Page 49 of Fauxmance

The older lady gave me a real smile then. "It's Davenport, dear. Constance Davenport. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

I swallowed.

"Hello, Grandma," Hayden said.

She nodded. "Grandson. It's been an age since I last saw you."

"It hasn't been that lo—"

"Four months," she cut in. "No visits or phone calls, not even a postcard from one of those dives you and your band play for."

"They're not all dives," Hayden murmured, but Constance Davenport was having none of it.

"You refuse to come see me—"

"I didn't exactly refuse..."

"—you don't respond to any of my texts—"

"Come on, Grandma."

"— you leave me to wonder if you're dead or alive. You could've been lying in a ditch somewhere for all I knew. And now, here you are. At a wedding when I thought you'd sworn them off forever. You also apparently have a girlfriend, who is well-spoken, friendly, and if I'm being honest, altogether too wholesome for the likes of you. Hayden Bartholomew Davenport, I'm waiting for an apology, and I'd better hear one soon. Or else."

Hayden's eyes were wide as they went from his grandmother to me and back again.

"I'm sorry, Gigi," he said. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"Psh," she said, "I wasn't worried."

Didn't sound that way to me, I thought.

"And cut it out with the 'Gigi' stuff. I know you only use that when you want something. I'm still mad at you for not calling."

"Again, I'm sorry. I meant to call. I just got busy."

"With your band?" Constance sniffed. "Or with all of your extracurricular activities? The endless spending, the parties, the girls, don't imagine I'm unaware of those. I have eyes and ears everywhere."

I had no trouble believing that. This woman was intense.

Hayden's face was a deep crimson, but he didn't back down.

"I've changed," he said.

"Have you?"

"Yes. My priorities were messed up for a while. But I'm good now."

She shook her head sadly. "I've heard it all before, Hayden. What proof is there that you've made any changes? How do I know you're not just going to do major damage to yourself and the family name again?"

Hayden linked his hand with mine. "I have a girlfriend now. Surely, that says something."

Grandma Constance remained unmoved.

"Magnolia isn't just some groupie I'm hooking up with," he went on. "I genuinely like her and care what she thinks."

My heart skipped around in my chest, but his grandmother feigned a yawn.

"I'm serious, Grandma. I'm a new person."

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