Chapter 4

Sally came downstairs to find her mother sitting at the kitchen table, staring out the window as she smoked a cigarette; she hated that her mother had that disgusting habit. Sally wondered why her mother wasn’t like the other mothers in the neighborhood.

Her mom spotted her and quickly put out the cigarette.

“Your father was in a mood this morning, and I needed to calm down.”

Sally’s mom, Naomi Draper, had married her dad, Tom, when she was young. Naomi had gotten a part-time job before college, working for her local congresswoman, where her dad worked as her legislative director. She also was a model who did work for local businesses.

Naomi did not go to college because she had gotten pregnant with Sally. Three years later, they had another child, Rob.

Recently, Sally had heard her parents fighting and was convinced they would soon get a divorce.

“I got invited to a luncheon,” she said.

“Who with?”

“Victor Brookfield.”

“He’s too old for you,” Naomi said.

“Mo-om,” Sally whined.

Naomi rubbed her forehead, clearly not wanting to fight with her daughter.

“Tell me more,” Naomi finally said.

“It’s at Mrs. Carson’s house—”

“Who?” her mom interrupted.

“She used to be Montgomery.”

“Marie?”

“That’s her,” Sally said and hurried on before her mother interrupted her again. “I guess Mrs. Carson’s son moved in with her mother, and she wants him to meet Don’s sons. Victor asked me to come along so he doesn’t get bored.”

“I bet,” Naomi mumbled. “How are you getting there?”

“Victor’s picking me up.”

“Okay, fine, but I want you to come home as soon as it’s over. Your dad’s inviting people over for dinner tonight, and you know how he gets if we aren’t the perfect family,” Naomi said.

That meant the adults would get drunk, and if Sally was really lucky, she might steal a few glasses of scotch and get a good night’s sleep.

Austin squirmed in the front seat of his grandmother’s boat of a car. She’d made him wear some of his new clothes, including a tie and new dress shoes that dug into the back of his feet. He was sure he’d have a blister before the day ended.

His grandmother ignored him until they pulled up to his mom’s house. It was in a newer subdivision that mainly housed young professionals who commuted to DC. One of the reasons his mom gave for him not living with her was her house was too small. As he looked at it, he estimated this was at least ten times larger than their motorhome, so he called BS on that excuse.

As he exited the car, Austin ran his finger inside his collar to try to loosen it.

“Quit fussing,” Grandma Montgomery hissed.

The front door opened, and his mom walked out with a big smile.

“Don’t you look handsome? Come on in so you can meet everyone.”

His mom twirled around and rushed back inside. His grandmother handed him the key fob that started her car.

“In case I need to have a few too many drinks to get through today.”

Austin looked at the key fob, shrugged, and slipped it into his pocket. He wondered what they would do if he ended up joining his grandmother in drinking too much. Another stray thought was if he had the key fob in his pocket, it wouldn’t stop his grandmother from driving if she had him in the car with her. The vehicle had a push button that started the engine.

“Come on, you two. Everyone’s eager to meet you,” Marie said from the front door.

“Let’s get this over with,” Grandma Montgomery whispered.

Austin couldn’t help but get a tiny grin, knowing his grandmother would be in rare form.

Austin had just stepped over the threshold when someone shouted, “The Virginator is in the house!”

His eyes locked with his mother briefly before she broke eye contact. She’d obviously overshared with someone. Before he could have a quiet word with his mom, Don and his two sons came into the entryway to greet him.

Don was a fit, big man; Austin guessed six-one. His two sons, Victor and Lawrence, were both tall. Victor, the older, was pudgy, while his younger brother was thin as a rail.

Victor tried to give him a fist bump, but Austin left him hanging.

“What’s ‘The Virginator?’” Grandma Montgomery asked.

Don’s face turned bright red when he realized Victor had stepped in it. He grabbed his older son by the nape of the neck and led him somewhere to ‘have a talk.’ That left Austin’s mom to explain because Austin wasn’t about to tell his grandmother where that nickname originated.

“It’s just ... a new slang ... uhm ... that young kids use as a greeting,” Marie stammered.

She looked Austin in the eye, her stare daring him to say otherwise.

He spotted a blond girl peeking around the corner. Austin tilted his head to the side and asked, “Who are you?”

The girl looked to be about his age. She walked up and offered her hand.

“Hi. I’m Sally Draper, Victor’s guest. I’ve always wanted to meet The Virginator.”

Lawrence laughed and quickly left when everyone turned to stare at him.

“Like I keep saying, you can do better. I hope you have some of the good stuff because I need a drink,” Grandma Montgomery said, grabbing Marie’s arm and pulling her into the house.

Austin expected his grandmother would know what The Virginator was about in no time.

That left him alone with Sally.

“You don’t look like a cowboy,” Sally said, bringing Austin out of his thoughts.

“Sorry to disappoint you, ma’am,” Austin drawled and tipped his imaginary cowboy hat. “But my grandmother insisted I get all cityfied for today’s festivities.”

That caused Sally to giggle.

“My mom rides horses. She’s a member of Blackwater Riding Club.”

“My grandmother’s a member there, too. I plan to start taking a class there on Monday.”

“If you promise to be a real cowboy, I’ll see you there,” Sally promised.

“You just want to see everyone make fun of me,” Austin said with a smirk.

“Maybe. But I’m guessing you’re man enough to pull it off,” Sally said, then twirled around and left him in the entranceway.

Don dominated the lunch conversation with his bragging about his real estate salesmanship. So Austin jumped at the opportunity when Victor asked if they could be excused to play video games. He followed the three teens to the family room.

Austin had never played before, so he sat on the couch to watch. He was surprised when Sally joined him.

“So, Austin,” Victor called out as he loaded the game. “How many pornos have you starred in?”

“I’d rather not talk about that,” Austin said.

“What? You don’t want everyone to find out you have a tiny dick?” Victor asked.

He didn’t realize how close he was to getting a bloody nose.

“They warned me you were into dicks. That’s why I was surprised you managed to get a girl to be your beard today,” Austin fired back.