Turns out, I’m not a fan.
Plenty of people love it and that’s great for them.
Me? Not so much. It’s hell. Literal. Hell. I’d rather do yoga or, you know, sit on my ass and eat junk food all night but still manage to stay in shape. That would be great.
“Is Lucy here yet?”
“Of course she is. Lucy’s never late,” she says, so high and mighty. What a snob. Ugh. This dinner is supposed to be fun and relaxing. Just the three of us enjoying a good meal but Grace is already throwing around her attitude. It makes me want to leave right now, not even sticking around for the delicious food I know I’ll get to eat soon.
“Whatever,” I mumble.
“Good teenage word there, Ashley. Sounds real classy.” Grace chides. “Your little blue-collar boyfriend like it when you talk like that? Probably does. Makes him feel right at home.” I stare at her slack-jawed as we wait for the hostess to bring us to Lucy. When did she become so condescending?
As we walk to our table, I count to ten in my head to calm myself down. I was already on edge about tonight’s dinner but Grace’s snide comments aren’t helping. I’ve always known Grace thought a lot of herself, but it never seemed like she thought down on others.
We take our seats at the table and an awkward silence surrounds us. I sit quietly, absorbing Grace’s snotty comments about Nik. What was that about? The way she called him blue-collar was clearly an insult. I’ve never known Grace to think less of anyone no matter their employment.
“What’s going on here?” Lucy asks, pointing between us. It’s not surprising that she’d notice the tension. We didn’t even greet her or give her a hug, we just sat down. “Neither of you even said hi to me and Ashley looks like she just sucked on a lemon.”
Ignoring Lucy, I focus my attention on miss high and mighty herself. “You know that Nik owns his company, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You called him blue-collar earlier, like that was such a bad thing. He loves being an electrician. Who cares if he wouldn’t be caught dead sitting behind a desk for a living, why is that reason to insult him?”
Grace rolls her eyes. “I wasn’t insulting him, Ashley. You’re just being sensitive.”
She opens her menu, brushing me off.
“You were, too, and I am not.”
Lucy hits the table to gain our attention. “Guys. What’s going on?”
“Ask Grace. She’s the one who’s been a snobby bitch since we got here.”
“Now who’s being insulting?” Grace snaps. “I wasn’t saying anything that wasn’t true.”
“You called Nik my “little blue-collar boyfriend” after making fun of me saying the word whatever.”
“Whatever is a childish word.”
“Whatever!” I emphasize the word by throwing my hands in the air.
Lucy looks at Grace with wide eyes. “Did you really say that?”
“Is it a lie?”
“Sometimes it’s in the tone you use, Grace. Don’t try to get by with technicalities. Besides, Nik is hardly little and he’s not even her boyfriend.”
“Exactly! She’s having a baby with someone she’s not even romantically attached to!”
“I’m right here, you know.”
Lucy gives Grace a hard look. “And that’s her choice, right? We’ve talked about this. Ashley knows what she’s getting herself into. She’s a big girl.”
“I’m sorry, but… what do you mean by ‘we’ve talked about this’?”
Apparently ignoring each other is the game we’re playing today because Grace replies to Lucy as if I hadn’t asked a question.
“Yes, she’s a big girl but that doesn’t mean she’s ready for this. Nik’s certainly not ready.”
“Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He drives a pickup truck, Ashley.”
She didn’t seriously just say what I think she said, did she? “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I repeat because I am too stunned to say anything else. “Grace, you’re starting to let your snobbery show. Besides, what’s wrong with Nik driving a truck? If the truck were made by Mercedes, would that make a difference in your opinion?”
She flips her hair over her shoulder and sits up straight, placing her napkin on her lap. Our waitress must sense the turmoil at the table because no one has stopped over yet. “He’s rough around the edges, and you both know it. He’s not fit to be a father and if you think he is, you’re just as dumb as he is and maybe you’re not fit, either. Who someone decides to have a baby with says a lot about them, you know. I’m doing you a favor, telling you this now before it’s too late.”
I blanch at her comments. She didn’t seriously just say that. By the look on Lucy’s face, she can’t believe it either.
“I have no words for you right now.”
She shrugs but other than that simple movement, she doesn’t show any reaction to the fact that she just shoved a knife right in my heart. My own sister is telling me that I’m not going to be a good mother. That’s what she’s saying. My mouth opens, closes, and opens again but nothing comes out.
“Good evening. What can I get you to drink?”
“Water,” I mutter while Grace and Lucy order whatever they’d like.
“I’ll have the broccoli chicken alfredo,” I blurt out. “House salad to start, please.”
“Oh!” She sounds surprised but quickly recovers. “Great choice. Are you two ready to order, too?”
Again, I don’t pay attention to what Lucy or Grace say. I couldn’t care less if they were even ready to order. I want this dinner over with as quickly as possible.
The waitress takes our menus and promises to return with our drink order and a basket of bread. I offer her a shaky smile, impressed that I’m capable of that much.
No one says a word until she’s returned with our drinks and bread. I take a long fortifying drink of my water and clear my throat, keeping my eyes focused on the table.
To her credit, Lucy seems as troubled as I am by Grace’s words but doesn’t stand up for me, either. I don’t know if she thinks the same as Grace, but it wouldn’t matter if she disagreed. Lucy’s far too much of a coward to argue with her. She would never dare to think differently, at least to Grace’s knowledge.
I hear my sisters talking to each other as if I’m not even here and feel a pain in my chest. Lucy is explaining to Grace how she and her husband have decided to try fertility treatments. Meanwhile, Grace is listening but smirking at me, knowing that she’s gotten under my skin.
“What do you think, Ashley?”
I swallow the large piece of bread I just shoveled in my mouth. “Of what?”
Grace rolls her eyes in annoyance. “Lucy having to go through the expensive fertility treatments.”
I look at Lucy who’s staring at Grace with a furrowed brow.
“I never said they were expensive,” she says quietly.
“Aren’t they, though?” Grace counters. She’s being a patronizing bitch and I’m two seconds away from throwing my water in her face and telling her just that.