“Riley?” Victoria asked, a hint of levity in her voice. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “So, the reason I’m calling is to tell you I can’t let you book the theater for your party.”
“Why not? Did the woman I spoke to give you the whole message? I’ll pay twice what you’d get if you sold out the theater.”
“It’s not about the money,” Riley said, even though it was a little bit. When she rented out the theater for private parties, or school field trips, the owner let her keep half the money for her trouble of having to deal with what was almost always inevitable headaches.
“Can you not get the film I requested? I’m sure Vanessa has a digital copy of it because it’s her favorite movie.”
“Okay, slow down. First of all, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way, and second, we aren’t a big city multiplex. We aren’t digital, although we are working on it. We still run movies on actual film through a real projector. And yes, I could probably get the movie you requested.”
“Then why are you turning me down?”
“Honestly? I’m not comfortable having anything to do with you or your sister.” Riley stared at Megan, who was doing her own version of a happy dance right there in her chair.
“I see.” Instead of sounding angry, Victoria sounded almost sad. And Riley hated that she almost felt bad for saying what she did. But what the hell? It was the truth. “Okay, then. Will you allow me the opportunity to show you I’ve changed?”
“I’m not really sure—”
“Meet me somewhere for coffee. I’d really like to talk to you.”
“I can’t. I have to work tonight.”
“Then tomorrow morning.”
Riley moved the phone away from her ear and held it out to Megan who backed away and shook her head.
“She wants to have coffee,” Riley whispered.
“Do it,” Megan mouthed back. Riley shook her head, not because she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t believe any of this was actually happening. Before Victoria thought she’d fallen off her chair, she put the phone back to her ear.
“Fine. Wolf Bay Diner at ten?”
“I’ll be there,” Victoria said, sounding relieved. “And thank you, Riley. I’ll see you in the morning.”
The call disconnected and Riley dropped her phone on the table in front of her. She and Megan looked at each other in silence for a moment before Riley groaned and rested her head next to her phone.
“You are a fucking rock star,” Megan said before bursting out laughing. “I can’t believe you said you weren’t comfortable having anything to do with her or her sister. You’re awesome!”
“Then why do I feel like I’m going to throw up?”
“Because she was your first crush. Come on, we have to find you something to wear.”
Riley groaned louder but got to her feet to follow Megan to her bedroom. She already knew she had next to nothing but jeans and T-shirts or her work uniforms, so if Megan thought something dressier was going to magically appear in her closet, she was sadly mistaken.
Christ, why couldn’t she just wear what she usually wore? It wasn’t like this was a date or anything. She snorted, causing Megan to stop and turn to look at her. She shrugged. Even if by some miracle Victoria was a lesbian, she’d never look twice at her no matter what she was wearing.
Chapter Seven
“What in the world are you wearing?” Vera asked, looking at Vic with utter disdain as she entered the living room. “The least you could do while you’re staying in my house is dress like a proper woman.”
“It’s a woman’s suit, Vera,” she said, thinking she looked damn good if she did say so herself. She took a seat on the sofa and rested her right ankle on her left knee, knowing the move would piss her off even more. “By Armani. I thought that would perhaps appease you.”
“Couldn’t you wear a skirt instead of pants?”
“And miss this reaction?” Vic laughed. “Not on your life. And I don’t do skirts, or dresses for that matter. You know this about me.”
“You’ll be wearing a dress for your sister’s wedding.” Vera looked smug, and Vic wanted nothing more than to slap it off her face.
“Oh, she didn’t tell you?” Vic asked, thoroughly enjoying the way her mother’s face fell at the ominous tone of her voice. Vic smiled. “Vanessa found a perfect suit for me to wear that matches the groomsmen.”
“No, that most definitely is not acceptable,” her mother said, shaking her head and standing. “I’ll just have to have a talk with her.”
“Vera, let it go,” Vic said, her voice raised. “You tried so hard to make me into the woman you always thought I should be, and it didn’t change who I am. I’m almost forty years old, and you don’t get to dictate what clothes I wear. Wearing a dress for my sister’s wedding isn’t going to miraculously make me straight.”
“What’s going on in here?” her father asked as he walked into the room and looked back and forth between them. “I could hear you shouting all the way upstairs.”
“You need to have a talk with your daughter.”
“My daughter? Vera, she’s your child too, and it might do you a world of good to at least try and get along with her.”
“She comes here for the first time in sixteen years and has the audacity to dress like this in my presence? Perhaps she’s the one who should try and get along with me.”
Vic sat there in silence watching them. Her father’s face was turning red with the effort of trying not to yell at Vera, and Vera had the most pained expression on her face, as though Vic being a lesbian was literally going to kill her.
“Is it any wonder she hasn’t come home in so long?”
“Garret, are you condoning her behavior?”
“What I’m doing is supporting our daughter. She’s a wonderful woman, which is something you’d realize if you’d get off your high horse long enough to make an attempt to get to know her. So what if her wedding day would have two brides instead of a bride and a groom? Our job isn’t to criticize and judge our children, but to love and support them unconditionally.”
“I can’t believe you’d take her side over mine. Don’t you care what people think?”
“Honestly? I couldn’t care less what anyone thinks.”
“Not even your own wife,” her mother said before turning and stomping out of the room.
Vic smiled at her father as he shook his head and came to sit next to her on the couch. Her heart swelled with the love she felt for him for standing up for her.
“That woman could try the patience of a saint,” he said after a moment.
“I don’t know how you put up with her,” Vic said, immediately wishing she hadn’t said something negative about Vera. She held her breath for him to turn around and defend Vera.
“Sometimes I don’t know either,” he said with a chuckle. He turned his head and looked her over. “You’re dressed up. Going out tonight?”