Chapter 25 Miles
MILES
Who the fuck rearranges furniture backstage right after an opening night performance?
I’m going to have those stagehands fired.
I don’t care if they’re volunteers or if they’re doing it for college credit—I will have them fired, and I will see to it that they never work in theatre again.
Anywhere. Not even dinner theatre in Duluth.
I had a plan. I had an entire day planned for when I was going to tell Macy about Aria.
I was going to take her and Aria to the beach the morning after the show closes.
I was going to refer to her as “our friend, Aria.” I was going to take them for dairy-free cupcakes at Macy’s favorite bakery on Montana Avenue—the one with the neon pink lights everywhere.
I was going to take them to a fucking bakery that’s all pastel colors and glowing neon pink, and I was going to willingly sit inside it with my two girls.
Then I was going to bring them back to my place so we could watch Singin’ in the Rain together.
And then I was going to tell Macy that Aria has become my special friend, while holding hands with Aria.
I was going to ask her if she had any questions for us… “us.” I was going to say “us.”
That’s how I was going to break the news to her.
The plan was for my daughter to see me with my hands on my new girlfriend’s ass exactly never times.
Clara’s been married to her second husband for a year now, and I still have no idea how she broke the news to Macy back when she first started dating him—because I didn’t want to know.
But I bet her tongue wasn’t halfway down the architect’s throat and her hands weren’t squeezing his ass.
This is my fault. I know. I should have had a signed agreement between myself and Aria stating that we would not engage in any kind of physical intimacy when my daughter was on the premises.
Regardless of perceived cautionary concealment.
I can’t believe I didn’t even have a contingency plan in case of emergency.
That’s what I get for being so happy and in love. I got careless.
Now I’m here in my car with Macy, driving to Shane Miller’s house in the Pacific fucking Palisades, and I have to wing it.
She hasn’t said a word to me since the incident, other than “Can you hold my bag, please? And this kit? And these shoes?” We’re just staring at the traffic ahead of us and listening to the Shrek the Musical soundtrack.
I have to talk to her before we get to the party, so I turn down the stereo.
“Hey, I was listening to that.”
“I know, but I wanted to ask if you had any questions about what happened backstage tonight.”
“Oh. You mean when you kissed Aria?”
“Yes. We didn’t mean for anyone to see that. Especially not you.”
“You mean you meant to do it but it was a secret?”
“Well, I don’t mean it was a secret that I wanted to keep from you. I was going to tell you about us in a couple of weeks. I figured you already have a lot to deal with, with the show and everything. So we were waiting.”
“Waiting for what?”
“Waiting to tell you that Aria and I are friends.”
“Friends who kiss?”
“Yeah.”
“Like Mommy and Richard?”
“Well, kind of. Aria and I aren’t married like your mom and Richard are. We’re still getting to know each other.”
“Getting to know each other by kissing each other?” I can’t tell if she’s messing with me or not. She’s watched five million hours of movies and TV shows, so she’s not na?ve.
“That’s one way we’re getting to know each other.”
“Is that why Aria lives next door to us now? So you can be close to her?”
“Uhhh, nope. We didn’t start kissing until after she was living there.”
“Is that why you’re in the musical? Because you’re friends?”
“No. We got to be friends because we’ve been spending more time together at rehearsals.”
“Does the rest of the cast know you and Aria are friends?”
“I don’t think so. I hope not.”
“So I have to keep it a secret now too?”
“No. I don’t want to put that kind of responsibility on you, honey. It’s not the kind of thing we should bring up in conversation at the theatre, but there’s no pressure to keep it a secret anymore, I don’t think.”
“I thought James liked her.”
“Maybe so, but I guess Aria doesn’t like boys who are always pushing their hair behind their ears.”
“I think he’s cute. I like his bracelets.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll change your mind eventually.”
She’s quiet again, for a long time.
We’re almost at Shane’s street, but this doesn’t feel resolved yet and maybe it never will. “Actually, a few other people know about me and Aria already.”
“Who?”
“Owen and Dylan. Gramma and Grandpa.”
“Is Aria going to move in with you?”
“No. Not yet. I don’t know. Not until you’re ready for that.”
She’s quiet, yet again. We pass Aria’s parked car, which means she’s already at the party and most likely dealing with my mother all by herself.
That is not ideal. But I don’t want to walk in there until Macy’s comfortable with all of this.
I find a spot a block past Shane’s house.
When I park, I look over at Macy. It’s dark, but I can see her lower lip quivering.
“What’s wrong, honey? Talk to me.”
“Am I Alice because she likes you?”
Jesus. No. She might be Alice because I liked Aria, but she does not need to know that. “No. You’re Alice because Aria knew you could do it. She likes you.”
She sniffles. “I like her too. But I don’t want people to think I’m Alice because of you and her.”
“I don’t want people to think that either. Neither does Aria. We’ll keep this under wraps until the show’s over. Okay?”
She wipes her cheek with the back of her hand. “I don’t know what ‘under wraps’ means.”
“It means we’ll make sure nobody else finds out. Okay?”
She nods her little head.
“We’re both really proud of you, Macy. You were so great tonight. Everyone thinks so.”
She nods again.
“You ready to go to the party?”
“Yes.”
“It’s gonna be fun, right? Everyone’s there to celebrate you and the twins.”
“Sam’s there though, right?”
“Yes. And some of the other cast members who go to your school. But it’ll be fun. If anyone makes it not-fun for you—I’m gonna take ’em to the train station.”
“Why?”
“Never mind.” I keep forgetting that kids her age don’t watch Yellowstone.
When we approach the front door to Shane’s house, Nico Todd’s Grammie opens the door for us. I met her back when Dylan was on That’s So Wizard! with Shane and Nico. Now Nico’s sister is married to Shane, so Grammie’s here for the twins, as her alarmingly tight T-shirt announces to everyone.
“Well, if it isn’t the brown-eyed Brodie brother,” she says, smirking. I’ve never seen this woman not smirking.
“Good evening, Grammie Todd. This is my daughter, Macy. Also known as Alice.”
“Wonderful to meet you, Miss Alice. I enjoyed your performance tonight.”
“Thank you.” Macy curtsies, and then she skips off to join Summer and Lucky.
I spot Aria talking to my mother, so I hurry over to join them, surrendering to Mama’s embrace. She can’t possibly have been here for more than fifteen minutes, but after three seconds of inhaling her breath, I think I’m drunk.
“Ohhh, there’s our handsome boy. My goodness, it was good to hear you sing again.
Why, I hadn’t heard you sing since…” She catches herself before she mentions my wedding to Clara.
She sometimes gets even sharper when she’s been drinking.
“Well, who even remembers when—but I was just telling Aria here that I have now watched every single episode of that adorable Grape Vines show she was on.”
“Great Vibes,” I correct.
“Yes! What did I say? Never mind. I was also telling her what an incredible voice coach she is. I simply cannot believe how wonderful my granddaughter sounds now.” She lowers her voice, or at least, she probably thinks she does.
“Now I won’t have to turn down the volume on my iPad when she sings 'Happy Birthday’ to us.
” She winks at us. At least, I think that’s what she’s doing.
My mother is usually a world-class winker.
But she just closes her eyes and wrinkles her nose and opens her mouth and nods her head while chuckling.
“I’ll let you two loveboobs catch up. Lovebirds. Whaaaat?! Where is my head?!”
“Hang on a second, Mama.”
I catch her arm and lean in to whisper in her ear, but before I say anything, she pouts and says, “Oh, poo. Don’t tell me you’ve already blown it with her.”
“No, we’re still seeing each other,” I whisper. “But we don’t want anyone involved with the show to know about us.”
“Ah.” She raises her empty wineglass. “Right. The Great Vibes show?”
Wine is really not her drink.
“The Alice in Wonderland musical. The one you just saw tonight.”
“Got it. I’m on it. And by ‘I’m on it,’ I mean I will not speak of it.” She mimes locking her lips and throwing away the key, except she forgot to close her mouth.
“Great. Thanks.”
“And I’ll alert the troops!”
“You don’t have to do that!”
She gives me the thumbs-up as she walks off. She’s using the thumb of the hand that’s holding the wineglass. Fortunately, it’s empty.
I turn back to join Aria. I want so badly to call her baby out loud and put my arm around her and introduce her to everyone as my girlfriend, but I can’t do that now. “Hi,” I say, standing a couple of feet away from her.
“Hi.”
“You got here before us.”
“Yes. I did.” She looks at me like she’s waiting for me to tell her something, but she has a certain expression on her face.
That same expression I’d gotten so used to seeing on my ex-wife’s face, a couple of years into our marriage.
The one that wordlessly conveys how hurt she is about something, without actually conveying exactly what it is I’ve done to hurt her.
“I had to wait for her to change out of her costume. And then we talked in the car.”
“Okay. Good.”