Page 108 of Takedown

“Me too. I’m happy for Adam, and between us, he loves the attention they give him.”

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Jason holds my elbow and pulls me to the other side of the room. Tara and Alex seem to be engrossed in conversation, so I let him take me away. As we’re crossing the room, our mother laughs at something Molly says. As if she can sense my eyes on her, she looks up at me. To the unfamiliar person, she seems happy. She’s in a red dress and has her hair in loose curls. She offers me a tentative smile.

“Did you invite her?” I ask Jason. My eyes don’t leave my mother’s, but I don’t smile back. Her show of bravado slips, but in true Diane Dupree fashion, she juts out her chin and continues her conversation with Molly.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Really, Jason? Just a few days ago you tried to give me a guilt trip because she’s suddenly interested in therapy.”

He pulls me into an empty corner, and I cross my arms.

“It wasn’t my intention to give you a guilt trip. I was trying to fix this. Fix our family.”

“Our family isn’t broken, Jason. My relationship with my mother is, but I don’t need you to fix it. It is what it is. It hurts, but I’ve learned to deal with it.”

He nods, but his eyes are sad. He opens his mouth, but he closes it and subtly shakes his head. He seems to ponder his next words. He takes a deep breath and says, “My impulse is to fix things, Mellie. That’s how I’m wired, but I realize that this thing between you and Mom is not my mess to fix. It’s hers. She’s the only one responsible, so as hard as it is, I’m going to leave it alone. I’m sorry for what I said last week, and I’ll apologize to Adam too. If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here. But this is your night, and I don’t want to dredge that shit up.” He sighs and takes both of my hands. “I’m really proud of you. I had no idea you were interested in law school, but I’m so happy you’re pursuing this. You are going to do amazing things.” He pulls me close, puts an arm around my shoulder, and kisses my cheek. “Love you, sis. And just so you know, if you guys move out, we’ll just follow you. Alex and I want one more baby, so we’re thinking of finding a single-family home. We need more space.”

“Love you, too, but you should know you probably won’t be able to afford whatever neighborhood we move to.”

He snorts, and we both burst into laughter. He wraps me in his arms and a wave of emotion hits. A few tears fall, and because I want to annoy him, I wipe my face with his shirt. He lets out an exaggerated gasp and puts me in a headlock like he used to when we were kids. Back then, I could never get out of it, and that hasn’t changed. He tightens the hold, and each time I try to punch him in the stomach, he moves. “You still punch like a girl.” He spins me around in a circle while messing my hair.

“You ass! Do you know how long it took me to do my hair?” He runs a hand through it, making a bigger mess of it. “Let go.”

“You’re still smellie.” He laughs and reaches for a drink from a passing server, but he never lets me go. I start to laugh and throw more air punches. At least until Adam steps back into the room with Ethan. His eyes narrow when he spots us. He looks absolutely ridiculous walking into the room holding a glass with a pink cocktail.

“Dupree, hands off my wife or I’m going to put my hands on you.”

“Your wife has been my sister for almost three decades.” To prove his point, he messes my hair again before he finally lets me go. “Deal with it.”

Adam scowls at Jason, who does an exaggerated scowl back. He even growls at him, but he offers Adam his hand. Adam takes it, and Jason leans in and gives him a half hug before he walks away.

Adam hands me the pink drink. “I saw the bartender make this for someone else and thought you might like it. It looks like the type of girly stuff you drink.” Ethan lets out a snort at Adam’s words, but I take the drink from my husband and give him a quick kiss in gratitude.

“Thanks, stud.” I offer him a sip, but he makes a face of disgust after tasting it. “Did you three have a nice chat?” Elizabeth smiles and Ethan nods.

“We did.” Elizabeth steps between me and Adam and wraps an arm around mine. “We’re leaving around noon tomorrow but want you to come spend the night with us. Vincent’s there with the nanny and he would love to see you.”

“Sure. Sounds fun, and I want to talk to you and Tara about being in the wedding. Vincent can be a ring bearer with Addison, and we’ll find something for Ethan.”

Elizabeth gasps in surprise before all the words are fully out of my mouth. “We’d love to,” she says right before she hugs me tight. “Thank you,” she whispers in my ear.

While dinner is being served, Adam pulls me aside and says, “By the way, Elizabeth is like a pit bull with a bone about the damn holidays, but I told her we haven’t talked about them yet. I’ll let you decide which ones we spend with them, but I want us at home at Christmas. Ma goes to Ireland around every Thanksgiving, so we can go to New York, but only if you want to. The only thing I want is for us to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with Ma at home, preferably in our new house.”

I quickly agree, but my eyes narrow when I see Elizabeth not only chatting with Molly but laughing. I nudge Adam in the ribs and point in their direction.

“I’ll give your sister five minutes before she invites your mother for all the holidays for the next twenty years. I’ll placate her and agree to Thanksgiving, but she won’t be satisfied with just that. I love the idea of Christmas at home. I might even host.” I look around the room and lower my voice and say, “What the hell are we supposed to give them for Christmas? Oh my God! What about a wedding gift? They’re filthy rich. You couldn’t come from a regular family?”

He looks down at me and furrows his brows. When I shrug, he laughs and subtly slaps my ass. “Thank goodness I have a wife to worry about that stuff for me. Just make sure you leave cheapskate Mel behind when you shop for them.”

Tina arrives, holding a big gift bag.

“You call me any time to talk. I know a little something about law school.”

“Hey, aren’t you the one who gave my wife legal advice about ending our marriage?” Tina laughs and takes Adam into a hug. She kisses both of his cheeks. “I only invited you to rub our happiness in your face.”

“Well, the joke’s on you because I knew there would never be a divorce. Now, what’s this I hear about you being a secret gazillionaire? I should bill you for the legal advice I gave to your wife.”

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