Page 15 of Glad You Exist

I don’t know if it’s because we haven’t been in each other’s company for this long or the talk we just had. Suddenly, my mouth goes dry at his touch. I don’t realize that I’ve been holding my breath until he lets go.

He smiles and shakes his head at me.

“You’re perfect.”

Woooshh.There it was again. That oxygen-sucking vortex.What the hell?

I must look like I’m panicking because he takes a step back. He stands behind me and grips my shoulders gently, “I mean you look perfect…ly fine.”

He urges me to go inside.

“Are you using me as a shield from Aunt Rose?”

Chuckling, he nods. “You caught me. Please protect me from my mother.”

I feelit the second the glass doors swing open, and we step in. There’s weird tension in the air, made even more obvious by the way our moms both suddenly fall silent. They shift in their barstools turning to us as they paste identical casual smiles on their faces.

Earlier when Mom and I arrived, the kitchen was overflowing with servers and cooks. Now that the party staff have cleared out, probably outside to where the guests will mostly be, I can openly gawk and stare in awe at this kitchen. I notice that quite a bit has changed since the last time I was here. When I was younger, this kitchen was all tan and red-wine wood finishing. Now the entire kitchen still has that rustic vibe to it, but the cabinets have been painted a distressed matte black. All except for the white marble top that tops every surface, including the island, where our moms are perched.

Aunt Rose is a retired lawyer. She now moonlights as an interior designer, mostly catering to her friends and family. The kitchen, along with rest of the house, literally looks like it came straight from the pages of one of theArchitecturalDigestmagazines she has laying around their house.

“Hey!” Aunt Rose’s eyes dart back and forth between Brad and me. She lifts an eyebrow, and I realize he still has his hands on my shoulders. I step casually off to the side, letting his hands fall, and I turn my gaze towards my mom, who is shoving something in her purse.

“Mom, you okay?”

“Whatdoyoumean?” You can almost hear the air whish in the hurried way she says that as her head pops up and she feigns confusion. “I’m good, Lizzy.”

I narrow my gaze at her, about to call her out, when Aunt Rose gets up and claps her hands.

“All right, now that my son has decided to join us, should we all head to the lanai and see what my lovely husband is up to before everyone else arrives?”

She rounds the island and opens one (they have three) of their refrigerators. She shoves a banana and a water bottle at Brad’s chest, rolling her eyes. “Here, at least eat that.”

Brad hugs them to his heart as he shoots his mom a wink.

“I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me, Mom.”

Aunt Rose playfully swats his arm as she puts herself in between us then hooks her arms through each of our elbows, beaming at the both of us. “So now that were all friends again…”

Brad nudges his mom, “Mom!” Clearly a warning to not ruin the moment.Too Soon.

I resist the urge to groan as my mom joins in and hooks her arm on my other elbow. They sandwich me in.A laugh shoots out from her mouth as her eyes twinkle conspiratorially.

“Rose, come on, let’s not embarrass the kids when, judging by my daughter’s puffy eyes, they clearly just finished a heart-to-heart.”

She pats my cheeks, and my eyes jump to Brad, who is shaking his head in assurance.

Aunt Rose peeks up at Brad now, a mischievous tilt to her grin. “Come to think of it…”

Brad rolls his eyes as he escapes from his mom’s grasp to down the water and finish off his banana. Once he drops them in their respective waste bins, he opens the door leading to the backyard. “Let’s go before your own guests beat you to your party.”

Ipush open the door into the house and check the library.No Lizzy.

For the last two hours, I have been caught up entertaining relatives, catching up with cousins who live out of state, so I have completely missed the part where Lizzy left her brother’s side. Which is another thing I apparently need to be caught up on. Last I remembered, those two couldn’t be in the same room without constantly bickering. Now they look closer than ever.

Lizzy lit up the second Dan walked in, and when he came over, I half expected some insults thrown back and forth but was surprised when they hugged like they hadn’t just seen each other hours ago. Even more so when Summer followed him in. I will have to ask Liz what that’s about. I got pulled by dad just as I am about to ask Summer where Kyle is.

As I pass by the other rooms, I see that their parents are also there.

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