I was offended by her nonchalance on my adopted state’s behalf.
She lowered her sunglasses to study me.“Good Lord, did you memorize the town brochure?”
I might have.I had done an online search of the shops just to prepare myself in advance for any complaints she might launch.I’d spent the drive here leaning forward from the back seat while talking up the importance of local businesses and Maine lobster.Oliver had been driving but that hadn’t stopped him from giving me amused glances in the rearview mirror.My mother had stared out the passenger window reflecting repeatedly on the fact that golf tee times are absurdly early.
That was something I was grateful for—the early tee time meant my father, Cameron, and Henry had left nearly two hours before us.If we’d had to ride together, that would have been a crowded car ride.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I told my mother, smiling sweetly.I suspected she was still annoyed with me for ripping her pants.
I was annoyed with her for being annoyed with me so I figured we were even.
“And why are you being so rude to Cameron?”she demanded, yanking open the door to a boutique and glaring back at me.“He is bending over backwards to make you happy and you’re running around at night with Oliver ripping my pants instead of spending time with him.”
I knew she was mad about the pants!That confirmed it.
Oliver no longer looked amused.He didn’t like being dragged into drama.His sole purpose in moving to Maine had been to leave the drama behind in LA.Well, and to spend time with me, of course.
“We went for a walk!”I followed her inside the shop and stood behind her with my arms crossed.The clothing on display was beach chic.Heavy on the navy blues and teals, with straw hats and anchors on sweaters.Not my style.I had inherited my grammy’s love of color and seventies silhouettes.If it didn’t scream dancing barefoot in a field, I didn’t want it.“I didn’t think being in a relationship meant you couldn’t go for a walk with your best friend.”
My mother paused with a scarf with waves on it in her hand and shot me a look of disapproval.“Now you’re being purposely obtuse.Why do you do this?”
“Dowhat?”I genuinely had no idea what she was getting at.
“Make things harder for yourself.You dropped out of college to go on auditions and look at how that turned out.”
I’d had some modest success.It hadn’t been a total waste of time.“I was the star on my own show!”Murder, She Textedhad lasted three seasons and I was proud of that.“What does any of that have to do with Cameron?”
“He’s wealthy, he comes from a good family, he’s attractive with good manners.He doesn’t have a drinking problem, he’s considerate, and for whatever reason he seems to genuinely like you, Sophie.”
I blinked.“That sounds very insulting.”
She sighed.“I just mean he appears to be putting in all the effort and you’re barely trying.”
Oliver appeared to be studying the case of jewelry with the intensity of a diamond salesman.He obviously didn’t want to be involved in this conversation.I didn’t blame him.I didn’t want to be involved in it either.
“If you play your cards right Cameron might even propose to you.”She slapped the scarf down on the display table in disgust.“But not if you can barely throw two words in the poor man’s direction because you’re too busy worrying about a dead Santa.”
“I mean, we should probably all be worried about a dead Santa,” I pointed out.I tried to chuckle.
Instead, I was having a panic attack.Was Cameron going to propose to me?
No.He wouldn’t do that.We’d only been dating a few months.
But he had flown my parents out to Maine as a surprise…
Oliver was trying on sunglasses.Since he’d stopped dying his hair and taken to wearing it in a modern pompadour, he looked like James Dean.He studied himself in the mirror, fixing his hair.
“Can I help you?”A woman approached us with a smile.She was wearing head-to-toe lobster, even down to a couple of crustaceans dangling from her ears.She was around my mother’s age.
“Not unless you know how to convince stubborn daughters they’re on the verge of ruining their lives.”
“Mom!I’m not on the verge of ruining my life.”Though I suspected I was going to ruin their trip if Cameron was nuts enough to propose to me.There was no way I could say yes at this point.We barely knew each other.
She opened her mouth, clearly ready to argue her point.
Lobster Lady looked like she would be on my mother’s side.She was nodding her head.“I know all about stubborn daughters.My Clare, let me tell you…”
This was going in a direction that was bound to end poorly.At least for me and maybe Clare, though she wasn’t here to witness her mother’s criticism.
