Page 227 of Lovers' Dance

I shrank back against Matt as they marched into the sitting room to comfort the inconsolable Jenny. I don’t know why she was still carrying on. She knew I would write her another cheque. I wasn’t the drama queen, she was.

“Poppet.” Matt rubbed my back in slow circles.

“I should go in there and apologize,” I said in a small voice before moving away from his comforting touch. He followed me into the sitting room. I tugged on my beige sweater dress, noticing the small stain by my stomach. Must be gravy. Jenny was wailing, surrounded by an outpouring of concerned relatives. She had always been the favourite, she was my favourite, too.

“Jenny, I—” I began when Ms Regina, the woman who wouldn’t let me call her grandma, started in on me.

“How you gonna make my Jenny cry like this? On Thanksgiving to boot.” She wagged a finger at me. She looked like a frail old woman, but her tongue was sharp. She unleashed that sharpness on me. “You’d better write her a new cheque for her studies. Tearing up her cheque and breaking your word like that. You said you would pay—”

“Now, wait a minute,” Matt interjected in a calm voice.

“Hey, man, this is family business.” Uncle David’s brother jumped in, followed by a few low murmurs of agreement.

“It’s the least you can do,” Ms Regina continued as Jenny sobbed in Aunt Cleo’s arms. Uncle David was patting her shoulder while Jamal looked on as he bit into an apple. He would spoil his dinner if he kept on snacking.

“I beg your pardon?” Matt queried in a shocked voice. “The least she could do? What is that supposed to mean?”

“It’s okay, Matt,” I muttered quickly. I didn’t want them turning on him.

Ms Regina didn’t like being questioned. She pushed her glasses up her nose and peered at Matt and me. “What? You think food and board is free? She owes this family. My son took her in.”

And that opened the flood gates. Everyone wanted to have their say. I stood there, silent as a stone, and let their comments wash over me. Matt kept his hand on my lower back while they voiced their unwanted opinions about me, about each other. Not only was it humiliating to have Matt present as it occurred, but I blamed myself for being the spark to ignite the flame that was consuming a peaceful Thanksgiving. I should have ignored the conversation in the snug. For a quarter of an hour, there were raised voices, snide name calling and general mayhem. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise, and all I wanted to do was say sorry to stop Jenny’s tears. I would write her a new cheque and explain it was the stress of being in the kitchen and worrying about Thanksgiving that had made me rip up the cheque.

Then Jenny, sobbing, had looked over at me with hate in her eyes as she said, “Ma was right about you. You’re a troublemaker like your mom was. Stirring up shit all the time. You want to see me fail. You’ve always been jealous of me. Always thinking you were better than us. Well, you’re not and screwing some rich white man won’t change that. You’re ungrateful. If my parents didn’t have to take care of you for all those years, they would’ve paid for me to go to college themselves.”

Each word she uttered felt like a blade to my heart. What hurt more was the lack of response from Aunt Cleo and Uncle David. I guess…I guess I couldn’t expect any support from them. She was their only daughter after all, and I was not.

Matt’s touch on my back fell away. He pulled his cell out and made a call.

“I want you out front. Now,” he commanded, before hanging up and slipping his phone back into his pocket. Then his tone softened as he said, “Go get your stuff, poppet. We’re leaving.”

I tilted my head upwards in order to see his face. He gave me a small smile and gestured towards the door.

“She’s not going with you.” Gemma jumped in. “This is family business.”

A chorus of muted mhmms followed her statement.

“Family,” Matt said, with a coldness that silenced the room. “You people have no idea what that word means.” He looked at my aunt and uncle. “I’ve watched the way you treated Madi these past few days and it’s appalling, bordering on emotional torment. That’s not family. You took her in when her parents died, something many people would say is noble.” His face hardened into a haughty mask. “What you’ve done for her is not noble. Do you think giving her a roof over her head absolves you from the emotional starvation you’ve subjected her to? She looks to you for constant affirmation that she belongs, and you deny her that. She doesn’t owe any of you a bloody thing.” Matt scoffed at Jenny. “And you should get a job, not expect your cousin to pay your way. If you want to make something of yourself, then work for it like she’s done. You’re spoilt, and you need to grow up.”

That caused an eruption of “Who the hell does he think he is?” interspersed with “Damn fool thinks he can talk to us like that.”

Matt’s jaw clenched, his face was deep red with anger. He looked at me and repeated, “Get your stuff, Madi.”

Everyone fell silent. I blinked, looking at my aunt. It was fucked up, but she was the closest thing I had to a mother.

“I can’t, Matt.”

The colour drained from his face. “Poppet—”

I shook my head, tears brimming over. “I can’t, Matt.”

“Madi, if you don’t come with me now—” He broke off, not needing to finish his sentence. His warning. Matt held a hand out to me. If I didn’t take his hand, we would be over. I could see that in his eyes. I could see him silently willing me to put my hand in his.

“I can’t,” I whispered, and Matt’s hand fell to his side.

His throat bobbed up and down for a moment, then his beautiful grey eyes lost all emotion as he said, “Since the first moment I met you, I have never been ashamed of you. Today I am.”

Of all the things that had been said to me, that hurt the most. I wanted to explain why I couldn’t leave but my mouth stayed shut.

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