“He was my first, you know. You never forget your first. I was his too.” I noticed the death grip she had on the pendant around her neck, her knuckles white.
What did she mean? First love? I felt nauseated.
And why the hell was she telling me this? Did she really think that I wanted to hear this?
“Please don’t take it the wrong way,” she said. “I don’t know why I even told you that.”
If her intention was to make me jealous, to show I could never have the connection she had with Caleb, then she was winning. If she’d been mean about it, I would have lashed out already. But she wasn’t. She just sounded…sad.
Either way, I wasn’t going to play along.
“I think…” Beatrice-Rose paused as if she was trying to find the right words. “Today was just a shock for me, seeing him with you. I’ve never seen him this way with anyone else.”
I really didn’t want to hear any more.
“I’m sorry, Veronica. Please don’t be upset with me,” she murmured softly.
I blinked, searching her face for deceit. It was hard to tell. She looked and sounded vulnerable and sincere. How was I supposed to respond to that?
“Have you met Miranda?” she continued, smiling radiantly.
“No.” I didn’t ask who Miranda was, didn’t really want to talk anymore.
She touched the back of my hand again. I gritted my teeth, trying to stop myself from pulling away from her touch.
“Food’s ready in the kitchen.” Caleb called. “Ready when you are, ladies.”
I let out a relieved sigh and headed straight to the kitchen with Beatrice-Rose following behind me. Caleb had laid out the food on the counter where he liked to eat. I glanced at it, my stomach in knots.
This was rich-people food. Caviar, truffles, goat cheese on crackers with some kind of fruit on top. Then I spotted a cheesy lasagna, which made me feel slightly better. Real food.
I opened a cupboard, grabbed three plates, and set them on the counter. Caleb handed me two forks, which I placed on top of the napkins beside our plates. He opened the fridge, and I knew he was going to grab his orange juice so I got two glasses. By the time I turned around, he was in front of me, waiting for me to hold his glass steady as he poured his beloved orange juice in it. This was our routine. We could do this with our eyes closed.
“Want some too?” he asked Beatrice-Rose.
She was watching us with an expression I couldn’t decipher. “No, thank you. I’ll have wine if you have some.”
“Of course. Hold on, gotta get Red’s drink first.” He opened a can of coconut water and filled my glass. This was routine too.
I could either sit beside Beatrice-Rose or across from her. I chose the seat across from her.
“Here you go.” Caleb handed her a quarter-full glass of red wine, then sat beside her. She was looking at him like he was Superman and Batman rolled into one.
I placed my fork in my mouth because I wanted to bite something. Preferably Caleb’s hand so he’d stop smiling at her.
“Could I get a fork too?” she asked, looking down at her plate.
Great. I hoped she didn’t think I deliberately didn’t get her one. Caleb was so used to our routine that he had grabbed two forks, forgetting there were three of us tonight. It was mean and petty, but it made me slightly happy. I
stood up quickly to get her a fork.
“I was just asking Veronica if she had met your mom yet,” Beatrice-Rose said.
I stopped in my tracks.
What the hell?
“She hasn’t.” He looked at me. “As soon as Mom gets back from her business trip, I’ll take you to meet her, Red.”