Page 67 of XX Love Affair
I may be one of the oldest women in this room.
She was compelled to make conversation with her younger stepmother when Eustace was sucked into a “boy’s only” toast by members of his old fraternity. While their chants echoed in the other room, Delia leaned against the wall, Emma swooping down on her with a glass of Champagne in her hand.
“I hope you’re having a good time, Delia.”
Nobody could ever say that Delia wasn’t polite to her stepmother, no matter what she felt inside whenever she saw the woman her mother called “Satan’s Hell-sent Homewrecker.” Surely, though, Emma knew a coddled smile when she saw one.
“It’s a lovely party. My father’s having a great time, and that’s what matters.”
“Yes, Eustace unintentionally dropped more hints about what kind of birthday he wanted than I do about Christmas presents. I do love how he makes it so much easier to plan. It’s one thing to be given the pocketbook and told ‘Go ham, Em,’ and quite another to not know where to begin in the process. Even knowing his favorite color is a boon.”
“I should have worn blue.” Instead, Delia wore a plain pair of black office pants and a red sleeveless blouse. She looked like she had come from a work function, but in reality, she had slept in so late after partying with Helena that she threw on the outfit she had set aside for work on Monday. If she did her laundry on Sunday… hm, she could still wear this outfit on Monday.
“You look very lovely tonight. That blond suits you. Wasn’t it brown last time we met?”
“You know I change it up every few months. Have to keep the salon in business.”
Eustace pried himself away from his buddies and approached his wife from behind, arm wrapping around her midsection as if they didn’t look like a father and daughter on his birthday. Me. That’s supposed to be me. Delia had been eschewing alcohol after going too far the night before, but she might need some liquor from the open bar. Assuming she wanted to get through this sober.
“Such a shame you came alone.” Eustace borrowed his wife’s glass and helped himself to half of the contents. “Feels like you’re always alone when I see you now, Deely.”
“Oh, haven’t you heard?” Emma asked. “Delia is seeing someone right now.”
For some confounding reason, that had to be brought up tonight. While Delia wasn’t exactly secretive about Helena’s existence, she didn’t bring her girlfriends out in front of her parents unless she was sure the relationship might last a while and everyone would get along. Helena would get along well enough, but… The optics were not the best. If it wasn’t the age difference, it was how the end of their run was coming up if they decided to not fight for the relationship. When you put a time limit on these things… don’t get other people invested.
“Really!” Like Eustace, whose face lit up when he heard the good news. “Who’s the lucky lady? I hope she’s half as pretty as you, Deely, because it’s what you deserve.”
No option but to play along, huh? “Yes, she’s gorgeous.” Delia cocked her head at her stepmother, who remained coy in her husband’s grasp. “How did you hear about it?”
“Oh… well… you know how it is. One minute you’re talking about the latest trends in Milan, and the next someone mentions that your stepdaughter is living up the nightlife with a cute girl from the west coast. I honestly don’t know much more about it.”
Why wouldn’t she look Delia in the eye when she said that? Because Eustace would do more than enough to make this as awkward as possible?
“Didn’t you bring the lucky lady with you, kiddo?”
“No, she had something else she had to do tonight.” In truth, Helena had gone back to the room she rented, mentioning that there were several university emails to reply to. She probably needed a night off from fun after the paces she and Delia put each other through the night before. I barely remember it. They definitely had sex. Probably at least… three times. One for every drink Delia swore she had. Only three!
“That’s too bad! You know, ever since your sister got married, all I can think is that it must be your turn soon. Does this girl make your heart sing?”
My heart sing? Delia would have laughed if her father wasn’t so serious. “I try not to get people’s hopes up when it comes to my dating life. I’ve only been dating Helena a few months.”
“Helena! That’s a fine name. Haven’t heard it in twenty years, I swear. Is she older than you? Oh, an older woman might be good for you, Deely.”
What did that even mean? Not that it mattered. Delia’s eyes were still glued to her stepmother, who kept her gaze downcast and her hands wrapped around the stem of the Champagne flute when she reclaimed it from her husband. “
“A little younger.”
She almost expected Emma to say something like, “She’s younger than me!” or “She’s barely in college!” Whatever salacious thing would make Delia sound like a hypocrite after the anger she initially felt toward her father cheating with a younger woman. But Emma had never been like that. She could be slightly catty, but in a way that she had probably picked up from being in this stuffy world. Survival of the fittest. First thing she learned being the much younger second wife of a wealthy man. Tale as old as high society time.
“I am going to hold you up to that promise,” Eustace said with a fatherly grin. “This time next month, I want to meet this Helena. Maybe we’ll do something for the Fourth of July weekend.”
“Sure thing.”
Eustace was called away by another friend, and Delia used the opportunity to slip away from the crowd. These events will be the death of me soon. She found the second bedroom empty and flopped against the mattress, her back instantly grateful.
Except this wasn’t about her spine. It was about her escape from a world that would never understand her. Much like she barely understood herself.
She grabbed her phone from her pocket and texted Helena.