“There’s a difference,” I say, “between shutting people out, and shutting down.”

“Excuse me,” Molly says, taking a step backward.

My resolve shakes a little. “Are you mad at me?” I ask quickly.

She gives me a small smile. “No. I’ll be back soon.”

So, I watch her disappear into the crowd, and try to fight off the sinking feeling that I’ve seriously put my foot in it now.

TWENTY-EIGHT ROSE

When Molly approaches me out of the blue while I’m mid-conversation with my cousin Sukey, I’m so startled to find her talking to me at all that I brace for the worst before she even speaks. I excuse myself from Sukey and walk several steps with her, ducking my head closer so she can say whatever she needs to say to me without causing a scene. And though I’m anticipating conflict, I never expect the following words to leave her mouth.

“Danni told me what went down with you two last month,” Molly says in a low voice, and my world stops. Keeping my breath under control, and glancing at the surrounding partygoers to quickly ascertain that we weren’t overheard, I grab her by the arm and steer her out of the gala, down the hall, and into the nearest sitting room. There, I close the door behind us and whirl around.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that, please?” I ask. “It was quite loud in there.”

Molly stands in the center of the room, atop a rug in the same shade of rich maroon as her dress, with her arms hugged tightly around her middle. “Danni told me what happened last month. With you two. I could tell something was off between the two of you, so I asked her. She told me everything.”

“Everything,” I repeat in a voice that’s rather more high-pitched than I mean it to be. “About…?”

“The lesbian stuff,” she says. “Or the bisexual stuff, she didn’t clarify that part. The … romantic feelings stuff. Whatever. Anyway, the important thing is that it’s obvious you’ve shut down on her, and in case you haven’t noticed, it’s hurting her. A lot. And the worst thing is, she’s convinced you’re upset for some reason.” She shakes her head. “Actually, she seems to think you mind so much you just can’t handle it. And Danni is a good person, so if she’s wrong, you need to let her down gently. But if she’s right, you need to figure out a way to handle it, because I’m not gonna let you shut her out like you did to me. She still has feelings for you, and you’re being cruel.”

There are myriad problems with everything Molly just said, but I triage and latch onto the most pressing point. “She … told you?” I ask, aghast.