“Thanks, Chris,” I mumble through my teeth, trying to ignore the burning sensation in my stomach caused by having to make conversation.
She lowers the menu and turns to me. I look up to see her amazed expression, her eyebrows raised.
“Mmm…so youarecapable of being nice,” she says, and even though it pains me to admit it, I’d say I deserved that.
I give her a small smile while she takes a sip or two of her wine.
“By the way, my name is Christine, or, if you prefer, Ms. Morgan. Not Chris – not for you. I only let my friends call me Chris,” she huffs, and I can’t do anything but accept the insult and stay quiet.
We order Lasagne and Fettuccine Bolognese. The girls were already drinking wine, so we order the same, and while we’re waiting for our food, Ian and Vic continue their conversation. My brother must’ve become really popular around here.
“How come you guys are out alone on a Friday night?”
“Training finished late and Riley’s busy with a new show. So we decided to grab something to eat together before we head home.”
“I saw Riley a few days ago, she came into the café with your mother… She’s so beautiful. How does she do it?”
Ian smiles, puffing up his chest. When he’s talking about Riley, he loses his mind.
“Have you decided on a name yet?” Chris adds.
“Not yet, we’re still discussing it. We have different ideas so we’re trying to compromise.”
“Riley’ll decide in the end,” Vic comments. “At the end of the day, she has to do all the work.”
Ian laughs. “That’s probably how it’ll go.”
I drink way more than necessary just to digest the conversation and the evening, which couldn’t be going worse.
I’m relieved when our food arrives. At least we’ll have something else to do now, and we can all stop talking.
Hoping that no one ropes me into a bland, pointless conversation, I concentrate on my food, praying that the evening will end soon and I can finally go home, and sink back to my reassuring, depressing silence.
