Chapter 60

The look Aunt Sarah gives me could curdle milk, it’s that sour. Before she can snap back, though, Aunt Billy is on her feet, a plastic grin on her face. “Refills?” she asks, a ploy to change the subject. “Michael? Theresa? Anyone up for another drink?”

I need one. Holding out my glass, I tell her, “Sure.” She plucks it from my fingers, gathers a few others before hurrying from the room. I should follow her, I think. I don’t want to be here, this quiet time in the evening among the grown-ups is nothing I thought it would be. I’m still a child, I want to say. I don’t belong here.

But Dan’s arm is heavy where it rests across my shoulders and I can’t move. “Someone could at least callher,” Caitlin mutters.

“She’s not invited,” Mom says. She sounds like a petulant child, and when I open my mouth to ask again, she covers her eyes with one trembling hand. “Michael,” she warns. “Now is not the time.”