With that, she was off to mingle with her guests. I was so happy for my mother, even though I wasn’t a fan of the city folks traveling to our town. It felt like they were imposing. I also didn’t appreciate that my mother thought she needed to try this hard and what these fancy events stood for. But I knew she deserved recognition. Her work ethic was unparalleled. I could never repay her for the sacrifices she’d made for me.
I only hoped Noelle looked at me with the same level of admiration one day. Then I’d be a happy man.
“Caleb,” Grace called from where she was studying a black and white painting. “Look at this one!”
Correction: Right now, I was a very happy man, who was getting to spend a night out with his girlfriend.
Grace and I made our way through the crowded gallery, passing by groups of people as they huddled around appreciating the different pieces curated throughout the space. There were some familiar faces, but there were also a ton of people I didn’t recognize. Being the town bar owner, it was an occupational hazard that I knew almost everybody in town.
The art was resonating with people. I watched as they pointed at different aspects, peering closely to find the artist’s name. A surefire way to tell a show was going well was when there were lines to see certain pieces.
Given the turnout, I was grateful for Jena agreeing to watch Noelle. I’d allowed her to pop in for a few minutes before people started showing up, but I didn’t want anything to take the shine off my mom’s big night.
“Grace?” a nasally voice called from behind us.
I could hear heels clacking against the marble floor. I wanted to turn around to see who was approaching, but all I could see was the look of pure terror on Grace’s face.
My head jerked in the direction of the woman speaking, and I caught sight of a shorter brunette being followed closely by a bleached blonde. I knew she was definitely not from around here.
Grace’s eyes widened as the nasally woman and her friend got closer.
“Grace Harrington. Back out of hiding?” The other lady scoffed. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Hi, Savannah,” Grace muttered, her lips forming a straight line before looking at Savannah’s companion. “Eleanor.”
“Grace, why haven’t you called me back? I could have given you the names of some great publicists. You haven’t done any damage control. These things follow you, you know,” Eleanorscolded, crossing her arms over her obvious surgically-enhanced chest.
Neither of the women’s faces moved. They were frozen and plastered in an upwards motion that looked tight and uncomfortable. They couldn’t have been much older than Grace, so I was completely lost as to why they’d do such a thing.
I didn’t know either of these women, but I sure as hell didn’t like Grace’s reaction to them. She had gone stock-still as soon as Savannah had called her name. Her shoulders hunched the longer they were beside us, almost as if Grace was curling in on herself. Her voice had grown weaker, her words coming out mumbled. She no longer exuded the level of confidence that I loved so much about her, and I knew it was because of the two people in front of us.
I grabbed her hand for support, interlacing our fingers and squeezing.
They must have caught that motion because the brunette one, Savannah, practically purred as she spoke. “Who’s this tall drink of water?”
Grace stiffened, gripping on to my hand tighter. “This is Caleb, my boyfriend.” She spoke a little louder and much more confidently.
“Boyfriend?” Savannah spat and laughed without humor. “What happened to Grant? I thought you were still sleeping with him. I ran into him a few months ago and he was looking fine as ever. He wanted to know about getting a table at Daddy’s new club.”
Eleanor chimed in, “You know, I’m surprised to see you in this small town. My father bought a house in Pineberry, the next town over. I read about this new exhibit in one of the papers so I asked Sav to come with me to check it out. You and your sister didn’t seem to like the art scene very much. Poor Jacqueline. I know how much she loves these sorts of things.”
Grace’s breathing became heavier, almost as if she couldn’t pull enough air into her lungs. She gasped for breath, and I was afraid she was going to hyperventilate.
“Julia—” Grace whispered like an empty prayer. Her body began to tremble as a sob bubbled up in her throat, cutting off the rest of her words.
“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just making an observation,” Eleanor said flippantly.
Savannah nodded in agreement. “Seriously, Grace, no need to get your panties in a twist. We all remember how Julia was.” She turned to Eleanor. “Let’s go get another drink before our driver gets here. Nice to meet you, Caleb.” She fluttered her fingers in a wave before she looped her arm through Eleanor’s.
Heels on the marble flooring were heard, thankfully walking away from us this time.
Moments passed, like the cars outside.
Grace was unmoving. I just stood there clutching her hand. I felt like I was holding her here. Even though she felt miles away.
“Are they gone?” Grace finally choked out, her eyes clamped shut.
I rubbed her arms up and down, trying to calm her shaking body. She looked so helpless like this. So different from the put-together facade she presented to the world. Curated like the art in this room. But it was nothing more than a front.
