Page 104 of Old Habits

She sits down on the loveseat beside him and nods at Jovie. “Well, that’s a good place for them to be, but if that changes…”

“I already told her.”

“Oh, good.”

I clench my eyes closed. “Dear God…” I mutter to myself.

Mom looks at me. “What’s that, honey?”

“Nothing.” I clear my throat. “So, what’s for dinner? Smells good.”

“I have a roast in the oven with rosemary potatoes and roasted vegetables and cheesecake for dessert. Oh—” She looks at Jovie. “You’re not a vegetarian, right?”

“No,” Jovie answers.

“No food allergies?”

“Shellfish. So, unless you started making roast with crab meat, we should be okay.”

Mom grins at the joke. “Good. I couldn’t quite remember.”

“Mom,” I say, “you didn’t have to go through this much trouble. We would have been happy with spaghetti and meatballs.”

She gawks at me. “Well, I wanted to give Jovie a nice, warm welcome. Who knows how long its been since she had a decent home-cooked meal?”

I frown at the assumption but Jovie lays her hand on mine. “It sounds wonderful, actually,” she says. “I really appreciate it, Rachel. Thank you.”

Our hands linger together, drawing Sara’s eyes into my lap. She focuses directly on the diamond ring taking over Jovie’s finger and she stiffens in her seat.

My mother doesn’t seem to notice. “So,” she says, leaning forward, “you two are back together.”

Sara’s face falls and she brings her glass to her lips as she stares at the floor.

I take Jovie’s hand and twist it away to hide the ring from view. “Yes,” I answer.

Mom fidgets delightfully. “I’m so happy for you, honey. We both are. Right, Dave?”

Dad grunts.

“And now that you’re dating and you have a good job, what’s next?” she asks Jovie. “You’re staying in town for good, right?”

I want to ask Mom to ease off the questions but I glance at Jovie instead, silently awaiting her response. Honestly, I’m just as interested in hearing the answer to that one as they are. Probably more so.

Jovie drags it out, barely opening her mouth for what feels like a whole minute before she finally nods. “Yeah,” she says. “I am.”

I take the small victory but it doesn’t break the crushing weight on my shoulders. I look at Sara again. Her expectant, disappointed gaze bores holes into my skull. She knows now what we came here to do and it’s obvious how she feels about it. Still, we came here to set a lie in motion. Can’t back out now.

“Actually…” I clear my throat. “That’s one of the things we wanted to talk to you guys about.”

Mom tilts her head and knocks her knuckles against Dad’s knee to force him to drop the iPad and pay attention. Sara deflates and takes another sip of wine, silently preparing for the inevitable calamity that’s sure to follow.

Jovie’s once dry hands are now clammy and cold with nerves. I squeeze her a little tighter and ease the ring into view again.

“We’re getting married,” I say.

My mother gasps, her mouth curling upward, while my father sits stoic and poised as usual.

“We know it’s sudden,” I add, “but it feels right.”