He set the tray down on the island, happy for the room’s attention. “When we woke up this morning, it had all kinds of stains on it. Dark brown stains, like hard-water marks, but they were in horizontal lines, five of them.” He lifted his hand and made a claw, slowly dragging it through the air.

I involuntarily shivered as I thought of a beast slowly digging its claws through the porcelain, smiling as its nails scratched the surface. Melissa was obsessed with that tub, a treat she’d bought herself with last year’s bonus. Liz knew if there was something to destroy in her house that would hurt her—get the most bang for her demonic buck—it would be that tub.

Heather gasped. “That’s terrible.” She leaned forward and said conspiratorially, “I have a wonderful restorer if you’d like a recommendation. Make sure to mention my name when you contact him.”

Jess laughed and then stopped when Heather’s head snapped to her. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Melissa said, “Let’s move to Jess’s.”

—

“I can’t believe this.” Jess stood in her kitchen with her hands on her hips as she surveyed the garbage scattered all around the kitchen. Duffy had gotten into the trash, and there were remnants of coffee grounds, used napkins, and spent kale stalks on her white tile floor.

I bent down to help her scoop it up and heard Del say, “Uh-oh. Jess?” I popped my head up, and Del was holding an empty silver tray that had been sitting on the stovetop.

“Shit,” Jess said. “Duffy!”

“Were those the appetizers?” I said as I picked up a dirty paper towel with two fingers and stuck it in the trash bag. I looked up at Del. “Why don’t you take everyone outside?”

He nodded and ushered everyone to the back patio.

“Damn it,” Jess said. She rubbed her forehead. “Of course, I’m the one who screws everything up tonight. I can’t get my shit together for things like this.” She closed her eyes.

I leaned over and touched her arm. “Hey, it’s just spilled milk. Do you have anything else in the fridge? We can quickly make something, and no one has to know.”

I craned my neck around and peeked outside, where they all sat at the patio table. Even from inside, I could see the annoyance on Melissa’s face as she sat next to Heather, nodding and trying to look pleasant during what I was sure was another soliloquy on the wonders of saltwater pools or something equally obnoxious.

Jess sniffled, and I leaned forward and hugged her, crouching down to where she sat on the kitchen floor, surrounded in garbage.

“Hey, it’s fine, really, hon. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Things happen,” I said.