Page 41 of Faking Ever After

“Precisely so, Percy,” Dimitrios said, amused and not hiding it.

We got out of the car. Percy wore a suspicious expression, and I came near him, letting my arm brush against his. I looked up at him. “Are you alright?”

“Ah, yeah,” he said. “I just hate this sort of thing.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” he said, resigned. We walked into the house while Dimitrios pulled the car away. In there, Judith’s laughter ran against the walls and ceilings. It ricocheted against the floor, bounced off an antique vase, and struck me so hard that I halted.

Just as I thought we were about to interrupt a private conversation, I noticed that it wasn’t just Judith and Benny sitting on the terrace but the entire family, as well as two other people. Everyone stared politely at Judith, who was quivering with laughter, and the man who sat next to her was grinning, beaming with pride at having told a mildly successful joke. Emily, sitting at the head of the table, legs crossed under her butt and elbows propped on the surface of the table, wore a peculiar expression as if awaiting a punchline that promised to fall flat.

“Oh, Benny,” Judith bemoaned, gasping for air. “Tell them about Phill.”

“Who, darling?” Benny asked loudly.

Percy’s arm stretched in front of me, making sure I didn’t move forward.

“Phill, Benny, Phill. The one who goes fishing,” Judith said.

Something clicked on the distant face and the man lit up. “Ah, of course, yes. Now, listen here, my friend Phill likes fishing, alright? That man will go fishing no matter what. Sun, rain, snow, he’ll be out there. One Saturday, he hooks something big. He’s reeling it in, sweating bullets, imagining the massive fish he’s caught. Finally, after an epic struggle, he pulls up… an old boot. Not just any boot, mind you, but one with a story. Phill starts wondering who owned this boot, where it came from, and what adventures it’s seen. He looks at it, turns it over, and, get this…” Benny paused dramatically. “And he says, ‘Guess I’m having shoe soup for dinner!’” He clapped his hands loudly inthe next instant, leaning back in his chair, and laughter pealed upward.

“Oh, dear Lord,” Percy whispered in horror.

“Have mercy,” I whimpered.

Judith slammed her wine glass on the table and fanned her pursed lips in panic, close to spitting her wine.

“Charming,” Lawrence said, a small smile on his lips.

“Isn’t it, darling?” Alicia said to Lawrence.

The two people I didn’t know wore polite expressions that hardly masked their apprehension.

But it was Emily who stabbed us in our backs. She lifted her gaze and met Percy and me. Percy pressed his finger against his lips, stepping backward and pulling me with him toward the stairs, and Emily pulled on her mischievous smirk. “Oh, look, everyone. Percy and Muffinn are back.” She folded her hands innocently under her chin when everyone else lit up and looked at us.

Percy was caught in the middle of a throat-cutting gesture when the guests at the table turned their heads.

I took Percy’s hand off his throat and pulled it down, holding it between us. “Smile, darling,” I said.

“I am smiling,” he said, his lips stretched to bare his teeth like a rabid dog.

“Maybe a tad more warmth,” I suggested.

Percy pulled me by my hand forward and forced politeness into his smile. As we crossed the large interior and neared the terrace where the thin, white curtains were parted to let the air in, I saw more of the gathering. The people I didn’t recognize wore elegant and minimal clothes. They were both around the same age as Lawrence and Alicia, and their matching gold rings revealed their relationship. The woman wore a cream dress that was neither too revealing nor too conservative, while the man’s shirt was white, and his sleeves rolled to his elbows.

Benny, however, wore a Hawaiian shirt on beige khakis and brown flip-flops. His black hair was thin and thinning right before my eyes. Long, black strands were combed from the right side over his scalp to the left, and thick beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. He wore a cropped mustache that shaded the spacious area above his upper lip. For a man suffering from the heat so much, his dark eyes were surprisingly clear and sharp. When we stepped through, Benny was in the middle of chewing a very large bite of a chicken drumstick, his fingers red from the tomato paste, which gave the flavor to orzo and chicken. He quickly took a napkin and wiped his fingers clean, then produced a handkerchief to dab his forehead.

“Ah, darling, it’s so wonderful to see you,” said the woman, getting up.

“Julia,” Percy said warmly, kissing her on both cheeks. “And Neil.” He gripped the man’s hand, and the two embraced each other.

“Percy, you look good,” Neil said.

“So do you,” Percy said. “Finally making good use of that gym membership?”

“You know it, son,” Neil replied.

“Let me introduce my boyfriend, Finn,” Percy said. “Finn, these are my godparents, Julia and Neil.”

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