I felt a bit gaudy next to Jane in my navy maxi dress and red lipstick, but no one was paying me any attention, so I didn’t mind. As expected, I spent most of the party taking Mom’s orders: refilling snack bowls, picking up plates and napkins, and making sure everyone’s champagne was topped up. Mom was swanning around as though the party were for her. She was so serene and blissful, no one would have guessed that she’s actually a desperate maniac. A few hours into the party, she beckoned me into a corner.
“Is it time to bring out the cupcakes?” I wiped a sweaty curl off my forehead.
“No, no.” Her voice was breathy and mysterious, her eyes darting around to make sure no one was listening. “Rachel, I need you to do me a favor.”
“Oh my God, youdoneed money. How bad is it?” It had to be pretty damn bad if she was asking her middle daughter, who currently had $207 in the bank. (What?Payday was two weeks ago.)
“What?” Mom snapped, sounding offended. “This isn’t about money. Look…” She pulled me deeper into the corner so we were sort of huddled behind a chair. Her hand drifted up to pat her curls nervously. “I need you to recommend the twins for an internship at your work.”
“Excu—cough—what?” I choked, having chosen the wrong moment to swallow some champagne. My eyes watered.
“The twins… yoursisters… I am asking you to recommend them for an internship.”
“In… what?” I asked, glancing over at the twins, who were skulking behind Jane’s friend Kailey, who was holding her baby on one hip. They were pulling faces in an apparent attempt to makethe baby cry. When they succeeded, Kailey looked around to comfort him and the twins scurried away, snorting with laughter.
“In, you know”—Mom waved a vague hand—“computer engineering.”
“What?! Mom, they can’t… They’re not…”
“They’re not what? Smart enough?” Mom asked, her face set in a forbidding expression.
Of course they’re not smart enough, I thought. They had migrated to the snack table, where Abby was now filming Ollie as she, apparently, endeavored to find out how many olives she could fit in her mouth at once. No doubt the live footage was being broadcast to their little friends on TikTok or something.
“It’s a really competitive company.”
“Youwork there,” Mom pointed out.
“Yes, but evenI’mnot an engineer.” My teeth clenched. “They would need really good grades and test scores to even be considered for an internship.”
“They have all that.” She sounded breezy.
“They do?”
“Yes, of course, of course. The SAT… Flying colors…”
“Really? What was their score?”
“Fifteen-seventy and fifteen-eighty, if I’m remembering correctly.” Mom sniffed.
“Are you? Remembering correctly?” I was astounded. We both turned to look at them; Abby was using two fingers to pry a mush of olives out of Ollie’s mouth, both of them crying with laughter.
“Yes, I am. They’re really quite bright. So anyway.” Mom sounded businesslike. “I’ll send you all the materials on Monday.”
“I doubt that I have much say over anything.”
“You’re an employee. You can refer them. That’s worth something. I’ve researched it.”
“Dotheywant an engineering internship?” I asked skeptically.
“Oh, they don’t care, as long as it’s something that will look good on their college applications.”
“All right.” I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. The worst thing that could happen was that they didn’t get the internship. “Email me their info and I’ll do it on Monday.”
“Thank you, darling.” She pecked me on the cheek. I couldn’t help being a little pleased that I’d had an entire conversation with Mom without her bringing up Christopher Butkus.
“Incidentally.” Mom hurried to keep up with me as I strode off to rejoin the party. “Didyou manage to get a word with Christopher Butkus at that environmentalist event?”
How I manage to maintain such naivete at my advanced age, I don’t know.
