Falling for the Ghost of You(63)

"Oh. That is so wrong."

"Yeah, I don't think your aunt is going to like me much."

"Probably not." I catch Aunt Lisa's eye. She's glaring. "Quick—wave at her. That will really piss her off."

We both give little waves. Lisa starts shouting and jabbing her finger around like a deranged disco queen. I look at Zane and we both burst out laughing.

"We're not really doing a good job of hiding us, are we?" I say, pushing back my hair.

He shakes his head, smiling. "Nope. Come on. Might as well really give 'em something to talk about."

He takes my hand and pulls me to the dance floor. A sexy salsa is playing and Zane whirls me around to the beat.

I'm a pretty good dancer, and he's fantastic. We move together in perfect synchronization. With him, dancing like this feels like second nature, and I effortlessly follow his lead. I know all eyes are on us, but I don't even care. I can't remember why I wanted to keep us a secret.

I'm having so much fun right now. I'll worry about the consequences later.

But “later” is not as far away as I had hoped.

After the song is over, Mom takes me aside.

"Do you know what's wrong with Lisa?" she asks, her eyes wide with concern. " She said that Hunter tried to bite her breasts because of something you or Zane said?"

I smooth out the skirt of my dress nervously. "Yeah, I don't know. I think she's drunk. I might have said something, and Hunter picked it up. You know how little kids are." I exhale noisily. “She’s just trying to start some drama at your wedding.”

Mom just looks at me. "Uh-huh. And what's going on between you and Zane? You two looked pretty cozy out there." She gestures toward the dance floor.

"What? Why would you say...? Nothing. We're just...you know. He's a good dancer."

“Okay. Well, it’s good you can have fun with a guy again. I mean, after Matt…”

Crap, why don't I just tell her? Zane is my boyfriend. See? Simple.

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out, except maybe a sigh. Why is this so hard?

Mom watches my discomfort with a frown. Suddenly, she reaches over and puts both hands on my cheeks. “Violet, I trust you,” she says directly, looking me in the eye. “You’ve never given me a reason not to. And when I was…when I was sick, our roles got reversed. You were the one taking care of me and paying the bills, and being strong for the both of us…”

“Mom,” I try to interrupt when her eyes start going misty.

“No, I just want to tell you how proud I am of you. You sacrificed a lot for me, and you never complained. And then I when I sprung Bill on you, and—and the honeymoon and the wedding…you were so great about it all.” She stops gushing to kiss my forehead. “Thank you, Violet. You’re a wonderful daughter, and…you know you can tell me anything, right?”

"Wow." I shift my feet awkwardly. "Yeah. Thanks."

We just stand there, for the longest minute ever. Then we both try to hug each other at the same time—and miss. It's painful.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go rescue Bill from your grandmother. He's got that deer-in-the-headlights look." Mom points to where Grandma has Bill cornered by the bar. "That woman is a trip. She actually told me I'm too old to have another baby, so I'd better practice safe sex. Can you believe that?"

"Uh, yeah. She's wacky, that one." I pat her back. "Go—save your man."

Mom winks at me. "I think I will. Love you."

"I love you, too."

She blows me a kiss. I watch her walk away, stumbling in her heels quite a few times before she reaches Bill and Grandma. Is she drunk? I don't remember smelling any alcohol on her breath. Wow, I've never seen her under the influence before. I make a note to keep an eye on her, just in case. Or Bill will, I'm sure.

Bill.

Reality suddenly sinks in. He is now officially my stepfather. He made a vow in front of witnesses to be there for Mom in sickness and in health---and he'd better mean it. It's weird to me to think that Mom and I would have someone else to rely on. If the cancer ever came back...

No, I don't want to think about that. Not today, especially.

My sentimental mood shrivels up and dies when I see Zane—with Taylor. Again. They're sitting at a table together, leaning towards each other, and carrying on what appears to be a hilarious convo.

Grr. Why does he have to talk to her? Out of all the people here—why can't he say hi to Great Uncle Larry? He's a funny fascinating guy. He used to be a pearl diver! That's way more interesting than a stupid slutty Miss Nevada!

No, you know what? He can have fun with Double Jointed all night. I'm not storming over there like the jealous girlfriend again. Whatever.