Page 286 of Darling Venom
Beauty wrapped in ugliness.
Love disguised as hate.
We clutch each other’s shoulders.
It seems like we’ll never let go.
“I’m going to make you happy, Charlie.”
And you know what?
He already has.
ONE YEAR AFTER.
“It’s going to be a shit show,” I drawl as I slip out of my car, rounding it to open the door for Charlie.
She wobbles to her feet, cradling her pregnant belly. She’s doing great for late first trimester.
Hardly any morning sickness.
No mood swings.
Not even an enhanced sense of smell.
I warned her this could change at any moment. That pregnancy is not a walk in the park for everyone.
“It’s going to be fine.”
I wrap a shawl over her shoulders and lace our fingers. We make our way to the Literary Museum of Art in Brooklyn, where Kellan is about to be honored.
Another print of Darling Venom hit shelves last week. Terry weeps whenever he hears the book’s official sale count (ten million units and rising), which makes him an interesting choice to accept the award.
“You don’t really believe that,” I groan, squeezing her hand in mine.
“No, I don’t. But we have to respect his wishes. This is how he wants to do this. He owes it to himself, and to Kellan. We can’t stop it. And anyway, it’s not our place to.”
My wife has a point.
She always has a point.
I hate it.
In the museum, it’s more of the same.
I’ve gotten used to this literary mumbo jumbo from being Charlie’s plus one for countless events.
The highbrow conversation. The flutes of champagne. The in-depth pondering about texts written while the author was high as fuck.
An entire hour passes before the organizer of the event—a woman whose name I can’t pronounce, who looks as if she’s tried every single plastic surgery available on the market—clinks her glass with a fork.
Classic.
She asks for everyone’s attention, her scarlet smile dark and big. Oblivious to what she’s in for.
I sit back, watching her call Terry to the stage with a mixture of satisfaction and dread. My father gets up from our table and walks over.
The woman onstage bangs on about Darling Venom. About how well it did in stores. How kids are learning about it in high school now.
