A Mother to Embarrass Me by Carol Lynch Williams Page B

laughed to the sky. Her hair swung around and Quinn reached right over and kissed her a long one on the mouth. It was such a long one that Mary said, under her breath, “Get a room.”
    I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. The man I loved was kissing someone else. The man I planned to marry, the man I would have five children with, the man I would wear Elmo slippers for, was kissing someone else passionately in my driveway.
    “They need to come up for air,” Mary said. She sounded a little disgusted. “Have you ever noticed how some people are? They could care less we are here on the porch staring our eyeballs out at them.”
    “Let's not look anymore,” I said, and backed into the house. Mary followed behind and let me close the door. I fell against it and squeezed my eyes shut. There was a pain in my heart. A deep pain.
    “Laura,” Mary said, and her word came out as a gasp. “Laura.” Then her eyes got big. Not big as saucers, like people say in books, but pretty darn close to that. “You like him,” she said. “You
like
Quinn Sumsion, don't you?”
    “No,” I said. And it wasn't a lie. I loved Quinn Sumsion. I loved him.
    “You do,” she said, her voice full of wonder. “And all along I thought it was Christian that you liked.”
    I didn't have time to say anything, because right at that moment the bell rang.
    “I'll get it. Should I let them in? How about if I tell them to go away?” Mary asked. “How about if I tell
her to
go away?”
    I shook my head. “They've been invited,” I whispered. “Or at least
he
was. They must be allowed to enter.” I felt a bit noble, though there was still that awful pain in my chest.
    “Well, fine.” She hurried to the door and opened it wide. “Downstairs to the theater,” she said, and her voice sounded a bit icy.
    I had made my way to Mom's front office, where I glanced around the room and wiped at my eyes. At that moment I was filled with sorrow.
    Mary came in behind me. “Laura,” she said.
    “What?” My voice came out a squeak. How embarrassing.
    “I've sent them to the theater,” she said. “You okay?”
    I nodded.
    We stood silent in Mom's office for a moment. I had to change the subject. “She hasn't done any sculpting in a long time,” I said when I trusted my voice. “She has one piece partway finished in her studio.”
    “This party,” Mary said. She rested her hand on my shoulder. “Maybe it will make you feel better. Just don't look at the two of them. Hopefully they're way in the back. And maybe Christian will still come.”
    “Maybe,” I said. But now I didn't care. In fact, I didn't even want to be at the party. Of course, I had to be, to make sure that the commercial was right. But I didn't
want
to be.
    “Laura,” Dad called up from downstairs. “Game's about to begin.”
    Mary gave me a tight hug. Her hair smelled sweet, like flower shampoo.
    “We better go,” I said. “Mary, you're a great friend.”
    “Of course I am,” she said. “Now remember, don't even look at those two.”
    The party was loud with people talking and laughing. Everybody was trying to find a seat to watch the beginning of the game. Most had already dug into the food. I made a valiant effort to do what Mary said, not to look for Quinn and Rebecca, but my eyes seemed to have a mind of their own. I found them both right off. They hadsnuggled up on the floor with a plate of food between them.
    “Great,” I said.
    “Don't look,” Mary said. She turned me away from the crowd. Now I faced my mother instead. Had she noticed that Quinn was cheating on me? If she did, I sure couldn't tell. A group of women stood near her. One said, “Jimmey, you were a beautiful model. These pictures of you are simply stunning.”
    “Back in the olden days I had perky breasts,” Mom said. I spun away, realizing I wouldn't get comfort from my mother. Still, I heard Mom finish, “Thanks to sagging, these are now thirty-two longs.” I could imagine Mom pointing at