Page 81 of Devil in Disguise
“Harlan Kristiansen,” Logan said.
“Oh,” Adrian said. “That’s you, huh? Logan told me he’d met your daughter. Well, I guess he can afford it.”
Dyma so did not want to do this. She said, “This is my mom. Jennifer. And Harlan’s sister, Annabelle.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jennifer said. “Thanksgiving pickup for everybody today, I guess.”
“Do you mind if I check out the interior?” Adrian asked. “I understand the running boards come down when you open the doors, which is a pretty neat trick, and I’d love to see what else they’ve done. Mercedes finally going up against Rolls and Bentley. Nice.”
Jennifer was looking uncomfortable now, like she wasn’t sure which was worse, showing off your ultra-luxury car like an entitled rich person, or refusing to. Dyma said, “Annabelle was just about to go park it, since we’re in a loading zone.”
“Don’t tell me Harlan Kristiansen cares about a parking ticket, not with this car,” Adrian said. “I’d sure like to be in that line of work. Put in barely six months for, what? Twenty million a year? Nice work if you can get it. And have that kind of talent, of course.”
Jennifer opened her mouth, then closed it again. Wanting to defend Harlan, Dyma was sure, and still trying to be polite. Dyma didn’t care about being polite, and she’d had enough. She said, “Yeah, you know what? We’d better take a pass on showing you the car. Nick’s barely four weeks old, my mom’s barely four weeks over having him, and it’s cold out here. And Annabelle needs to go park the car, because my mom doesn’t take advantage of Harlan, not even when it comes to a parking ticket. Go on, Annabelle.”
Annabelle stared at her wildly, then climbed in and took off even as Adrian said, “Whoa. Sorry. Didn’t realize I’d touched a nerve. Hey, if the guy can make that much, good for him. No argument from me.”
“I’m—” Jennifer started to say. Probably,I’m sorry.Or,I apologize for my daughter.
Logan and the other guys were smiling, though, and Dyma was getting that reckless thing again. She could feel it happening, and she couldn’t help it. She said, “Also, I’m not standing here any longer and watching your creepy son smirk at me.”
Jennifer said,“Dyma.”
Adrian said, “What? Now, wait, I—”
Dyma said, “I didn’t tell you, Mom, because I didn’t want you to worry. This guy is why it got so bad with my bitchy roommates. Because he was in myroom,sexually harassing me with them egging him on. And his buddy, too.” She wheeled on the other kid, whose name she still didn’t know. “And by the way, whoever you are? You need to start thinking for yourself, dude, because right now, you’re just an asshole by association, which might be even worse than being a regular asshole. You’re not just creepy, you’re creepy and weak.”
“Now, wait a minute,” Adrian said. “I’m sure Logan didn’t—"
“Yeah?” Dyma asked. “Are you? Do you think he didn’t say, ‘I bet she fucks like a wildcat?’ Not to mention, ‘I’m going to be hanging around here until I rip off a piece of that?’ How about talking about my lack of pubic hair in front of a whole table full of people like he’d had sex with me, when it was really because he stared at me when I got surprised naked by him and his friends? Is that OK with you?”
“If he really did that—” Adrian started to say.
“Yeah,” Dyma said, “because I’d totally make that up. Because I’d totally tell you this in front of all these guys, who are enjoying watching me be humiliated like they’re getting to do it all over again, because they thinkI’mthe one who should be ashamed here. And you know what, Logan? You know what? You’d better knock that shit off—sorry, Mom—or you’re going to get Me Too’d right out of the dorms and right out of theschool.The world has changed, and we’re not going to take it anymore.”
“If this is how you raise your daughter,” Adrian said to Jennifer, a dark flush spreading over his cheekbones, like Jeff Bezos on discovering that the quarterly performance numbers were down, “I’m not surprised she’s having so much trouble fitting in with her classmates. I’ve heard you don’t come from much of a background, but—"
Dyma thought,No. Just no. Not for one more minute.They could bully her, but they weren’t allowed to bully her mom! And then there was that red mist thing. She had her mouth open to say something, but her mom got there first.
“You seem to be laboring under a serious misapprehension,” Jennifer said. “About my fiancé, who’s as good a man as I’ve ever known, and more hardworking than any of them, because nobody’s ever handed him a thing. I’m not proud because he bought me a fancy car. I’m proud toknowhim. I’m proud tolovehim. And you’re wrong about my daughter, too. Dyma’s smart, she’s tough, and she’s strong. If she says that’s what happened, it’s what happened, and you should be … well, if that weremyson, I think I’d be asking him some pretty hard questions right now. Here’s something to teach our kids. Have your own standards and your own goals in the world beyond surrounding yourself with people who are important to know, because life can surprise you, and not just in a good way, and you may need to rely on nobody but yourself and your good name. Be someone who stands up for herself, but be somebody who stands up for other people, too. That’s my Dyma, and it always has been. And I couldn’t be prouder of her.”
“Which is my mom’s nice way of saying that your son’s a bully,” Dyma said, “probably because you didn’t raise him to be kind. I’m not nice, myself, but at least I know how to be kind. I might punch, but I don’t punch down. But then, that’s because my mom actuallyisnice—andkind—so I had a model.”
Her mom couldn’t seem to think of anything else to say, because she stammered for a minute, then said, “I’m …”
“Yeah,” Dyma said. “But Nick’s getting cold, and so are you. Let’s go upstairs.”
“Happy Thanksgiving!” Jennifer called as they left. And nobody answered.
Her mom started laughing in the elevator. Helplessly. Which meant Dyma had to laugh, too.
“Hormones,” Jennifer said. “I can’tbelieveI said that. I can’t believe you didn’ttellme. Oh, baby. I’m sorry. But why did Idothat?”
“Because you’re awesome?” Dyma said. “Mom. Have youeversaid anything like that? I mean, obviously youweren’t nearly as out there as I was, but still. ‘Have your own goals in the world’? That wasamazing.And Iespeciallyloved, ‘Happy Thanksgiving!’ Only you, Mom.”
“Iknow,”Jennifer moaned. She was still laughing, but you could tell she was also mortified. “Wait until I tell Harlan I just about got in a fight.”
“You did not just about get in a fight. Here. This is my floor. You engaged in some child-defending—and Harlan-defending, too—and you totally won.Ijust about got in a fight, but you saved me. Or Nick saved me, didn’t you, baby? Didn’t you save me? Nobody’s going to hit a woman who’s carrying a baby. Who’s in acast.”
