On Wednesday afternoon, I was helping the wait staff again for the lunchtime rush when Kat and her mother arrived on the terrace. Candace Blair was the toughest woman to please and she looked the part of a wealthy housewife. She always appeared as if she had a team of people working on her makeup and hair. She was well coifed and flawless. Her severe silky blonde bob didn’t have a hair out of place.
Kat consistently fought for her mother’s approval. She looked particularly nervous, a trait I’d seen only when she was with her mother or grandmother, the two people holding the lock and key to her trust. Kat had confided in us that she intended to gain access to it before she went to college and had some sort of plan to get there. With her distraction, it could be my best shot to win her back.
After their waitress, Sally, took drink orders I strode over there with my pitcher of water. Drops of condensation fell to the floor as I walked. The day had been one of the hot ones, but the breeze from the ocean was enough to keep our outside customers comfortable and cool.
Kat spotted me. Her eyes flashed for a moment and then she plastered on a polite smile.
“Hi, Mrs. Blair, Kat,” I said, pouring water into their glasses.
Candace placed her frigid, bony fingers on my arm. “Cara, dear. I didn’t know you worked here.” How she managed to always be freezing, even in the summer, was beyond me.
“My dad is the manager. I help out where I can.”
“That’s wonderful, dear. If only you could bestow that sense of workmanship to Kat.” Mrs. Blair’s gaze slid to Kat while she took a sip from her glass, her pinky raised high in the air.
Kat’s shoulders stiffened. “Mother!”
Candace smiled, flashing her slightly crooked but brilliantly white teeth. “I’m only teasing.” She turned to me. “How are you doing, Cara? We haven’t seen you in quite some time.”
I glanced at Kat, then smiled at her mom. “I’ve been busy here.”
“Our dear Joseph was so lucky to have you,” she said, her eyes brimming with tears. Her bright-red lips quivered.
I touched her arm. “I was the lucky one.”
A woman at another table waved, signaling me to fill her glass. “Excuse me.”
Mrs. Blair lifted her cloth napkin and dabbed her cheek.
I took a breath, the past few minutes a blur in my mind. Kat hadn’t told her mother about our fight—not that Kat ever shared much with her parents. She hadn’t completely cut me out of her life yet. That meant something. She wasn’t finished with me yet. I wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing, but it was something.
For the rest of their meal, I tried to overhear what they were discussing. I filled their water and smiled politely a few times but other than that I was the quiet observer. They stopped talking each time I came around. It must have been an important conversation, as I predicted. It wasn’t going well for Kat: her scowl was apparent, at least to me. Her mother seemed unfazed by Kat’s blatant disapproval.
It wasn’t until Mrs. Blair paid the check that Kat finally looked at me. I was frozen to the spot when she approached me refilling the pitcher.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hi,” I said, concentrating on my task.
She glanced over her shoulder at her mom. “I’m only over here to keep up appearances.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mother is upset enough about Joe’s death. She doesn’t need to know that his girlfriend used him to get ahead in life.”
“Kat, I—”
She held up a hand in a “stop” gesture. “Save it for someone who cares. I’ll tell her soon enough.”
“Tell her what?”
“That we parted ways as friends. I’ll make up some excuse for it. Besides, I’m sure she’d understand. You never fit in with us.”
I had a sinking feeling that this might be my last chance to convince her. I needed to lay it all out for her.
“Kat, you have to understand. In the beginning, I really loved Joe. Honest. I did stay with him longer than I wanted so that our friendship wouldn’t suffer. But, Kat, I am your friend. No matter what happened between us.”
“If you were my friend, you would have been truthful from the start.”
I highly doubted that. She never looked my way until Joe and I started dating. Without him, I’d still be nobody. “What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything.”
She stepped closer to me, close enough that I could smell the peppermint from her lip gloss. “Stay the hell away from me and my family. I don’t want someone as pathetic as you anywhere near me.” She looked at her mom again and put up a finger to her. She smiled at me and pulled me into a hug. “See ya!” she said loudly and strode away.
My heartbeat pounded in my ears. Acting pathetic was one thing; someone calling you that was heartbreakingly worse. My insides knotted together and I struggled to breathe. The heat from the day suddenly became too intense. I dropped the pitcher on the counter and ran inside. The blast of air conditioning in the empty banquet hall was like icicles on my skin.
I leaned against the wall, raking my hands through my hair. Several strands came loose from my ponytail as I struggled to breathe. How did I end up here? Everything was Joe’s fault. All of this. I couldn’t believe that every conversation, vacation, and party Kat and I attended was a complete lie. I knew she’d do anything for her brother, but I never thought she’d fabricate a friendship because of it. What was wrong with me that made it so hard for people to stay friends with me?
“Cara?” Dad’s voice floated across the room.
I stood up straight and smoothed my hands over my hair, turning around to look at my thin reflection in the window. I didn’t need any more questions or accusations from him.
I turned around, sensing his closeness.
“Hi—” I choked on my words and found my breathing was even more labored.
Dad wasn’t alone. Ryan stood at his side.