“Isn’t that precious,” Debra cooed, oblivious to the tension she was creating. “And when are you having babies? Soon, I hope? Maybe you’ll be a positive influence on Blair.”
“Debra,” Blair scolded. “Megan just got married. She’s not in any hurry.”
“We’re going to wait,” Megan said, looking uncomfortable. “We’d like to spend more time together first.”
Debra looked over all three women, her mouth pinched into a disapproving frown. “Aren’t you girls worried about your biological clocks? You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
Libby struggled to keep a straight face. “Maybe I should get Blair her drink before we start planning a joint baby shower.”
Debra shook the cat jar, the coins rattling against the sides. “Pay your dollar first. You too, Blair.”
Libby grinned, trying not to laugh. “I don’t have any money on me, so I’ll just run inside and get some from Noah. I’m sure he’ll appreciate this story.” She snickered. “And I’ll get you a drink you’re guaranteed to like, Blair.”
“Oh!” Debra’s eyes lit up. “Will you get one for me too? Do you have hard water? I’d love a hard lemonade.” She nodded her head with approval. “I had a few last night, and they were so relaxing.”
Libby burst out laughing. After hearing Blair rant about Debra being a teetotaler, she knew the older woman would never knowingly ask for an alcoholic drink. “One hard lemonade coming right up.”
Debra held out her cat. “Blair.”
Groaning, Blair pulled a dollar from the wad of cash in her skirt pocket and stuffed it into the slot. Everything in her screamed in protest, but she’d promised Neil to try her best to keep his mother happy. If she refused to go along with this damn kitty scheme, she was liable to create family drama. And with the partners watching, it was more important than ever to keep the peace. Thank God she’d asked Melissa to get her more dollar bills. She had a feeling the nine dollars she had left in her pockets wouldn’t be enough.
The back door opened again, and a woman who looked remarkably like Garrett walked onto the deck. Debra turned to face the woman, and her face instantly scrunched with irritation. “Hello, Barb. Nice to see you dressed up, but I specifically told you to wear something other than blue and white.” The sarcasm was heavy in her voice.
Barb glanced down at her white eyelet shirt and blue capris, then scanned her sister’s plain blue and white dress. “Some of us choose quality, Debbie Sue. I’m sure that dress came from the Dollar General, while mine came from Target.”
“It’s Debra now,” Neil’s mother snarled. “How many times do I have to tell you that?” Her jaw tightened as she lifted her chin and gave her sister a haughty look. “And besides, I got this dress at Sears.”
“You may call yourself Debra now because you think it’ll help you sell more plastic containers for your Tupperware business, but it doesn’t mean the rest of us have to follow suit. For heaven’s sake, your birth certificate says Debbie Sue.”
Debra’s face turned red, and she looked like she was about to have a heat stroke.
“I wonder where Libby is with that lemonade,” Megan murmured, looking around. “Or where my mother is. Maybe I should go check.”
Blair grabbed her arm as she started to walk away, her nails digging into Megan’s flesh. “Don’t you even think about it.”
Megan laughed, but there was a nervous hitch to it.
Barb shifted her attention toward Blair, and she resisted the urge to squirm under her scrutiny. “So you’re Blair.”
“You know who I am?” she choked out. In the year she and Garrett had dated, she’d never met his mother. They’d talked about going to see Garrett’s family for Christmas, but they’d visited her mother instead. At Garrett’s insistence. He’d claimed it was because his mother and aunt were crazy, but after their breakup, she’d wondered if he’d maybe been ashamed of her.
Megan gave her a concerned glance, and Barb looked at her like she was flat-out crazy. “Well, you are the bride.” She laughed. “Debbie Sue and I may have our differences, but I know about Neil’s fiancée.”
“Oh,” she mumbled, the blood suddenly rushing from her head. She was totally losing it.
“Blair, are you okay?” Megan whispered. “You don’t look like you’re feeling well.”
“I’m fine.”
Barb seemed oblivious to her distress. Turned out the two sisters weren’t so different after all. “Debbie Sue says you’re a lawyer,” Barb said, glancing around the elaborately decorated yard. “My son Garrett is a lawyer too. What type of law do you do?”
“You mean practice?” Megan asked, sounding uncharacteristically snippy.
Barb waved her hand back and forth. “Whatever.”
Blair’s chest felt like someone was tightening a clamp, a quarter turn at a time, until all the air was squeezed out of her chest. Should she admit that she’d dated Garrett? Pretend she’d only just met him? “I . . . divorce law . . .” She wasn’t sure she could spend the rest of the evening with Garrett’s mother.
“Blair.” Megan sounded more insistent. “Let’s get you something to eat before the party gets started.”
Blair shook her head. “Knickers’ll have a fit if we mess up her display.”
“Let her.” Megan turned to the two sisters, who were currently shooting glares at each other that perfectly punctuated the sharply worded barbs they continued to volley. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to get the bride-to-be something to eat.”
“Of course. We’ll get a chance to chat later,” Barb said, then glanced around the yard, already dismissing the two women. “Where’s Dena? Is she bringing her ill-behaved children with her?”
Debra bristled at her sister’s remark. “Dena will be here soon. The real question is where is Kelsey? Too busy with her poor fatherless baby?”
“And that’s our cue . . .” Megan looped her arm through Blair’s and tugged her toward the food table, casting another worried look in her direction. “When was the last time you ate something?”
“I don’t know. Lunch, I guess, but I didn’t eat very much. Nerves.”
Megan grabbed a pink paper plate and stacked it with a couple of quartered sandwiches and some raw vegetables. “What’s going on, Blair? This is totally unlike you. You’re never affected by nerves.”
“I’m getting married,” Blair said. “I think I’m entitled.”
Megan didn’t say anything as she handed over the plate.
Even Blair knew she was acting like a bitch. “God, I’m sorry, Megs. I’ve got a lot on my mind, and I’m taking it out on you.”
“Now I’m really scared if you’re apologizing.” She grinned, but her eyes were full of worry.
Blair took a bite of one of the sandwiches. “This is delicious.”
Megan’s eyes narrowed. “Cut the crap, Blair. It’s not like you to change the subject. You always tell it like it is. What are you hiding?”