Bug rested on the couch.

Kenny grinned as he started to walk away. “Animal Tea Party time. Duty calls.”

“Now that you’re hydrated, I’ll show you around,” Kayla said.

Kayla walked them to the reception area, where there was a small love seat and a glass-topped coffee table with style magazines fanned out on the top. Shelves lined the wall above the sofa, crowded with tiny succulents in pots that, by the looks of them, had been decorated by Ryleigh.

“Nice space helmet,” Evie said as Kayla led them to the back corner.

Kayla rolled her eyes. “It’s a hair dryer. And this is where I’ll practice my dark arts.”

She gestured toward a wall with a tall mirror and a cabinet, where there was a holstered blow-dryer and a glass canister filled with water, holding shiny silver scissors and a tortoiseshell comb. In front of the cabinet was a rotating seat, which West plopped himself down on and started spinning.

“You’re literally a fourth grader,” Evie said as West spun around.

“Hey,” West said. “Fun is fun.”

“Starting with one station,” Kayla said. “But who knows how big my empire will grow?”

“She telling you about her plans for world domination?” Kenny asked, coming up beside Kayla.

“Downright diabolical,” West said.

“Before I forget.” Kayla raised her hand in the air like she’d just remembered something. She reached behind the register and pulled out a box, which she put in Evie’s hand. “I know you’re weird about your birthday, so we can forget about it. But you have to open that first.”

The sip of wine on Evie’s tongue soured. In the excitement of the past few weeks, she’d totally forgotten. It wasn’t a day she usually liked to remember anyways.

West’s eyes widened. “It’s your birthday?”

“Tomorrow.” Evie bit her bottom lip. “Not a big deal.”

After a dramatic sigh that suggested something much worse, Kayla said, “You’re killing me, Evie. Just open it.”

Evie tore at the paper, and when the box came into view, she smiled at the picture on the side. It was a digital scale.

“You won’t shut up about yours. Can’t have you measuring ingredients wrong. It’s for the good of mankind, really.”

“Thanks,” Evie said, giving Kayla a one-armed hug.

“Mom!” Ryleigh shrieked from across the room.

“Dear Lord,” Kayla said then strode toward the other side of the room with Kenny in tow.

There was only one part of the salon left to look at, an empty wall with framed artwork as the only decoration—Ryleigh’s, Evie guessed, based on the crayon medium and general sloppiness. Evie had colored with Ryleigh and knew she wasn’t good at staying inside the lines.

Evie tilted her head, examining one drawing, an amorphous brown blob scribbled with yellow and red lines that zigzagged over it. “What do you think it means?”

“Social commentary,” West said. “On the oppressive nature of being a seven-year-old. Getting handed grape juice when you ask for wine. What kind of bullshit is that?”

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