COMMENTS:
@peepmyfishnets: Ew. SLUT.
@tokenblackknight REPLY TO: @peepmyfishnets: That’s not how you spell QUEEN. Stay mad bitch.
Rachel had laughed when Faith suggested creating a velvet-roped VIP section for the opening. Now, with a line wrapped around the building, she was grateful for her daughter’s foresight. There were no velvet ropes, but Rachel did exclude a few feet of space from the exhibit. She stood near Faith with enough room to move her arms comfortably, which was more than she could say for everyone else.
“So, obviously I have questions,” Faith said as she examined the Fast Girls collage. “Lots of questions.”
“I’m happy to answer all of them,” Rachel said, but paused, remembering that first wild night of the photoshoot, before she had forbidden the models from pregaming before a session. “Well, most of them.” Faith gave her a sharp look, and Rachel shrugged. “Some things you don’t want to know, sweetie.”
“There she is!” Kat’s squeal was loud enough to be heard over the dull roar of a hundred voices. She tugged Niles through the swarm of bodies with surprising ease for someone so small. Her daughter was swaddled against her chest with the wrap Rachel had given her. “Oh my god! Look at this. Look!” She waved her hand at the crowd. “Are you charging an entrance fee?”
“No,” Faith said, with clear disapproval. “Mom has this thing about being accessible to the masses.”
Niles chuckled. “I think we’ve all had plenty of access already.”
Kat slapped his arm. “Stop.”
“I’m just playing.” Niles rubbed his bicep, and grinned at Rachel. “You know I’m joking, right? Nathan’s portrait was fire. All of this…” He pointed to a photograph of Rachel, sitting on a classic Mustang at the beach. “Is amazing. Really beautiful. I’m proud of you.”
Rachel’s lingering doubts about the show faded. Maybe it was arrogant to center herself, but it was also her truth. It was shouting down her shame, loud enough so that anyone with a similar story could hear.
“Soooo,” Kat purred, sidling up to Rachel. “Would you be willing to do our Christmas card this year? I want something glamorous but authentic. Like disco Diana Ross meets Black Is King.”
Niles looked skeptical. “So is the baby Simba or Blue Ivy?”
“Mom doesn’t do domestic photo shoots.” Faith hitched her chin, and said, “Now that she’s a famous artiste.” Rachel nudged her daughter’s side, and Faith giggled.
“I think I can make an exception.” Rachel looked at Niles. “For family.” His answering smile warmed her insides. For years, family was the burden of deserving the Abbott name. Now, it was blood. It was the comfort of her father’s eyes mirrored in the open admiration on Niles’s face.
“Speaking of family.” Niles scanned the crowd. “Where’s Mom and Mia?”
Rachel pointed to the far-right corner of the room. Alesha was surrounded by a group of art critics she’d invited to the show. “Your mother is over there trying to bully her friends into writing favorable reviews. And Mia is…” Rachel looked at a series of all-caps messages on her phone, “ten minutes away. I’m getting live, road rage updates.”
“Is there an after-party? Where are we celebrating?” Kat asked, bouncing to soothe the squirming newborn on her chest.
“Alesha mentioned her house,” Rachel said.
Niles nixed the idea with a dramatic, slow-motion headshake. “Hell no. It’ll just be me and Mia picking up after everybody and being assigned chores. I still don’t know how I ended up scrubbing toilets last Thanksgiving.”
“What about your restaurant?” Faith turned to Niles. He smiled and started suggesting protein options and wine pairings. Rachel half listened, while keeping her eyes on the crowd. It seemed to have doubled in size, despite how close they were to the end of the night.
Niles suddenly paused midsentence. “Looks like the guest of honor has arrived.”
Rachel frowned. “There is no—” Her breath caught at the sight of a tall, dark-haired figure staring up at Photosynthesis. She had imagined seeing Nathan so many times over the last two months that at first, she refused to believe it was him. But then she caught a glimpse of the familiar swirl of red-and-gold feathers on his arm.
Rachel tried not to react even though her heart seemed determined to escape her rib cage. Faith looked uncomfortable, while Kat’s excitement bubbled and sparkled like glitter. She grabbed Rachel’s arm and leaned close. “I think he’s here for you. What are you going to do?”