After leaving her room, I stopped in mine to trade my party clothes for a pair of jeans, a sweater, and some boots. In the bathroom, I tamed my hair into a ponytail and took off my ruined eye makeup. Then I went downstairs, put my coat on, and dragged myself back to the party, more miserable with every step.

An hour ago, I’d been so happy, so starry-eyed, my heart so full of hope.

How had everything gone so wrong?

19. Henry

Nineteen

Henry

Waiting for Sylvia to come back to the party was torture.

I didn’t feel like drinking, listening to music, or talking to people, but there wasn’t really anywhere I could hide. I thought about leaving, but in case Sylvia needed me tonight, I wanted to be somewhere she’d be able to find me.

How the fuck had this night gone so wrong so fast?

I returned to our dinner table, where Mack and Frannie were sitting, and dropped disconsolately into my chair, where I proceeded to brood and fret.

“Everything okay?” Mack asked over the music.

“Fine.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw them exchange a look. It just made me scowl harder.

“Do you know where Sylvia is? I haven’t seen her in a while,” Frannie remarked, false brightness in her voice.

“She’s at the house with Whitney.”

“Why? What happened to Whitney?” Frannie asked.

I struggled with it for a moment, then realized their own kids were probably going to tell them what they’d seen. “She saw us kissing outside. She got upset and took off.”

Frannie gasped. “Yikes!” She looked toward the door. “Do you think I should go over there?”

“I have no idea,” I said, feeling like the least qualified person to give advice on doing the right thing. “But I might as well warn you, your girls saw the whole thing too. They might say something to you about it.”

“Oh, our girls have caught us kissing a million times.” Frannie reached over to pat Mack’s arm. “They’re used to it, right, babe?”

“Right.” But Mack, who’d been a single father of three young girls, understood what the issue was. “Whitney doesn’t like the idea of her mom with someone else?”

“Apparently not.”

“But that’s ridiculous,” said Frannie. “Wouldn’t she want her mom to be happy? The girls were thrilled when we stopped sneaking around and finally admitted what was going on between us.”

“But that didn’t happen right away,” Mack reminded her. “My guess is that Whitney is upset because she lost her dad and thinks she’s going to lose her mom too. My girls didn’t want to let me out of their sight after Carla left. They used to cry when I dropped them off at school. They thought I might not come back.”

“Oh, I remember that.” Frannie shook her head. “That was so sad.”