Chapter Twenty-One
Going back felt like revisiting a crime scene.
The usual itchy-spiders-under-my-skin sensation intensified as we pulled into the neighborhood. The elegant sign read Serenity Springs; it had been anything but for me.
“Wow, nice ’hood,” Neil said from the driver’s seat of the car. He swiveled his head to take in the grand homes as we drove
down the streets named Whispering Pines Way and Tranquil Glen Lane.
“Super pretty,” Hailey agreed from beside me.
Ben remained quiet as we got closer to the house. He was wearing his focused prerace face, with his eyebrows drawn down and
his gaze fixed on the horizon.
We both knew what we were walking into.
“Take the next left,” I instructed.
We rounded the corner onto Harmony Circle, and there squatting at the end of a cul-de-sac was the lovely stone house where
I’d spent my early years.
“Stunning,” Hailey sighed.
I didn’t answer her because I was too busy doing a final primp.
I’d reapplied my makeup on the plane, so all that was left to do was make sure my forehead wasn’t shiny and throw on some lipstick.
I wasn’t bowing to my mom’s “always be pretty” directive, I was obsessing about how I looked as protective armor.
I didn’t want to have to listen to her cataloging my flaws in front of the team.
It was also a bit of a test. How long could I go before she found something that needed fixing?
We piled out of the rented Subaru in the driveway, blinking in the bright, cold sun.
“Sure doesn’t look like there’s a snowstorm coming,” Neil said as he pointed toward the cloudless sky. “I think we’re good.”
“Yeah, but it’s frickin’ freezing here,” Hailey complained. She pulled a hat out of her jacket pocket and pulled it down low.
“Cold and clear,” Ben agreed. “Are we ready to get this done?”
“Yes, Chef,” Neil joked as he popped the trunk to start unloading equipment.
“Hailey, I want you on camera two for today, to keep things moving,” Ben continued as he helped grab carrying cases. “We’re
doing a three-shot for some of it and I don’t want Neil bouncing around between cameras.”
I glanced at Neil and he frowned briefly but refrained from complaining. Progress!
“Can I help unload?” I asked.
Ben shook his head. “We’re good.” He waited for me to meet his eyes and lowered his voice. “Worry about you, okay?”
We shared a moment of quiet solidarity, two soldiers preparing for a skirmish.
“There she is!”
The sound of her voice made me jump like the car alarm had triggered right beside me.
I could feel Hailey watching us so I locked into my stage persona. “Hey,” I drew the word out, to avoid having to call her Mom.
Her kitten heels clacked on the slate walkways as she practically skipped to me.
The last time I’d seen my mom for a brief three-day break for Christmas, but we’d had a full house of aunts, uncles, and cousins,
so we’d had minimal alone time. Now, I was about to be her sole focus, and in front of cameras no less.
My mom had never wanted to pursue acting, but she could have, given her natural gift for theatrics. I could feel Neil and
Hailey pausing to watch our reunion, and the way my mom beamed at me and summoned a few tears really sold the happy Hallmark
vibes.
“Baby,” she cooed as she wrapped me in her arms, rocking us from side to side. “Welcome home.”
I fought to keep from stiffening up. I pretended that we were ballroom dancing and I had no choice but to follow her lead,
until I started to feel smothered.
“How are you?” I asked as I pulled away from her.
She looked perfect, as usual. I’d been cursed with a hot mom who’d had me young, which meant she loved it when men joked that
we could be sisters. Her hair was a few shades blonder than mine, with a center part and smooth layers. She’d always avoided
the sun, so her skin was flawless alabaster with just the right amount of pink on her high cheekbones. Every bit of her was
calibrated to be polished, from the way her shoes matched her nails to her lashes curled in perfect crescents. She was wearing
a hot pink cashmere wrap as a coat despite the frigid temperature, which was meant to look casual but I knew was planned way
in advance.
“I’m so happy that you’re here!” She turned to the team and waved both hands, pageant queen–style. “Welcome, everyone. I’m Tricia.”
“Neil,” he said, walking toward her with his hand extended.
“I hope when you leave you’ll feel comfortable giving me a hug instead of this formal stuff,” she flirted as they shook hands.
He laughed. “This is Hailey, and you probably already know Ben, because who doesn’t?”
Hailey shook her hand as well, and then we all turned to see what Ben was doing, only to discover that he was missing.
“Where’d he go?” Neil asked, craning his neck to look around the yard.
We spotted him farther down the long driveway on his phone. He glanced at us without so much as a wave of acknowledgment and
continued walking away.
It felt like his own bit of theatrics, to avoid getting mixed up in the homecoming, and I loved him for it. My mom wanted
the world to stick to her choreography, and the fact that Ben wasn’t falling in line for her welcome home performance was
the perfect “fuck you” to kick off the visit. Not a big enough thing to cause real drama, but he seemed to intuitively understand
that he needed to piss on her fence.
Gratitude warmed me, but I caught myself before I could get all moony over the man. He had a job to do. There was still a
good chance that he could push on the bruise between me and my mom to drum up drama for the show.
“Is Mr. Albright home?” Neil asked as he pulled another case from the car.
“Call him Tim, sweetheart,” Tricia replied in her honeyed voice. “And yes, he took today off but he’s on a call in his office.
He’ll magically appear when we’re ready to go.”
I noticed that she kept glancing up the driveway, waiting for Ben to hang up and acknowledge her. Every second that passed
felt like a win.
“That’s everything. Is it okay if we go in and start setting up?” Neil said. He was clearly enjoying acting like the lead on the production in the few minutes Ben was pretending to be busy.
Tricia gave Ben one last, longing glance. “Yes, of course. It’s so cold out here, let’s get you inside by the fire.”
My mom stood by the door like a flight attendant greeting passengers. She put her hand on my arm to stop me as I crossed the
threshold. “Where’s your overnight bag, honey?”
“Didn’t they tell you? We’re all staying at the Greeley Inn, so we can work on editing together.”
It was a bit of fiction Mel and I had concocted to give me a valid reason to leave at the end of the day.
She frowned at me. “But you don’t know how to edit.”
“I, uh, I have editorial control on the program,” I stuttered, throwing a nervous glance at Neil and hoping he wouldn’t correct
my lie. Thankfully he was too busy unpacking.
“Oh.” She peered out the window by the door. “He’s going to freeze out there. Should I tell him to come in?”
“Mom, he’s used to the cold.”
“That’s right,” she laughed. “Three speed skating gold medals means he’s spent plenty of time freezing his booty off.”
It didn’t sound like a dig but I knew it was. I made a mental tally to keep track of how many times she mentioned his Olympic
wins.
“Do you have a preference about where we set up?” Neil asked her.
“Ben will have thoughts about that,” Hailey said under her breath.
He shot her a look then refocused on my mom. “Do you have a couple of options in mind? That way we can show Ben when he comes
in.”
“Yes, of course, we have lots of pretty spaces we can choose from. Follow me.”
I remained in the front hall, waiting for Ben. For whatever reason, he felt like my touchstone.
He finally hung up and started striding toward the house. I leaned my forehead against the window, willing him to walk faster.
I needed him to witness every second of the visit, so he could fully understand what I was up against.
“Well hello, pretty lady,” my dad’s voice rang out from behind me.
I turned to find him with his arms outstretched, ready for a hug.
He was still leading-man handsome, with a blocky jaw and the perfect amount of salt in his peppery hair. My father was basically
a neutral stranger in my life, a member of the chorus who was always overshadowed by the lead. Not that he cared. It gave
him the perfect excuse to lose himself in his work, and then on the golf course.
“Hey, Dad.”
I relished the few seconds of connection as we embraced. It was the closest I’d come to true parental affection.
We pulled apart but he held on to my shoulders and studied me.
“You look really good, sweetheart. Healthy.”
My heart warmed at the first part then dropped at the second. Healthy could be code for “not tiny enough to jump high.”
It must’ve registered on my face because he quickly followed up. “You look happy.”
I paused to consider it. I’d just come from a flight where I didn’t feel terrified the entire time, I was hanging out with
a crew I’d dreaded working with but who turned out to be okay, and the one person I’d spent the past four years hating was
quickly becoming my strongest ally.
I smiled at my father. “I guess I am.”
We were interrupted by a soft knock at the door.
I wasn’t sure how my mom even heard it but she materialized in front of me to welcome the man of the hour.
She threw open the door dramatically. “Bennett Martino, welcome! You get in here right now!”
The intensity of her smiley greeting made him take a half step backward. “Uh, hello there.”
“Come in, come in, everyone is waiting for you,” she jokingly scolded him as she grabbed him by the wrist. “We were starting
to get worried!”
He shot me a look as he crossed the threshold that told me he already understood.
“Yeah, sorry, lots of moving parts as we get closer to leaving for Italy, which I’m sure you understand with all your upcoming
travel. We really appreciate your time today.”
At least one of us did.
“Anything for our Quinn,” she said, keeping her focus totally on Ben.
“Mr. Albright, it’s nice to meet you.” Ben stretched out his hand to my father, and they did the manly sizing-up thing as
they shook hands.
“Big fan,” he replied, which I knew wasn’t true because the only sports my dad cared about were football and baseball. Even
mine barely mattered to him.
Neil walked into the front hall. “Sorry to interrupt, but we have a few options for out setup. Want to come see?”
“I’ll show you my favorite,” my mom said, moving to the front of the group.
As always, the rest of us were left to follow behind her.