“Afterward, then,” her mother offered.
“I won’t get out of here any time before nine-thirty. That’s a bit late for dinner.” She recalled that her aunt and uncle were early risers and were usually ready for bed by nine or ten. She couldn’t very well drop in and expect to visit then.
“Oh, dear,” Joan mumbled.
“Don’t worry about it,” Reba said stiffly, “I’ll call Aunt Gerty and Uncle Bill on Christmas Day.” At least she’d get a chance to talk to her favorite relatives over the phone.
“But that’s ridiculous! They’re your godparents, surely you should put aside this silliness with your sister and—”
Reba’s jaw tightened. “Silliness? You call what Vicki did silliness?”
“No,” her mother snapped, “that’s what I call your behavior ever since. How many times does Vicki have to tell you she’s sorry? How many times does she have to plead with you to forgive her?”
Reba deliberately pulled the white linen napkin from her lap and slammed it against the table. “Why is it you always take Vicki’s side? I’m sick of it. Work it out with her, she’s far more reasonable than I am. I’m the silly one, remember? Vicki’s always been your little darling, the one who could do no wrong. The perfect daughter.”
“I don’t take her side. I’ve tried to stay out of this from the first, but you make it impossible.”
Their voices were raised and angry. Reba was the first to notice how much attention they’d attracted. This dinner was supposed to have been fun for them both. A chance to get away, shop together, and chat. Reba had agreed with a certain amount of reluctance, fearing her mother would use the time as an excuse to wave her relationship with Vicki in her face. Until now the evening had been enjoyable, but she should have known better than to lower her guard.
“Tell me, Mother, what did you think when I told you I couldn’t make it to dinner Christmas Eve?”
“You never said any such thing. You told me you were taking over the church program. How was I supposed to know that meant you wouldn’t be able to make dinner?”
“It should have been obvious!” Reba argued.
“You might have explained.”
“I think it’s time I left,” Reba said tightly, and reached for her purse.
“Don’t run away,” Joan pleaded, her voice much lower.
“Run away?” Reba challenged. “What makes you think I’m doing that?”
“You’ve been doing it for years.”
“Mother, please, don’t start on me.”
“I can’t help it,” she cried. “You’ve been running away from your sister for four years. It’s past time the two of you sat down and settled this.”
“Why should I talk to a woman with the morals of an alley cat?”
“Reba!”
“There you go defending her again.” She removed a ten-dollar bill from her wallet and set it on the table next to her half-eaten meal. “I love you, Mom, but I think it’d be better if we didn’t have these little get-togethers any longer. We get along better when we don’t see so much of each other.” Having said that, she whirled around and quickly wove her way through the dining room and out of the restaurant.
By the time she arrived home, Reba was trembling. She sat in her car in the driveway, her hands clenching and unclenching on the steering wheel as she battled to keep her head above water in the flash flood of emotions that followed.
It sounded juvenile to claim her mother loved her sister best, but that was the way Reba felt. All her life she’d been forced to accommodate Vicki. Her sister’s plans had always taken priority. And now, once more because of Vicki, she was about to be swindled—this time out of a visit with her favorite aunt and uncle.
Perhaps this was her mother’s less-than-subtle attempt to trick her into mending fences with her sister; it wouldn’t be the first time she’d tried to manipulate events. After four long years, she still refused to accept that Reba wanted nothing more to do with her sister.
She felt lost, alone. Friendless. The temptation to talk to Seth was strong, even though she hated to subject him to the emotional baggage she carried around with her; he deserved a woman whose life was not complicated with family problems. Still…
Before she could change her mind, she backed the car out of her driveway and drove to Seth’s house. She’d told him that he wouldn’t be hearing from her that evening, and why, but she needed to see him, needed the comfort of his reassurances, of his arms.