I look at my phone, sighing silently. I’m at lunch with my mother, at a ridiculously fancy place… and I’m counting the minutes until we’re done. I look around the dining room, look at the white linen tablecloths and waiters wearing white.

All I want is to not be wearing this tight pink dress and to be off with Jameson, but I had to leave his bed eventually. And my mother made it clear that I was going to attend this luncheon, so here I am.

It doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it though.

“Can you believe that Sarah Perkins?” my mother sniffs, sipping her glass of white wine. “She came right out and made her opinions known. Though no one but her husband took her seriously. All the rest of us know that Nancy is from… well, let’s just say, she didn’t come up with wealth. And she still has a whiff of money grubbing poverty on her. It’s plain enough to see.”

I push my salmon around my plate, barely listening. “That’s terrible.”

“Isn’t it? The woman is a harridan, that’s for sure.” She flags down a passing waiter. “Another glass of the pinot gris, please?”

My mother’s disapproving gaze passes over me. “Are you just going to sit there all day moping?”

I straighten up. “What should I be saying?”

She shifts in her seat, smoothing a hand over her white dress. “I would like to know what happened on your date with Rich.”

I flush, looking down. “Mom, Rich is really not a nice guy. He shoved me against a wall. He bruised my arms.”

Her gaze narrows. “I don’t see any bruises.”

“That was a week ago!” I put my fork down and put my napkin on top of the plate. Almost instantly, a waiter steps in and removes the plate.

Another delivers my mother’s fresh glass of wine. She inclines her head, but keeps her focus on me.

“I think you’re being a little exciteable.” She sips her wine.

“About the fact that he got very drunk and violent with me? I don’t think so.”

“Emmaline!” my mother says, looking around as if people heard me. “Keep your voice down. And I highly doubt that is actually what happened.”

“That’s exactly what happened.” I keep my voice even, though I’m starting to seethe inside. “If you need proof, you can find it on the police report. He actually admitted it.”

My mother rolls her eyes at me. “I hope that wasn’t your doing.”

I know my mom is a cold bitch sometimes, but I honestly cannot believe her right now. “The police hauled him away. If they are pressing charges, it’s nothing to do with me. I was the victim, though.”

I wrap my arms protectively around my torso, shooting my mother a glare.

My mother sighs. “Fine, fine. But just because you had a bad experience with Rich, that doesn’t mean you just stop dating all together. Otherwise you’ll be thirty before you know it, alone and bitter.”

My jaw drops. “I can’t believe you!”

“Nor I you, frankly.” She sits back in her chair and swirls her wine. “I’m just trying to guide you to a husband. One would think you would be more grateful.”

I grit my teeth. “As it so happens, I am seeing someone.”

“Oh?” She sits up. “Who?”

“Someone who isn’t part of your weird little group of your cronies’ children. Someone who wouldn’t be caught dead at one of your parties, as a matter of fact.”

My mother’s expression flattens.

“So you’re just going to throw your life away and marry some nobody? No, I don’t think so.” She grabs her purse and pulls out her phone. “I’ll start making calls for you right now. Evelyn Becker was just saying that her son is ready to settle down…”

“Mother—” I frown as she continues looking at her phone. I stand up and reach my hand over her screen. “Mom! Stop! Jesus christ.”

She looks at me, affronted. “Emmaline, darling, I’m just trying to make sure you don’t end up alone. It’s a mother’s duty to see her child is taken care of.”

I blow out a breath. “I just told you I’m seeing someone. I’m not alone. And even if I was, I don’t need you fixing me up anymore. Most of the kids of your friends are heinous, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that…”

“Well I do,” I say, retaking my seat. “I’m sure that there are exceptions, but I don’t really want to find out for myself. I’m perfectly happy.”

My mother lifts a brow. “What is his name, this man that is supposedly wooing you? What does he do?”

I bite my lip, looking down. “It’s still so new. I don’t feel comfortable airing out all of his personal details to you yet.”

She takes a sip of her wine. “It sounds like you’ve made someone up to put me off.”

“He is real, I assure you.”

“And you think that he will be able to support you when you graduate?”

I pause, confused. “What? I’ll be able to work. Why wouldn’t I just do that?”

My mother looks at me like I must be dumb. “You’ll be pregnant, I presume. You won’t have time for an actual job, Emmaline.”

I want to protest. I even open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I don’t doubt her sincerity… it’s just that my mother lives in such a different world than I do.

“Mother,” I say, not even knowing where to start. “First off, I am not going to magically get pregnant, unless I’m trying. Thank god for birth control. Second, I assume that you would prefer me to be married first…”

“That goes without saying.”

“Right. Third, I plan on finding a job and holding that job, regardless of whether or not I am, in fact, pregnant. People do it all the time.”

Her mouth puckers into a sour expression. “You think you can do it all, but you can’t. Especially not right after a baby.”

I feel a little sorry for her. “I don’t think that. I do think that men should be active and involved in the child rearing process, though.”

“Oh, really, Emmaline!” she says, exasperated. “That is just crazy talk. If your father heard you say that, he would ship you off to a rehab center.”

“He’d have to get me declared mentally incompetent, then. Because I wouldn’t go for no reason. And what you’re saying, that we disagree over who would raise my theoretical child? That isn’t an argument that Daddy could make to the court.”

I stand up, grabbing my purse. I’m careful to brush the wrinkles out of my dress.

“Emmaline…”

“I have to go, mother. I have somewhere to be. Thank you for lunch.” I turn and walk out of the dining room. I hope I look cool and collected, but inside I’m so outraged that I’m shaking.

I get outside of the restaurant, gulping lungfuls of fresh air. Usually I do a much better job of putting my hackles up, but today I let my mother really get my goat.

Once I pull myself together, I drive home in my coupe. The Range Rover that I had for a few days was nice, but it was just a loaner while my car was serviced. I zip my little car in and out of lanes, mindlessly driving toward home.

I try not to steam over the horrible stuff my mother said, really I do. I breathe deeply, I count to fifty, I do all the woo woo stuff that a therapist once recommended when dealing with my family. It doesn’t lessen the sting, though.

When I get home, I’m still so in my head that I almost pass by Evie and Maia. I back myself up, entering the kitchen to find the two of them sitting across from each other at the kitchen table. They’re each gripping a mug of tea.

Apparently Evie has a method when she soothes a girl.

Maia wipes away a tear, looking away from me. Evie looks at me, her expression perfectly blank.

“What’s going on in here?” I ask, curious.

“We’re just talking.” Evie sighs, sitting back in her chair.

I glance at Maia. “Boy stuff?”

Maia gives me a miserable nod. When she speaks, her highborn British accent is particularly strong. “Men suck.”

I can’t disagree with that. “You wanna get some takeout? A pizza, maybe?”

Evie lights up. “I’m starving.”

I smile at her. “How about I go change, and then I meet you two on the porch? All you have to do is decide on toppings.”

Evie grins and Maia gives me a watery smile. I scoot to my bedroom, changing into a denim miniskirt and an oversized blue tee. Then I grab my wallet and my phone and head to the porch.

Evie and Maia are curled up in the seats, so I take a seat on the floor.

“Are you two okay with that pizza place on Third? I dream of their breadsticks sometimes,” I say.

“Sure,” Maia says with a shrug.

Evie looks thoughtful. “I’m thinking goat cheese and sundried tomatoes…”

“Yes! And… anrtichokes!” Maia says.

“With a pesto base?” I ask.

“You know how much I love pesto,” Evie says.

“Yeah, sounds perfect.” Maia squints into the sunlight. “And breadsticks, because apparently this place has good ones.”

“Oooh, and Diet Coke if they have it!” Evie says.

“You guys don’t even know how much better you’re making my day right now,” I say, looking up the pizza place online. “After what a shitty morning I had, I’m living for this pizza order, I swear.”

“Don’t even get me started on having a bad morning,” Maia mutters. “Did I already mention that boys suck so hard?”

“What happened?” I ask, a little distracted by the phone in my hands.

“My boyfriend… well, he’s definitely an ex now, I guess. Anyway, he took a bribe from my family and ratted me out.” Maia looks like she might throw up.

“Whoa, about what?” I ask.

Maia bites her lip. “I might have kind of… told my parents that I’ve been in art school this entire time? Like, getting my master’s degree in fine arts?”

I look up from my phone, nothing short of shocked. “You what?”

She gives me a lopsided smile. “Your reaction is sure to be better than my parent’s reaction. Anyway, I definitely don’t want to talk about it. Definitely definitely definitely.”

I shake my head a little, hitting the order now button on my phone. Then I focus on Maia. “Okay. But how does that affect your citizenship? I assume that you’re here on a student visa…”

“Can we please not talk about this right now?” she begs.

Evie clears her throat. “How about we go back to man bashing? Cause men really really suck.”

My phone vibrates gently in my hand. I look down and see a notification of a text from Jameson.

Busy?

With that one word, I’m smiling. I text him back.

Yes. Later, though?

I stifle a grin at his reply. You know it.

“Who is she getting text messages from that makes her smile?” Maia asks Evie, frowning.

“No one!” I insist, putting my phone down. “And the pizza is on the way. Now where were we with the man hating stuff?”

Evie gives me an odd look, but lets it go. And I just sit there and listen to them complain about the men that have screwed them over… all while secretly glowing from the inside out. Because even though my parents enrage me and my brother does things that I just don’t understand…

Jameson is there for me. He is steadfast this time, in it for the long haul. I can feel it.

And that means that I can’t complain anymore. Not about him, at least.