Page 145 of Regal Feather
Ev
You’re right
Sorry, Sir
Santos
That’s better
Now go do that
I won’t start the car until I have proof of purchase
Ev
That’s very Dom of you
Santos
Any complaints?
Ev
No
I like it
Santos
Yeah, I know you do
See you at home, babes
epilogue
EV
“You look so beautiful.”
I doubted I did when I was blinking as fast as I could to avoid making a mess of the makeup Vi had spent hours putting on me. My mother had wanted to hire a famous makeup artist to come. She’d also wanted to snatch a contract with one of the big national magazines for all things gossip to cover the wedding. I’d refused the latter on the basis that I would not be the face of pinkwashing the monarchy, and the former on my trust issues.
My mother had tried to gift me coupons for renowned makeup artists before, or to surprise me with them before attending one of the galas I could not excuse myself out of, and they never worked out. They were nice, sure. They either didn’t see my vision or I couldn’t explain it to them. Whatever it was, Vi got it, and I’d been growing closer to her over the last year, since she’d finally moved in permanently—her, Dixie, and Dixie’s sister, Lola. The latter was another reason I was spending more of my allocated monthly budget, but the tax accountant hadn’t had any follow-up questions about giving money to a local NGO for disabled rights, thank fuck.
“Thanks, mom.”
“Do you remember the story of how I named you?”
“I’m trying not to get emotional here.”
My mother laughed. I didn’t always understand her sense of humor, but she’d always had some sixth sense when it came to mine, even when I’d been at my most rebellious.
I still had plenty of thoughts about her naming me after the largest mountain range. Visualizing her as the more daring younger version of herself she’d been, climbing the mountain only a few months before finding out she was pregnant with me, was something, but it had been a lot of pressure to live up to it. Lots of being forced into the spotlight just based on the unusual name that no government worker should have allowed in the registers.
I was so glad none of the people I considered family called me Everest.
“I was only going to say you look as majestic as the mountain.”
“Before or after all the rich people dropped all their shit there?”
