Page 10 of Big Baby
So I nodded at Victoria’s girlish giggles and gave her another hug.
“How are you?” Vicky said, her head close to mine. She was aware of my news, had helped me prepare how to tell the parents. She’d arranged this entire night for me, to make it easier. Gave me the buffer of the fiancé they didn’t like, she said. We’d get through this together, she assured. If only she fucking knew.
Would she even want to be around me after this?
I resisted the urge to pat my stomach, protective of what was growing in there. “I’m okay,” I told the truth. “Over the worst of it now, I think.”
She gave me a warm smile and another hug, then, with her eyes steady on mine, took a deep breath in and out. Here we go. All of a sudden, that familiar wave of nausea heated my neck, made me green at the gills. I shut it down, swallowed, and braced myself.
“Zora,” my mother said, choosing not to rise from her seat as we approached the beautifully decorated table. Dad did stand, giving me a quick, silent pat on the back, before settling in front of his salad. Everything was so neat and pretty, intricate. Victoria always had a way with decorating, a good eye for detail. I was much more gung-ho. Chucking things together because I liked them and nothing more.
Victoria nipped away and returned with three more plates balanced in her hands. I took two and handed them out before sitting. Right in front of Harry. Shit. I was about as far from my parents as was possible, thankfully, but he was right there. I still couldn’t believe it, had to fight the urge to gawk.
My sister’s cheating asshole of a fiancé winced when our eyes caught. I had to tell her. Instead, I stared at the flowersrunning through the center of the table until everyone was settled and picking up forks.
“Mother,” I responded, though way too much time had passed now, so it was uncomfortable. I frowned and looked down at my food. Colorful vegetables waved up at me, placed in an intricate pattern around the plate. My stomach rumbled, so I picked up my fork as Vicky sat next to me, giving me a little pat on the knee to tell me everything would be okay.
Worst sister ever. I deserved whatever was coming to me. I still struggled to get over it, Harry right there. It felt incongruous, wrong, like two worlds had collided and they weren’t meshing like they should. A massive glitch in the system my mind failed to comprehend.
It was Harry. The man who’d—
“How have you been?” Mom asked, looking me up and down as she ignored her food, sipped her wine. Harry and Vicky both began working on their food, the scraping of cutlery on plates breaking through the silence. I daren’t look at him again in case my heart gave out.
“Music,” Vicky muttered then, through the awkward. “We need some music…” She moved to jump up but Harry hushed her, pulling out his phone and fiddling, his brow furrowed.
“Uh,” I said, chewing a thin slice of cucumber. “I’ve been good.”
“Still working that disgusting job?”
“Mother!” Vicky admonished. But it didn’t bother me. They didn’t even know the half of what I did. Well, someone in this room was privy to it. To my entire fucking body. To them, I danced and took my clothes off, and that was bad enough. If they found out what I was really paid for no doubt I would be disowned.
This was… an insurmountable coincidence. Shocking of fate to do something as rude as this. As twisted. Soft music started playing in the background as I braced myself once more. Just needed to get through this. Then I could go cry into a pillow and reassess my life choices once again.
“I’m still working my disgusting job, yeah, still living with my disgusting roommate. And I don’t want to hear anything about them. About any of it.” I paused. “That’s not why I’m here.”
Mom muttered under her breath, and Dad just appeared uncomfortable, shifting in his seat. Vicky looked like the world was trying to swallow her up and she wouldn’t let it, desperate to maintain composure. If I were her, I’d welcome the earth. Especially knowing what was coming.
“I’ve made veal for the main course. I know that’s your fav—” she tried to say, but Mom interrupted.
Her face reddened with each passing moment. “It’s despicable, really,” she raved. “Putting your body on show like that, living in a hellscape of an apartment with a…”
“With a what?” I asked, ready to stand up and leave if she for one second thought she could talk shit about Bellamy. Not again. Not ever. My mother was nothing if not a consistent bigot, a judgmental cow of a woman.
Instead of answering, she just seethed.
She seethed through the appetizer, and then through the main course. Muttering and cursing the very ground I walked on as I just tried to get through it and Vicky did everything to keep things from exploding. With each moment I spent in my parents’ presence, I grew more certain I wouldn’t get what I came here for. And I wished I hadn’t bothered; at least then I’d have carried on in ignorance. On the plus side, she was acting as a good distraction to the looming shitshow that was my homewrecking revelation.
Harry controlled the music, trying to find something that fit the tone. It was a funny moment, one where I burst out laughing, when he accidentally played Who Let The Dogs Out by The Baha Men. Other than that. Just painful.
But I needed my parents’ help.
Fuck, I hated that I needed their help. But I was moneyless, or would be soon. I couldn’t keep working now that—
“Dessert!” Vicky shrieked, and I jumped up, needing a breather.
“I’ll help!” I said, rushing after her into the small kitchen. I hadn’t forgotten about Harry. About what we’d done, what we’d caused, but Vic was already so worked up I couldn’t tell her. Not yet. Not withthemhere.
Instead, without speaking much, we plopped cream onto the chocolate cheesecake slices she’d made, and carried them out to the table.
