The Plus One by Sarah Archer

Author:Sarah Archer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2019-07-01T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

• • •

Like a burning chemical plant smoldering in the distance, family dinner glowered on Kelly’s horizon once more. The excitement of Ethan’s first introduction had worn off, and with Clara’s wedding nearly upon them, Diane’s Diane-ness was peaking dangerously. These days, she found herself more worn out by the end of a family dinner than after a twelve-hour day at work. Former Kelly might have wished to spend these nights at home alone with a rosé, a PB&J, and some deliciously bizarre reality TV special, but now she just wished for a night in with Ethan.

But as it was, she found herself in the fitted gray pantsuit she had donned to go out, driving Ethan to her parents’ house. “Let’s try to get out quickly,” she said. “Halfway through the main course, maybe you could say you have a headache. Then we’ll be able to make our excuses and get out before dessert.”

Ethan massaged his temple. “I can feel it coming on. Probably eye strain; I’ve been putting in so much time at the office.”

“Wonderful.” Kelly beamed.

“If you want to get out early, then why do you want to go at all?” he asked.

“I don’t want to, I have to.”

“Why?”

“Because I always do. It’s complicated.”

“I guess I still have a lot to learn about these things,” Ethan mused, looking out the window as they passed the curved tile roofs of Japantown.

Kelly was silent. She had never yet questioned her compulsion to do what her mother told her to. This despite the fact that she had been living under her own roof and supporting herself for years. That she was a grown-ass woman. After all, her thirtieth birthday had come and gone the week before, though she had barely marked it with everything else going on. Priya had begged to plan a night out at a very grown-up restaurant, followed by a trip to eat very non-grown-up unicorn-themed cupcakes, but since Kelly already had dinner reservations with Ethan, her friend had simply brought her a cupcake at the office instead. Now she decided that the age milestone had at least earned her the right to start making some of her own decisions.

“I guess I’ve been putting in a lot of time at the office too,” she said slowly.

“You always do. I don’t know how you do it,” Ethan agreed.

“I could have eye strain. I could have a headache.”

“Do you?” Ethan looked at her with concern.

“No, but I mean, I could. I could tell my mom I’m not feeling up to it. That’s not terrible, right? I’ll see them all on Friday for the rehearsal dinner.”

“I don’t think that’s terrible at all. In fact, I think it’s quite logical.”

Kelly pulled out her phone and tossed it to him. “Here, I’ll dictate you a text.”

“Then we can have TV time at home. I DVRed you a special about middle-aged twin brothers who live together and hoard baby dolls.”

“Heck no, I still have real clothes on. We’re eating out.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.