Page 13 of A Summer of Stars
She shook her head, swinging her curls back and forth.
I knelt down to meet her height as she placed it on my head.
“You look just like a princess.” She smiled, taking a step back to admire her work. I struggled not to flinch at that word.
“Well, that’s funny because I think I’m looking at one right now,” I said, booping my finger on the tip of her nose.
“Princess Emma, can Luna and I talk for a sec?” Deidra asked.
Emma nodded and took what looked like banana bread out of her mother’s hands, carrying it into the kitchen down the chestnut hall.
“You good?” she asked once her daughter was out of sight.
“Dee, no work talk,” I said pointedly, before spinning on my foot and walking into the dining room to make sure we had enoughchairs. Blake had a date tonight, so I wouldn’t need a chair for her. And Lisa said she was busy with—
“Luna, I mean it. Are you okay? Management swept you away after the meeting, so we didn’t get a chance to talk. Are you going to be all right handling this?” Her tone was soft, as malleable as focaccia dough. I continued to adjust the tablecloth.
“We can talk about this Monday,” I replied.
“I mean it,” she said with more vigor.
“Do you think I can’t handle it?”
She exhaled. “I know you can. I wouldn’t have set this up with his team if I didn’t think so. But when I saw the two of you in that room, I felt… I don’t know… it was tense. I just want to make sure you’re going to be okay.”
I ran my hand across my forehead. She was one of my best friends, and I loved her for caring. But I couldn’t have this conversation so soon without a twinge of annoyance.
So I squeezed her hand, and said, “No work talk,” walking out of the room.
The dining room table was decorated with homemade breads, pastas, sauteed vegetables, dips for chips, and soy candles made by Amir, who needed something to do while he watchedThe Bachelor.
Arms stretched, reaching for dishes, similar to the way kids’ hands fought for goodie bags at a birthday party. But this was so much better than a birthday party because there were carbs, gossip, and the smell of perfume.
Serena—thirty-seven, mom of thetwo setsof twins, focused on appearances and event scheduling—was on her third glass of wine,telling us about the most recent PTA meeting. Apparently, there was a parent trying to ban stickers this week.
“Stickers—can you believe that? She already has a petition with thirty signatures. I thought we lived in a civil society,” she huffed with such force that her paper crown shifted on her blond head. “That’s all Jack has an interest in right now! He covers every surface in stickers the same way Luna covers every wall in here with wallpaper.”
“Leave my wallpaper out of this!”
Everyone erupted in laughter; even Julia’s shoulders had loosened. We were literally surrounded by wallpaper.
Amir—twenty-eight, lover of romance, and professional nutritionist—spoke up from beside me. “I think you should tell that mom to stick that petition right up her—”
“—Butt!” Deidra shouted, enveloping Emma’s head with her hands, crushing her crown.
“If I only had one child to worry about, I think I would.” Serena tipped her glass to Amir in agreement.
“Amir, how did your date go?” I asked.
“On a scale of one to ten…” He thought for a moment, narrowing his eyes. “Greek god.”
“I don’t think that scale made sense?” I questioned.
Amir didn’t reply, continuing on. “But I don’t know if I can be with a manthatattractive. I’ll have to start going to the gym more, and that isnotwhat I signed up for.”
“If we’re going to talk about attractive men, then can we please talk about he-who-we-shall-not-name?” Willow—twenty-eight, enthusiast of gossip, and the social media manager behindLuna Aldridgethe brand—asked, her dark hair braided behind her back. She was the gossip of the group, but not in a fearful, highschool way. She justalwaysknew what was going on, from dating rumors to office supplies theft to upcoming celebrity tabloids to ex-boyfriends’ allergies.
“I think if we can’t even say his name, then probably not,” Deidra replied with a death stare.
