Page 63 of The Leaves In Autumn
From the kitchen, Aurora peeks out.
“Perfect timing!” Dove calls.
“Wait till you see. There was so much left over from the reception!”
We make the appropriate hellos, all around.
“Morning,” Aargon says. “We’re having Bloody Mary’s. Want one?”
I take the offered seat next to Dove and hang my purse over the ladder-back chair.
“Definitely! I need something to erase the last hour.”
I know they are trying to ignore what happened, but it will be better to address the issue. While Aargon makes my drink, he addresses the elephant in the room.
“Did you get them to the airport?”
“Yes. They are on their way home. Hopefully.”
“Eat, everybody! Dig in.”
“Your mother was every nice to me, Barbra. And so was Xavier.”
I look Aurora in the eye as I take a big portion of creamy potatoes. “She was a freaking mess.”
Laughter and chuckles rise from the table’s occupants. Including Aurora.
“Alright. But it’s in the past now, and nothing happened that we couldn’t recover from.”
“I’m having a hard time recovering from all the dancing.”
“You were wearing Uggs! I had heels on!”
“It’s the old Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers debate. Who had it worse?”
“Exactly,” Scarlett says.
Dove adds her two cents.
“She was wearing heels and moving backwards. I think that’s settled.”
“Yeah, all Fred had to do was choreograph and lead. Not to mention navigate the feathers and fluff flying off her dresses. Not settled at all,” Nobel adds.
The Bloody Mary is placed in front of me.
“Thanks.”
“Welcome. What are we drinking to? You pick.”
I think for a moment.
“To being kind to the people you love. You are all so good at it, you make it look easy.”
Scarlett puts her arm around me and pulls me close.
“Barbra! You’re going to make me cry.”
“Me too,” says Aargon with a smile.
