Most Wonderful by Georgia Clark

Author:Georgia Clark [Clark, Georgia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780593729083
Amazon: 0593729080
Goodreads: 205846808
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Published: 2024-10-14T22:00:00+00:00

24.

Partygoers filled the formal living room, kitchen, and family room. Plenty of past and present co-stars were on the guest list, but many of Babs’s inner circle were non-famous folk from way back. High school friends who traveled up from Jersey; moms she raised her kids with; boys from acting classes who went on to become life coaches or dentists. Babs was an extrovert, charged up by new ideas, so there was always a smattering of interesting people she’d met at dinner parties or fundraisers: a world-famous sex therapist, a brilliant new playwright, a climate scientist with a viral TED Talk.

Birdie drifted from group to group, her gaze twitching to the front door every time it opened. No sign of Jecka. Maybe she’d gotten in the zone in her studio. Maybe she’d decided Birdie Belvedere was bad news.

Birdie had just gotten another refill of the themed cocktail—Rudolph’s Regret: a boozy muddle of gin, fresh berries, and rosemary—when someone started dinging a glass from the living room. It was time for Babs’s speech.

Ash had helped style Babs in a high-necked glittery black dress, smoky-eye makeup, and all the diamonds. As always, her strawberry-blond hair was piled atop her head (extensions, definitely) to add a few inches to her five feet two.

Typically Birdie would jostle for a front row seat in order to heckle, get in the mix. But tonight she stayed by the room’s entrance, with a clear sight line to the front door.

“Thank you so much for coming from near and far to be with us tonight.” Babs twinkled her trademark smile as she waited for the room’s attention to settle on her.

For as long as Birdie could remember, her mother wasn’t just comfortable in the spotlight. It was her home, more permanent and secure than any house could ever be.

“I’ve been throwing this party since before my kids were born—all of whom are helping me host tonight,” Babs added, pausing to acknowledge Birdie and, across the room, Rafi and Liz, to light applause. “And as the years roll on, my appreciation for you all deepens. As do my wrinkles; Paul”—her plastic surgeon, in the corner with his third wife—“you and I will talk about that later,” she quipped, eliciting a wave of laughter. “But seriously, folks, you being here makes an old broad happy. You show up for me, and I love you for it.”

Babs could usually drink like a sailor, but her words were on the edge of slurring. Seriously was close to sheriously. Birdie caught Liz’s quizzical eye. Her sister had noticed, too.

“So, these holidays, be kind to your loved ones,” Babs went on. “Hold them close. Tell them how special they are. And have yourself a merry little Christmas.”

A tinkle from the piano. One of Babs’s oldest friends from her theater days played the opening chords of the classic holiday tune. The crowd applauded as Jin-soo handed a surprised-looking Babs a cordless microphone, like this was all happening spontaneously and Babs didn’t perform at every single party she’d ever thrown.

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