Sean said nothing.
She stepped out of the shower and wrung her damp hair over the sink. “They’re good kids.”
“I know.”
“You could cut them a little slack.”
He nodded. “Need anything else?”
She took a step toward him. “Come here.”
They embraced, his hands exploring her naked frame, a smile on his face. She said, “Thanks for the help.” She sealed her lips against his. He pulled her in tighter, and lust welled up from her gut. When his tongue brushed against her teeth, she pulled back. “Come on now, buddy. I said later.”
“You’re killing me.”
“Later.”
He kissed her cheek and turned toward the door. Elise blinked. “Hey Sean.”
He turned back.
“What did you want to say earlier?”
“Huh?”
“You said you wanted to clear your head.”
He was going to lie—she knew the look. He always made the same expression, an eyebrow raised, jaw tense. Every time. It let her know everything about to come out of his mouth was either bullshit or a dodge. “Just stressed about your family coming in. Your brother’s a piece of work.”
She half-smiled. On some level, he had to know she sensed his deceit. Especially since she had checked the landline caller-ID when Sean had picked up the phone. His work number. After he had taken the call, he had stormed out to chop wood.
She would not press the issue. He’d tell the truth in time. “Michael’s just strong-willed like me,” she said.
“I can only handle one of you.”
She waved him away. “I’ll be down in fifteen minutes. Make sure you pull the chicken from the oven when the timer goes off.”
He kissed her cheek again and left.
She traced the spot of the kiss with her fingers, feeling the lingering sensation there, thinking about his lies. About how they often caused more heartache than the pain he was trying to spare her. She rubbed the sensation away and put it out of mind.
THE FAMILY GATHERED around a table filled with a cornucopia of delicious food. As Elise came down the stairs, she regretted scheduling such a big meal the day of Michael and Kelly’s arrival. Everyone had already split off into separate conversations. Sean chatted with Aidan. Kelly, Molly, and Andrew conversed with one another leaving Michael, alone with his phone, mumbling about how he still needed the Wi-Fi password. Pizza and beer would have been better. Less formal. Easier. Then again, Michael and Kelly were New Yorkers like Elise. And they’d probably never shut up about how good pizza didn’t exist outside of New York.
The food did look good. A cream cloth with red trim blanketed the long oak table, the fixings spread out neatly on it. The kids had arranged the China plates as instructed. All the silverware came from the same set. She allowed herself to decompress. Everything was fine. No need to worry.
Sean’s gaze met her eyes as she came into the dining room. “Have a seat,” he said.
Elise relaxed into her chair at the end of the table opposite her husband. Michael had chosen a seat far away from Sean—which was good.
“Let’s eat,” Sean said and grabbed the dish in front of him.
Almost everyone reached for the food, but Elise cleared her throat. Their conversations swelled, so she cleared it again, louder. A silence struck the whole table like a bolt of electric current. “I think we should say a blessing over our food,” she said.
They paused. She bowed her head. Everyone followed her lead, Sean rolling his eyes before he did. “Heavenly Father,” Elise said, “thank you for this evening and the many blessings you have poured out on us. I pray that you would bless our time together as a family. Thank you for this food. I pray you would use it to the good of our bodies and our bodies to thy service. In Jesus name, Amen.”
A chorus of Amens rose from the table and a clattering of silverware and dishes replaced it. Plates filled. Sean sprinkled his chicken with salt. He always salted everything. Elise flushed with satisfaction. Feeding others a good meal was one of life’s small pleasures.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Aidan asked.
Elise looked at Kelly’s empty plate. “No, I’m fine, little man,” Kelly said, winking at him.
He smiled, diverted his gaze, and put a fork into his mashed potatoes. Elise said, “Is something wrong?”
“I just can’t eat right now,” Kelly said.
“Why?”
“I’m on a juice fast.”
“A what-now?”
“A juice fast,” she said, as if repeating herself explained everything.
Elise and Sean shared a glance but kept quiet. Molly said, “It’s a way of flushing the body of all the toxins we have because of stress and poor eating. All the celebrities do it.”
“Because Hollywood is filled with people who epitomize good health choices,” Sean said.
“It’s actually very healthy—fasting every once in a while.” She turned to Kelly. “How do you feel?”
“Great,” Kelly said. “You don’t really know how bad you feel until you’ve gone without food for a little while.”
“I know that all too well,” Sean said. “I haven’t eaten in hours.”
Elise concealed a smile. There was no pleasing Kelly. She rarely ate much of Elise’s cooking when they visited. A juice fast seemed like a convenient out for doing what she would do anyway.
“So, Andrew,” Michael said, “how’d you and Molly meet?”
“At school.”
“You guys have a class together?”
“Trigonometry.”
“Ah, trig. Don’t really use that anymore.”
“What do you do for a living Mr. —”
“Ambrucci,” Elise said. “My maiden name.”
“I’m a personal injury attorney.”
“I saw your car outside. Pretty cool.”
“Ambulance chasing has its perks,” Sean said.
Elise glared at him.
“Ambulance chasing. That’s good, Sean,” Michael said. “Haven’t heard that one before.”
“Sorry,” Sean said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Bad joke.”
“I was thinking about law school after college,” Andrew said after a brief pause. “Maybe pre-law in undergrad.”
“I would make sure the market’s good when you go to apply. They’re not hiring many associates anymore.”
“So I shouldn’t do that?”
“I wouldn’t say don’t do it. Just make sure you understand the market. A lot of people are saddled with a hundred grand or more in debt and no job prospects.”
Sean said, “And that’s why it’s good to pay cash for everything.”
“Pay cash for law school? I’d love to see that.”
“It could be done.”
Michael turned to Andrew. “Only rich people can pay cash for things like that. Just remember that you might take a risk.”
“Which you could minimize by paying cash.”
Elise shifted. It was never about the actual topic with Michael and Sean—it was always a dick-sizing competition. She said, “Molly was selected as editor-in-chief of the senior yearbook next year.”
“Congratulations,” Michael said. “That’ll look great on your college applications.”
“There weren’t a lot of people who wanted to do it, so it wasn’t that hard,” Molly said.
“Don’t be down on yourself. You earned it,” Michael said.
“She also helped plan the homecoming events this year,” Elise said.
Molly played around with her food, eyes lowered. She was thin with auburn hair and big brown eyes like her mom. Elise had feared early on that she would never develop a personality beyond her beauty, so Sean and Elise emphasized the importance of her studies and instilled in her compassion for others. That way, when she grew up, she wouldn’t be shallow and uninteresting. And marry for money like…