“—wouldn’t be any trouble at all, Aunt Dinah,” my stepdad was saying. “I’ll have that bad alternator changed before you can say tea and biscuits.”
“It’s quite all right, Hunter,” the old bird said stiffly. “I’ve been going to the same mechanic for years. She treats me well. I’m perfectly capable of dealing with my own car trouble.”
“Yep, that’s Aunt Dinah. A feminist to the end.”
“And what exactly is wrong with that?” my aunt asked in a low, cold voice.
My stepdad was tall, over six feet, with the looks of a handsome surfer who’d suffered from a severe allergic reaction and just hadn’t deflated yet. His thick blond hair flopped over his sweaty forehead. His dark eyes usually shone with a greedy intelligence, like he was sizing people up right before he robbed them blind. But he gulped at the look on Aunt Dinah’s face. He managed a tiny, fear-infused smile before he turned his back on his aunt and shut the door behind him.
It made the tightness in my chest lessen. I never should’ve doubted the old lady.
My mom, probably sensing the awkwardness and going into self-preservation mode, made a beeline toward me with her arms outstretched. “Esmer! Sweetheart! We’re here. Can you believe it?”
My mom was almost six feet and a bit heavyset herself, but she pulled it off with a lot more grace than her husband did. For one thing, she wore clothes that flattered her pear shape. And her thick, dark hair always looked fabulous. Her eyes seemed to sparkle, as if illuminated from the inside by her shining personality. Or by her toothy grin. She’d been a reporter for the local news program in Boston for so long that it was rare to see her without a hundred-watt smile.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed my mom until right then. I grinned and started standing. Charlie swooped in like a dark Prince Charming, steadying me with a hand cupped over my elbow.
My mom paused before she reached me, appraising my boyfriend with a coo. “Oh, look at you! Taking care of my baby like she’s worth a million bucks. Aren’t you sweet?” She reached out to pinch his cheek.
Charlie’s eyes were flat as he slowly tilted his head back. He reminded me of a cat with its ears lowered and its nose scrunched as it evaluated an unwelcome hand coming toward it. As comical as it would’ve been to see him swat my mother’s hand and retreat under the couch with a hiss, I decided it would be best if I intervened.
“Mom,” I said, stepping between them. “This is my boyfriend, Charles. I think I speak for college kids everywhere when I say they ain’t fans of having their cheeks pinched.”
My mom pressed her fingers against her mouth with a girly giggle. “Sorry. I got a little carried away.” She leaned to the side to smile at Charlie. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” my boyfriend said.
“I’m just so happy to finally see Esmer with a good boy. You have no idea how horrible her last boyfriend was.”
I shuddered. “Mom, Charlie doesn’t want to hear about my ex, a’ight?”
“Oh, of course not! Sorry again.” She threw her big arms around me and gave me a rib-crushing squeeze. “I’m so glad to be here. It’s making me ramble like a crazy person.”
I hugged her back. My mom was as big and warm as a giant stuffed animal. She was my definition of comfort.
Hunter watched us with a bored expression on his face which clearly said: “Can I go home and watch my show now?” “There, ya see? She’s fine. Just like I said she’d be.” He sneered when he caught my glare. “What’s up, kid? Burn down any houses yet?”
“Win any cases yet?” I shot back.
His pudgy face adopted a purplish hue. Those dangerous storm clouds gathered behind his eyes. My dad had been a good man. How could my mom settle for this?
I’d lost count of the number of times I’d wondered that. I’d only asked my mom once. All I got were excuses.
My mom released me to send an apologetic smile Aunt Dinah’s way. As usual, she was determined to ignore the obvious animosity between me and her husband. “It’s not that I doubted you, Dinah, but—”
“A mother worries,” the old woman said with a bow of her head. “I understand.”
“I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done. We shipped Esmer over here with barely a week’s notice and you received her so graciously. Just from talking with her over the phone, I’ve noticed how much she’s grown under your care.” My mom made a supplicating gesture. “I can’t thank you enough.”
Aunt Dinah’s ashen cheeks turned a little pink. She pressed her lips together and simply nodded, as if too flustered to speak. I swallowed down the impulse to giggle at her discomfort.
My mom beamed at me. “I’m more convinced now than ever that she’s ready to come home.”
I didn’t feel like laughing anymore. Aunt Dinah looked like she’d swallowed a piece of fiberglass. Charlie stiffened next to me, tightening his grip on my elbow.
“Hold on there, Nina.” Hunter crossed his arms, regarding me with a suspicious look. “She’s only been here for a few months. I say she stays for a whole year. If she passes her classes and she still hasn’t desecrated a grave or stolen a car by then, maybe we let her come back to Boston.”
Boston. Where Marty and the gang were waiting. Where Hunter ruled, unchallenged. Where Dad’s absence was as heavy as a ten-ton coat on my back. Already, my heart rate was spiking. I felt dizzy and nauseated and wobbly in the knees.
“I ain’t going back,” I blurted out.
My mom’s head swiveled in my direction. She gave me a confused but polite smile, like I’d just told
