The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker

Author:Sarai Walker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-03-28T00:00:00+00:00

13.

The same driver who’d taken us to the church took us to the Hotel Cream for the reception. Calla was inconsolable on the ride, and the driver had to pull over not far outside Bellflower Village so she could throw up on the side of the road, Daphne dutifully holding back her hair. The rest of us sat quietly, Calla the vessel for our unexpressed emotions.

I’d never been to the Hotel Cream, where Daphne spent so much of her time doing heaven knows what with Veronica. It was a converted turn-of-the-century mansion, bright yellow with dormered windows and white columns flanking the entrance. It gave an air of grandness but was still quaint, and it sat on the shore right next to the sea. The weather was still warm, with ample sunshine, the sky a cerulean blue, and I realized that despite everything I was happy for Rosalind that she had this gorgeous day.

There was a queue at the entrance, and I inhaled the sea air happily, wishing I could stay outside until the reception was over, though I knew I couldn’t—one wrong move and I’d be in trouble.

Just inside the hotel entrance, Veronica stood with her parents as they greeted the wedding guests. Her mother was also tall and brunette, and both of them wore purple dresses, dark shades of amethyst that seemed out of place among the guests’ spring colors. Improbably, Veronica’s mother was named Cerise—Cerise Cream, which sounded like a dessert at a French restaurant. Veronica’s father, meanwhile, was plain old Sidney, a small, beaky man with thick glasses and hideously crooked teeth who must have had a lot of money and a lot of heart to attract someone like Cerise. He stood sandwiched between his wife and daughter as the guests arrived; they towered over him like purple flamingos.

When Veronica spotted Daphne, she waved excitedly, more immature than she’d seemed among the cherry blossoms. Standing next to her parents, she was playing the role of daughter; I could see how practiced she was at wearing masks, something I’d observed in Daphne’s drawings as well. Being near her after what I had seen of her, after what I’d felt toward her, was unbearable; I was relieved when Mrs. Cream directed my sisters and me to the elevator. We were supposed to go upstairs for photographs. The other guests were sent to the dining room for a cocktail hour.

On the top floor of the hotel, we found the room with BRIDAL SUITE painted delicately above the door and went inside. Roderick and Rosalind were already being photographed in front of a charcoal backdrop, Rosalind sitting in a chair with Roderick standing behind her. She grasped a dainty bouquet of red roses in her hands, her namesake, the forbidden flower.

The suite was sprawling, with a balcony that overlooked the ocean. My sisters went out there to wait for our turn, but I explored the suite, walking down a long hallway to the bedroom. The door was open, revealing a

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