My father spent approximately 40 minutes describing the Whitmore family history to the room as if none of us had access to Google. She paused. My mother cried. The happy kind of crying. Not the kind she does when she's actually in pain.
Marcus was quiet. You don't have to do that, Clare said. Do what? The careful silence thing where you're deciding how to react without giving me any information about how you actually feel. He looked at her across the lantern.
You picked that up in 6 years or before. I picked it up the first time I watched you not react to something. Vanessa said, she held his gaze. You've been doing it as long as I've known you. That was truer than he was comfortable admitting.
So, he didn't admit it. He said, "Congratulations to her." I suppose. I suppose. Clare picked up her coffee.
She announced it, looking directly at me, you know. While she said it like she was checking whether I'd flinch. Did you? No. She set the cup down.
I smiled. I've had years of practice. She looked at the table. And then I went to the bathroom and I called my mother who didn't answer. And then I called my father who didn't answer.
And then I stood in the bathroom of the Caldwell estate for 12 minutes wondering why I was still at that party. Then I called Vanessa. What did she say? Her phone went to voicemail. Clare looked up.
I didn't leave a message. I just picked up my heels and walked out. I didn't tell anyone I was leaving. Nobody noticed. Marcus looked at her.
Nobody noticed, she said again. And this time it wasn't a complaint. It was just a fact. She was laying on the table to look at. You noticed, he said.
She was quiet for a moment. I've been noticing for a long time. The storm was picking up again outside. A hard rattle against the windows. And somewhere down below the house, a sound like a dumpster getting moved by water.
Marcus stood up and checked the back door. The seal was holding. Water not reaching the threshold yet and came back to the table. My daughter's at my sister's in Murfreesboro, he said, sitting back down. She was supposed to be back tomorrow.