A Tale of Two Pretties (10 page)

Seventeen

Mac & Darcy’s Apartment

Friday

11:16 PM

Mac

After a crazy long night, I felt like shit. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. I walked into the apartment to find Darcy and B-Rad in some crazy positioning. It seemed just a little too erotic for two people who claimed to be “just friends,” but I overlooked that. For the time being, at least. Instead, I kicked him out of the apartment. I really wanted to kick Darcy out with him, but I figured that would be too much. Was it too much to ask to be alone, even for a little while?

“Bad day?” Darcy asked after lying about her feelings for B-Rad. I wasn’t blind.

“You have no idea,” I muttered, helping myself to a shot of tequila. We only had one bottle, but I needed it.

“Tell me about it,” Darcy insisted.

“I’d rather not. My mom called, though. She wants us to come to brunch,” I explained. My mother’s phone call was just the tip of the iceberg of my day from hell.

“Uhh, brunch?”

“Yeah. It’s two hours of my mother harassing me about getting a real job, or her telling me that letting Peter go was the worst mistake of my life… I could use a buffer.”

“Dude, that sounds awful. Why on earth would I spend my Sunday morning at brunch?”

I thought for a second. “Free food?”

“Sold.”

We laughed together. “Does your mom really act like that, though? Seems crazy.”

“Yeah, she’s borderline crazy. But with you there, she might hold back a little. They always asked me to bring friends home for brunch when I was in college, but I was always afraid the girls I hung out with wouldn’t understand her breed of crazy. You’ve had your own family issues, so I figure you won’t be completely horrified,” I said.

“Not completely,” she muttered. “But yeah, I’ll go with you. How are we getting there?”

“My mother is picking us up at ten,” I replied.

“Ugh. That means I need to get to bed right now. Night,” Darcy said and then dropped to the couch. She was in yoga pants, so I guessed that constituted pajamas.

I, on the other hand, needed a shower. I grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top and then headed for the bathroom, hoping that brunch wouldn’t be too wild.

* * * * *

We were both up, dressed, and ready to go by nine-thirty, which was a damn miracle, considering we both wanted to look our best and Darcy hogged the bathroom mirror. I wanted my mother’s approval, just once, and Darcy wanted to make a good impression.

Darcy didn’t have anything appropriate to wear to brunch, so I let her borrow one of my favorite flower dresses. It was just a little too short, but it covered her chest, which is what my southern mother cared about most. Showing off legs was okay, but the girls had to stay locked up tight. And no cleavage was allowed at all. I tried explaining all of this to Darcy as easily as I could.

“I have dresses, you know,” she quipped, staring at my floral shift dress.

“Yeah, slut dresses. Mother doesn’t need to see your ass.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I guess my going out dresses probably aren’t great for meeting your mom.”

I didn’t tell her my family history, but I was positive she would know all of it by the end of the morning. My parents didn’t hide information from strangers like normal people. If anything, they were more likely to tell all their little white lies to make themselves look good. It made me dislike them all the more. In fact, the only real reason I even tolerated the weekly ritual was so I could see and spend time with my baby brother, Lachlan. He was fifteen and already a star in school. With stellar grades, he was a starter on the football team, and a wrestler, too. The kid was on fire. He succeeded in every single thing he did. Most of my parent’s dissatisfaction with me came from Lach’s success. And the damn kid was only
fifteen
.

As much as I could be jealous of my little brother, I was more proud of him than anyone. Once in a while, my mother would talk down to him like she did to me. I always stepped in whenever I heard it, proclaiming his greatness. He didn’t deserve to be self-conscious about his life choices like I was. If anything, I wanted him to be secure in what he did. And if it meant I had to tolerate my mother telling me I’d put on weight, or asking me when I was going to get a
real
job, then I’d do it. For Lachlan.

We met my mother out front of the pizzeria. I let Darcy have the front seat as we climbed into the black Lexus SUV. I introduced the two of them and then leaned forward to plant a kiss on Mother’s cheek. I sat back and buckled, waiting for the condescension to start.

“Darcy, you look fabulous! I mean, you are basically glowing in that dress,” Mother started. She met my eyes in the rear-view mirror. “MacAllister, honey, maybe you should let Darcy take you shopping once in a while and she can share her taste in fashion with you.”

I bit my tongue. Hard. I saw Darcy was about to speak and I reached up to lightly pinch her arm. She looked back at me and I shook my head. It was useless to argue with the woman. Sure, I wore the exact dress Darcy had on two weeks ago for brunch, but it wouldn’t matter to my mother. She would make a comment on how Darcy’s make-up brought out the true coloring of the dress, or some other bullshit statement. It was easier to just grin and bear it.

“You know, MacAllister, I ran into Peter the other day,” she started.

“Oh?” I asked as casually as I could. Mother liked to bring up Peter every chance she got.

“Yes, dear. He misses you like crazy. He was surprised when you got your things from his house last week. He said he never expected you to take this little spat so far,” she commented.

“Spat? Mother, he cheated on me,” I burst out, unable to continue to let it go.

“Yes, yes, but he loves you. No man is perfect,” she argued.

Was she seriously suggesting I forgive Peter’s indiscretion? “Dad is,” I replied, hoping that would shut her up.

“Every man has his faults,” she whispered, her voice so low I almost didn’t hear her.

What the fuck?
I loved my father. He was the best person in my life. The one guy I could always count on. After his motorcycle accident, his leg was all jacked up and the insurance company didn’t cover shit, so all my college money went to making sure he would walk again. I didn’t mind; I was happy to just have my dad.

Mother pulled into the driveway of their too-large house, the one they almost lost when the medical bills started piling up. Mother got out and went straight to the house, not bothering to wait for me and Darcy.

“You fucking live here?” Darcy whispered to me while we walked up the sidewalk.

“Lived. But yeah. Once upon a time, they had money,” I told her.

“They don’t now? I don’t believe it. Your mom drives a Lexus,” she said in awe.

“Yeah, she likes to act like they’re still rolling in it, but the truth is, they almost lost everything when Daddy had his motorcycle accident. It’s a long story. Just play nice,” I encouraged.

“It’s not easy to keep my mouth shut when she keeps dishing out back-handed put-downs at you,” she murmured as we approached the door.

“Never mind that. Just keep it light, as much as you can,” I said as the door flew open and Lachlan appeared.

He was still young enough to love his older sister, having not yet entered the annoying teenage boy stage. He ran at me, all limbs flailing around me as he hugged me.

“Where were you last weekend?” he accused.

“I had to move, Lach,” I explained. “This is my new roommate, Darcy.”

“Well, hello, Darcy,” he greeted her, dropping his voice low, bowing, and kissing her hand.

“So gallant,” she giggled. The two of them were insane, obviously, but it was adorable to watch, anyway.

“Alright, you two, enough flirting,” I joked. I trusted Darcy with my brother. Her time was too preoccupied to entertain a teenager. Besides, she had B-Rad to handle.

The three of us walked into the foyer of my childhood home. “This place is huge,” Darcy said.

“You should see the upstairs,” Lachlan said to her.

“Show it to me?” she asked. I could tell she wasn’t excited to see my mother again, so I gave the two of them a thumbs up when they both looked at me.

“I’ll be in Daddy’s study,” I told Lach. He nodded and the two of them were gone, Darcy sighing up the stairs at the amazing architecture of the house.

I walked down the hall to where Daddy’s study was, just off the kitchen. Mother was in the kitchen, but she was facing away from me as I passed, so I ignored her. I pushed open the study door to peek inside. Daddy was smoking a cigar next to the window. The accident left him with a prominent limp, but I found it endearing.

He turned toward me when the door creaked. “Baby girl, it’s so good to see you.”

My heart broke at his words. Lach wasn’t the only guy in this house to miss my presence last week. “Hi, Daddy,” I said, walking fully into the room for a hug. The smell of the study was like coming home. I spent so much time as a kid,
working
in here while Daddy worked. So many lyrics were formed on the pages of my notebooks in this room.

“Missed you,” he said, his arms locked around me.

“Missed you more,” I told him, realizing in that moment that it was more than true. I missed him and Lach every single day. My mother was a different story.

“So I hear you left the cheater,” he said as we sat in the matching leather chairs.

“Damn right I did,” I replied, knowing he would be proud of me for it.

“Language, MacAllister,” Mother replied from the doorway. “Where’s your friend? Brunch is ready.”

“Right. I’ll go get her and Lach,” I said, ignoring the fact that she rudely interrupted my conversation with Daddy.

I walked up the stairs, straight to Lachlan’s room. He was showing Darcy all of his medieval weapons. He’d been collecting for years, Daddy having bought him his first sword for his tenth birthday. Lach’s been hooked ever since.

“Hey, lovebirds,” I called into his room from the doorway. “It’s time for brunch.” Lachlan raced downstairs before either of us could move an inch.

I turned to leave and Darcy caught me. “Your brother is adorable, Mac.”

“I know,” I said with arrogance. “He’s an amazing kid. I can’t wait for him to get out of this hell, away from her.”

“Is she hard on him?” she asked as we walked down the stairs together.

“Yeah. Not as hard as she is on me, but still. He’s more successful at fifteen than I am at twenty-one. I consider that a huge accomplishment, but nothing is good enough for her,” I muttered as we entered the kitchen.

An array of fruits, cheeses, Danishes, muffins, donuts, and some lunch meats lined the buffet table in the corner of the kitchen. The dining area was attached to the kitchen, complete with a huge table, perfectly set with juice and water glasses. Daddy was at the wet bar, already mixing up a drink.

“Mimosas, girls?” he asked us.

“Oh, yes. Darcy, come meet Daddy,” I said, leading her to the bar.

“Easy on the Mimosas, girls. No one likes a Sunday drunk,” Mother warned us.

Daddy looked hurt, and I understood why, since Sunday was the only day Daddy allowed himself to drink. He worked hard for his family, even now, only a few years after the accident. But nothing was enough for Mother.

“Just one won’t hurt you girls,” he said, winking at Darcy. “You must be Darcy. It’s wonderful to meet you.” He handed her a perfectly-made drink, complete with fruit on the rim.

“And you, as well, sir.”

Daddy laughed. “No one needs to call me sir. ‘Daddy’ will do just fine.”

“Umm, are you sure?” Darcy looked worried.

“Everyone calls him Big Daddy. It’s fine, I promise,” I said to help her out.

“Okay then,” she said, still not quite sure what to do.

Once we were all seated at the table, Daddy said grace and then we dug into the food on our plates. Everything was delicious as usual, but I had my reasons for limiting my home visits to just once a week.

“Where are you working, MacAllister?” Mother asked less than five minutes in.

“Still with the temp agency, Mother. I know you don’t believe it, but I actually make decent enough money,” I replied with an edge to my voice.

“It’s not that I don’t think you make enough, dear. I just think that finding the right man would help you out, so you aren’t doing it alone.”

I wanted to strangle her. To my surprise, Darcy came to my rescue. “You know, Mac and I were just talking about making enough money to support ourselves, so we wouldn’t ever have to rely on a man,” she started.

“With English degrees, what could you possibly do that would make you completely self-reliant?” Mother asked, unbelieving.

“We’ve been looking into writing books, actually,” Darcy said.

“Oh, have either of you been approached by publishers?” Mother asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She knew the answer, of course.

“No, but self-publishing has turned into a huge –”

Mother’s laugh interrupted Darcy. “I think not, child. Self-publishing is the black sheep of the publishing world.”

Darcy’s eyes narrowed, obviously pissed off. “Actually, self-published authors made more money, per book last year than authors who were traditionally published. Which means that indie authors, as they’re called, are making damn good money. And since their investment costs are less, and they aren’t paying out royalties to their publishers, they are definitely making more money. In fact, several authors have made so much money on their books, they’re turning down book deals, because traditional publishers take so much of their royalties. So although self-publishing might have been the black-sheep once upon a time, now, it is truly a viable way to make a living.”

The whole room went deadly silent during Darcy’s tirade. When she finished, I wanted to cheer, but that was hardly appropriate. It was Daddy who spoke first.

“Brava, Darcy! I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who can leave my wife speechless,” he joked.