At the party, I wait for Mom to be too busy with her socializing to notice my escape to a corner of the room. I grab a glass of champagne and down it in one gulp. I need all the courage I can get. I watch people all around me talking and enjoying themselves. I can’t help secretly laughing at all the fakeness.

I curse under my breath when I notice my mother waving me over. Time to be pleasant. As I walk up to my mother and Adam, I see they’re talking to Catherine Stern. She is such a beautiful woman. She holds herself with elegance and class and yet has an edge to her that I feel should be taken as a warning to people.

“Mother, you wanted to see me?”

“Ah, yes, Avery. You remember Mrs. Stern, don’t you?”

“Yes, Mrs. Stern. It’s so good to see you again.”

Mrs. Stern looks me up and down, and I’m surprised by the way she smiles; it looks genuine, not fake like all the others.

“Avery, you have grown into a beautiful woman. I hear you’ve graduated from Harvard Business School. That’s very impressive.”

I smile back at her. She is the first woman to ever tell me I’m beautiful.

My mother jumps in. “Yes, she just graduated, but it’s not really a big deal; however, it does look good on her resume.” My mother’s reference to a resume is not in the sense of a career, but a resume for a husband. I look down at the floor as she continues. “Being educated these days is more important than what it used to be in our day. But of course, it’s just a degree. One day, she will take my place in society and hopefully make me proud.”

I look back up because there is silence. Catherine looks repulsed by my mother’s words, which interests me. Most women would just agree with her and nod their head. Catherine looks like my mother is off her rocker.

My mother ignores the look and asks, “Catherine, are your sons here with you tonight?”

“Gabriel is. He’s here somewhere with his date, Angelle Rollins.”

“Oh, now that woman is a beauty. She’s a wonderful pick for your son.”

I watch Catherine’s face sour in response to my mother. “Yes, well, Angelle is beautiful, but I prefer the beauty Avery holds. It’s not fake, it’s pure. Your daughter is the true beauty.”

My eyes go wide in shock. I have seen Angelle Rollins, and she is the perfect socialite, beautiful and at ease in the public eye. How can Catherine see more in me?

My mother clears her throat and says, “Well, I guess Avery is beautiful, but she needs to apply herself more. You know, if she would learn simple things like how to put her makeup on properly or—”

Adam interrupts, laughing, “Okay, that’s enough, Margaret. Catherine doesn’t want to hear about all the ways Avery has let us down.” He addresses Catherine now. “Catherine, where are your other sons?”

“They had other things that needed to be handled.” She was short and dry with her answer. I can see Adam doesn’t like Catherine all that much.

Before I can even finish thanking God that one of her sons is not here, my mother jumps in again while I watch the fiasco. “Oh yes, your son Liam, how is he? I will never forget how gracious he was to bail us out of our jam with Avery.”

I could die right now. Why would she bring this up again?

Right then, Gabriel and Angelle walk into our conversation. Angelle asks, “What did Liam do?”

My mother kisses Angelle’s cheeks and grabs her hands. “I was telling Catherine how grateful I am for her loaning Liam out to us on the night of Avery’s cotillion. If he wouldn’t have agreed to escort Avery, we would have been a laughing stock.”

Mother starts to whisper, but we can all hear her just fine. “Poor girl couldn’t get a date. Never even had a boyfriend.”

Kill me. Someone just kill me and put me out of my misery.

Catherine looks appalled. “Yes, well, it wasn’t too much of a struggle for him, I’m sure. Liam has always loved beautiful things, and Avery fits that bill. So, I am sure he was very pleased.”

I think I might love this woman. Without me saying a word, she has single-handedly put my mother and Adam in their place. I wish I could be more like her.

Catherine, her son and his date excuse themselves, and I’m left alone with my parents. Adam begins his tirade. “That woman has a lot of fucking nerve.”

My mother joins in. “Without William, that woman was nothing. Poor William, he brought an outsider in and had to make her a someone. She’s lucky I even considered Liam. If it wouldn’t have been that he is William’s son, I wouldn’t have cared how desperate we were; I would have never allowed him to escort you. Stay away from that family, you hear, Avery? They are not what anyone would consider good stock.”

I nod my head; if she only knew she never has to worry about that. Liam would never consider me. One time I thought differently, but then he showed his true colors.

Later towards the end of the night, Adam calls me over to introduce me to Senator Rollins. I found him very creepy; he kept his eyes on me the whole time and even licked his lips once. He made me feel like I needed a bath. Once his stare got too much for me to bear, I excused myself.

The rest of the night I spend watching Catherine Stern. My mother and Adam said some nasty things about her, but I like the woman. Then I think about how close I could have been to her if things would have turned out differently.