Chapter 4
Jax
I had no idea what high tea was, but apparently I would be finding out very soon.
I searched my bag for something to wear, but nothing seemed fitting of Grandma Miller’s request for me to wear my Sunday Best. What the hell was that?
Sunday Best sounded like something I would wear to church, but the problem was, I hadn’t been to church for at least twenty years.
I groaned as I threw clothes from my bag, none of them good enough.
“Everything okay over there?” Carter asked with a laugh from where she was sitting on the bed watching me struggle.
She looked so pretty with her hair hanging down her back in loose curls and her yellow sundress.
Why didn’t I think about bringing anything like that?
Oh yeah. I wasn’t expecting to go to something called high tea.
Why was that even a thing in this small Maryland town?
I thought that was something that only happened in more sophisticated places, like London.
“I have nothing to wear,” I said with another groan.
In reality, I knew this wasn’t just about my lack of Sunday Best. I needed to tell Carter about what was happening at the cafe, but it never felt like the right time.
She was already dealing with so much. She had to deal with no longer having her grandpa and in true Carter fashion had also put it on herself to find her grandma the perfect assisted living facility.
“I packed some clothes for you in my bag if you want to look through that at all.”
Of course she did, because she’s fucking perfect. I put my hands up in a praying motion. “Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank me yet. It’s a lot more of the same, so I don’t know if you’ll find anything you want to wear.”
Unfortunately, Carter was right, and after searching through her bag, I still couldn’t find anything to wear.
“Well, this fucking sucks,” I mumbled under my breath when I reached the bottom of the bag.
Carter sat up straighter and furrowed her eyebrows at me. “Are you sure you’re okay? It’s not like you to get this upset over an outfit.”
“I…” Just tell her. “I just want to make a good impression.”
Carter got out of the bed and walked over to me.
She put her arms under my armpits to force me to stand up then wrapped me in a tight hug that I immediately melted into.
“We’ve been dating for almost three years, and you’ve known my family even longer than that.
They all adore you. Plus, my grandma already thinks we’re married, so it’s not like you need to get her blessing. ”
I breathed in Carter’s scent and immediately felt better. No one had ever been able to center me the way she does. It was magical. “I’m just in a weird mood. I’m sorry.”
Carter dropped her arms from around me, but gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling away completely. “You know, the closet is still filled with old clothes of my mama’s. Maybe you could find something in there.”
Holy shit. This is why Carter is the smart one. “Really? Do you think she would mind?”
Carter laughed. “If you borrowed something she hasn’t worn in over thirty years? Somehow, I think she’d survive.”
I walked to the closet and quickly fanned through the clothing, stopping when I came to an outfit that looked perfect for high tea.
It was a short white dress with black polka dots.
My eyes went wide when I saw the hat sitting on the shelf above the dress—a big floppy black hat that was the perfect accessory for the dress.
“Holy shit, this is perfect,” I said breathlessly.
I put the hat on my head and pulled the dress out, holding it in front of me for Carter to see. “Do you think your mama wore this for high tea when she was our age? I bet she did.”
Carter furrowed her eyebrows and scrunched up her nose. “I can’t picture my mama ever wearing that.”
“How about me?” I twirled around, still holding the dress. “Can you picture me wearing it?”
Carter brought her hand to her mouth and giggled. “Honestly, no, but I’m sure you could pull it off. I think you look hot no matter what you’re wearing.”
“Oh yeah?” I dropped the dress and put my hands on Carter’s hips, pulling her body into mine. “What’s your favorite outfit?” I knew exactly what she was going to say which was why I asked the question.
Carter’s cheeks fanned red. “Well, my favorite is when you’re wearing nothing at all.”
I leaned in and stopped when my lips were just inches from hers. “You naughty girl. What am I going to do with you?”
I closed the little bit of space left between us and allowed my lips to meet hers in a searing kiss. Within seconds, Carter’s tongue was in my mouth, and all I could think about was getting her naked as quickly as possible.
“Girls?” Carter’s grandma shouted from the other side of the door. “Are you almost ready? We don’t want to be late. Cheryl and Margaret are meeting us there.”
I leaned back so I could wiggle my eyebrows at Carter. “Can’t keep Cheryl and Margaret waiting.”
Carter laughed and put her head on my shoulder. “Do we really have to do this?”
“Are you going to tell your grandma no?”
Carter groaned and threw her head back. “No. Let’s get this over with.”
“Okay.” I picked the dress back up off of the floor. “Just let me get into character.”
Five minutes later, we walked downstairs to find Carter’s moms and her grandma all waiting for us in the kitchen.
Momsy Reagan clapped her hands together as soon as she saw me. “No way! Wow! That dress brings back some very good memories.”
Mama Charlie studied the dress, but was staring at it as if she had never seen it before even though it was in her closet. “What memories does it bring back exactly?”
Momsy Reagan opened her mouth, aghast. “Really? You don’t remember?”
Now, Charlie looked nervous. “Should I?”
“Of course.” Reagan slapped the table as if to emphasize her point. “That’s the dress you wore the first time I ever went to high tea with you. Back when I was still Jamie’s girlfriend.”
I snorted at the reminder that Carter’s moms met when Reagan was pretending to be Uncle Jamie’s girlfriend. I still couldn’t believe that was how all of this started.
Grandma Miller got a sour look on her face as if she had just eaten something bad. “No need to bring up the past. Let’s get out of here.”
Before I moved from my spot, I looked toward Mama Charlie. “You don’t mind that I’m wearing this, do you?”
Mama Charlie laughed in response. “Not at all. It looks great on you. You should keep it.”
I shook my head. “No offense, but I can’t think of many situations that would feel right wearing this for.”
“No offense taken. You ladies have fun.”
Carter tilted her head at her moms. “Wait. You’re not coming?”
“No, we figured it would be nice for you two to have this time with your grandma.” There was a twinkle in Momsy Reagan’s eyes as she said those words that told me that was not the actual reason they weren’t going. Assholes.
I laughed to myself at the thought of calling my future in-laws assholes. Future in-laws. I really needed to find the perfect time to make this official so I could remove the future from that.
***
It took a while to get Grandma Miller in and out of Carter’s car, so by the time we arrived at what could only be classified as a somewhat-fancy rec hall, Cheryl and Margaret already had a table.
“Wait,” Grandma Miller said as I pushed her wheelchair toward the table. “I’m going to introduce you two as friends. Not because I’m embarrassed. There are just some people my age who don’t understand, and it’s not worth trying to make them understand.”
I couldn’t say I agreed with that sentiment, but I wasn’t going to fight an old lady, so I decided just to go along with it. “With friends like Carter, who needs a girlfriend? Am I right?”
Instead of laughing, Grandma Miller shook her head. “Maybe keep jokes like that to a minimum.”
No gay jokes. Noted.
When we reached the table, Grandma Miller squished her wheelchair into the space between the chairs meant for me and Carter.
Carter glanced over at me with a look of annoyance on her face, but I simply shrugged my shoulders. If I had to spend an hour or two pretending to be straight while drinking tea with homophobic old women to cement my place in the Miller-Cooper family, I would do it.
“Ladies.” Grandma Miller looked at Cheryl and Margaret, then between me and Carter. “You know my granddaughter, Carter. This is her roommate, Jax.”
“Roommate.” One of the women lifted an eyebrow at me, then reached her hand out toward me. “I’m Margaret. How very nice to meet you.”
Why does everything this woman says sound sarcastic?
I accepted her hand and shook it firmly. “It’s very nice to meet you as well.”
My introduction to Cheryl was pretty much just as awkward, but once that was over, we jumped right into high tea. Grandma Miller shakily poured tea for each of us, then the three older women broke into a conversation about the pregnancy of the grandchild of one of their other friends.
What is in the water in Maryland? How do all of these women live to be two hundred?
Cheryl shook her head. “I’m not one to judge. I just think that boy should have given her a ring before he gave her a child.”
The other two older women nodded as if it was any of their business how people lived their lives.
“Speaking of having a child.” Grandma Miller smiled proudly. “I’m going to have another great grandbaby.”
My heart swelled with love and pride when I thought about my best friend being a mom.
There was also the slightest bit of fear for that child, but I was sure Olivia could step it up and be the greatest mom in the world.
And there was no question that I was going to be the coolest aunt. I would make sure of it.
Margaret nodded as she took a sip of her tea. “We know. When is it that Ronan’s wife is due again?”
Grandma Miller shook her head. “I’m not talking about Ronan. I’m talking about Olivia. She just told us the other night that she’s pregnant.”
Cheryl’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “Good for her. I always thought she was going to become one of those women who never has kids. What do they call them again?”
Funny. I’ve always just called them women.
It was a shame I was in my head about the cafe or else I would find this whole situation humorous rather than annoying. Unfortunately, the announcement from the cafe last week was affecting my whole mood. I couldn’t even get myself to laugh at these ridiculous women.
Cheryl turned her eyes to Carter. “What about you, Carter? Any wedding bells or baby strollers in your future?”
“I…”
Grandma Miller put her hand in the air to stop Carter. “Carter is very focused on her job. That’s why she moved to New York a few years ago. She’s working for VisuSphere. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”
“I have.” Cheryl turned her attention on me now, which had my wiggling in the seat.
This woman was definitely on a mission. I just hadn’t determined what her mission was yet.
“And what about you, Jax? You and Carter must have grown pretty close over the past few years for you to come all the way to Maryland for the funeral.”
Before I could think of how to respond, Grandma Miller responded for me. “Yes. Jax is a close family friend. She has been my granddaughter Olivia’s best friend since college.”
I took a sip of my tea, which was surprisingly good, while I waited to see where this conversation went. Much to my surprise it was Margaret who opened her mouth to speak next. I brought my cup back to my lips as her words slipped out.
“Oh, for God’s sake, Sharon, could you please stop acting like your whole family isn’t gay?”
I took another sip of tea at the perfectly wrong time, and my shock (and amusement) from Margaret’s words caused it to fly from my mouth. Unfortunately for her, Margaret was in my direct path and the tea soaked her neck and the collar of her shirt.
I jumped up from my seat to grab napkins and help clean her up, but hit my knee on the table when I did. The impact caused the table to rock, which in turn, caused Grandma Miller’s tea to topple over and spill on her lap.
“I’m so sorry,” I said as I grabbed napkins for the tea-soaked old women.
I was kind of scared to look at Carter, because I wasn’t sure how she would react to me completely messing up high tea.
It wasn’t that I actually believed she took high tea seriously, but this was Carter.
She was always so perfect and liked to make a good impression.
These women obviously knew I wasn’t just her roommate, and I wasn’t doing a very good job of representing myself as her girlfriend.
Luckily, there was a smile on Carter’s face, and as soon as our eyes met, she broke into a fit of laughter. The whole scene was so ridiculous, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing along with her.
“I’m sorry, ladies,” I said between giggles. “It appears I’m not dignified enough for high tea.”
Margaret sighed, the plane of her lips not breaking into even the slightest small. “Most people from your generation aren’t, unfortunately.”
Grandma Miller glared at her friend before reaching out and taking my hand, squeezing it tightly as she did. “They might not be made for high tea, but you are right—Jax is my granddaughter-in-law, and I feel very blessed that she is.”
A warmth spread through my body from Grandma Miller’s sweet words. I squeezed her hand back, but didn’t say anything because I was worried I might start to cry.
I decided at that moment that I needed to do everything I could to help Carter find Grandma Miller a place to stay. If she was going to have to be in an assisted living facility, I was going to make sure it was the nicest damn facility in Maryland.
First, I just had to make it through the rest of the tea without scalding any more old women.