I began fussing with the table settings, straightening forks and moving the salt shaker. My stomach flipped over. And over. Something looked wrong.

“Why are there four place settings?” I said, my voice getting high-pitched. “You didn’t invite Beth, did you?”

“Of course,” Dad said, shaking his head at me like I was being absentminded.

He really didn’t get anything. It wouldn’t even occur to him that I might not want her here. I go on one appointment with her for her stupid dress and he thinks everything is grand. Or rather he wants to think that and will happily ignore any evidence to the contrary. That was Beth’s fault for not ratting me out about my little outburst. She tried way too hard.

“She’s so excited to meet Ruby.”

Beth and Ruby. Oh God. I hadn’t even thought of that. Ruby didn’t know who Beth was. I’d never even mentioned her name. She’d wonder who this woman was. Had I actually even said that Mum and Dad were split up? She’d think Beth was my mum. She might call her Mrs. Clarke and then there’d be a horrible awkward pause and someone would have to explain. There’s no way they wouldn’t talk about the wedding. Ruby would absolutely be asking questions about where my mum was after all that.

Nope. This couldn’t happen. I had to do something. Anything. Even if it seemed suspicious to Ruby. I was kidding myself if I thought there was any way that we would get through the night without one of my stupid secrets coming out.

OK, I could pretend we would reschedule and then I’d find a way to get out of it later. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t a permanent fix, but it would buy me time. I snatched the candlesticks off the table and hid them behind a cushion.

“Uh, where are those candlesticks?” I asked Dad, like I was deeply concerned that the table was missing a vital ambience-building decoration. “You were holding them a minute ago, weren’t you?”

Dad frowned at the table. “I thought I put them out.” He wandered off to find his misplaced items and I pulled my phone out and pressed call on Ruby’s number. She picked up on the first ring.

“Saoirse?” She sounded confused.

I coughed dramatically into the phone.

“Are you OK?” she asked. She sounded worried. I almost felt guilty, like I was stealing sympathy.