The Start-Up by Hayes Sadie

Author:Hayes, Sadie [Hayes, Sadie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Young Adult
ISBN: 2940013286269
Amazon: B005WKF6M0
Goodreads: 12910262
Publisher: Backlit Fiction
Published: 2011-10-15T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter IX

Poached Salmon With A Hint of Blackmail

Every Sunday for as long as she could remember, Patty’s family had gathered for Hawkins family dinner. The dinner was mandatory for any Hawkins within a fifty-mile radius, and often included close family friends.

Tonight’s dinner was going to be awkward, and there was no way around that. Patty’s sister Shandi was home from college, Shandi’s fiancé Chad was joining the dinner, and Patty could still feel Chad’s hands on her body. So, yeah. Awkward. Mrs. Hawkins had texted Patty earlier to let her know that she’d invited T. J. Bristol to make up for the fact that they’d been out of town for his graduation party and did she want to text him about sharing a ride from campus? No, thank you, Mom, she thought. I don’t share rides with people trying to blackmail me.

The dinner was going to be so awkward, in fact, that Patty was trying to think of it as a sitcom she was watching, rather than one she was a part of.

Don’t get emotional, she told herself as she drove her red-and-white striped Mini Cooper Convertible from campus to Atherton. Just be an observer, like they teach you in yoga.

She got to the house at six o’clock and snuck in through the kitchen door, giving a big hug to Felicia, the Puerto Rican cook who had been with the family since Patty was in preschool.

“Everybody here?” she asked Felicia as she poured herself a glass of pinot grigio. She immediately took two huge gulps.

“Mr. Hawkins and Miss Shandi are in the living room. Mrs. Hawkins is still upstairs getting ready, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Felicia waved her hand as if to say “You know Mrs. Hawkins is always upstairs getting ready.” She went back to furiously mixing sugar in a bowl.

“What are you making?” Patty asked, stalling in order to finish her wine.“Ice cream. Vanilla mint with a touch of lavender.” Patty reached out her finger to take a taste, but Felicia batted it away.

“No, no, no! It’s for the baby shower your mother is hosting on Wednesday for Mrs. Jacobson.”

Patty gave Felicia a pouty face until she conceded. “I’ll save you a bowl and put it in the freezer. But don’t tell your mother. And get in and say hello to your sister already.”

Patty nodded, satisfied, and downed her wine. “Thanks, Felicia,” she said, as she skipped through the swinging door to the living room.

“Hello, family!” she exclaimed with sarcastic enthusiasm as she entered the room. Mr. Hawkins and Shandi were deep in conversation, seated on plush armchairs in front of an antique coffee table. When Patty entered the room, they both looked up. Mr. Hawkins smiled and got up from his chair, embracing his younger daughter and kissing her on the forehead. “Hello, my dear! You’re looking lovely!”

Shandi remained seated, propped on her left hip, her slim legs crossed at the ankles, a champagne flute elegantly suspended between three fingers.

She looked like she was posing for an oil painting.

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