The Family You Choose (2 page)

"It’s your house, Miranda. You can have a
party whenever you’d like," Alex said.

"It’s your house too, and I think you’d like
to meet my friends." She was not going to let him squirm away from
attending.

"I’ve known Richard longer than you have, and
I’ve known Jessie since before she was born."

"But you haven’t met Emily, or Zainab," she
paused. "Or Mitch."

"No, I haven’t, but their reputations precede
them, particularly Mr. Graham’s."

Miranda stood up a little straighter. Did he
have any idea how hard she’d worked to get any of them through the
door? "I would like to think that if Michael did to me what he did
to Emily, the least of his worries would be a nose filled with
spinach dip," Miranda snipped.

Alex had a gaze that had unnerved many.
"There wouldn’t be anything left by the time I was through."

But Miranda was unmoved. "Then meeting them
should be easier," she said with a smile.

Alex looked at the floor. "And what about
Jessie and Richard? I haven’t seen them...in quite a while."

"Richard will be as gracious as he always is
and Jessie is really here for me." More silence. "Martin’s coming
too—I don’t think he’s heard anything about us and he’s very funny.
And you will love Zainab—she’s better traveled than even you are
and possibly the nicest person I’ve ever met." She paused. "And you
wouldn’t want someone like that to think you were too good for a
party in your own home, right?"

He smiled. "Right." Miranda reached over and
squeezed his hand. "But not the whole time," he said. "I’ll make an
appearance, but don’t plan around me, alright?"

"Of course."

~~~

Richard, Jessie and Zainab were the first
guests to arrive. Richard was even quieter than usual. Jessie
looked at Miranda, and then looked around the room to make sure it
was clear. "He’s not here, Jess," Miranda said quietly, giving her
a little hug as she whispered, "and you know I’m just looking for
an excuse to kill him anyway."

Jessie snickered and hugged her back. "Just
let me know when so I can help."

Sweet, wonderful Zainab gave Miranda a big
hug of her own. Her smile was even wider than usual. She squeezed
Miranda’s hand to let her know that everything would be okay. Then
Zainab asked Richard to give her a little tour before the others
arrived.

Martin was next to arrive. "Hello gorgeous,"
he said. Richard and Zainab were still on the tour (Richard did a
lot of things more slowly since he’d met Zainab) so she introduced
Martin to Jessie. "Ohhh," Jessie said loudly. "So you’re Martin. I
think Emily mentioned you a few times."

"Did she now? Interesting, because we only
had that one date—and there were more people there, and of course
she wasn't dating me. Anyway, I hope Mitch has been kind in
whatever he said about me."

"No clue," Jessie shrugged. "I haven’t met
the infamous Mr. Graham."

"Wow. Well, he did have a serious lapse of
judgment back then, but infamy doesn’t generally cling to him."

"Then what does Emily see in him? She doesn’t
like guys who aren’t kind of mean and twisted in some way."

"Does the same apply to her friends?"

"Only this one. Zainab, Miranda and most of
her long-distance friends are nice enough."

"Long-distance friends?"

"You know, high school friends who went to a
real college."

"Okay, so I take it you don’t think too much
of our fine university?"

"And neither should you. It’s built on a
foundation of lies, murder and corruption."

"And how might you know that?"

"One of my great-grandfathers founded
it."

"Oh." Martin was impressed. "I guess you
didn’t have to worry about the admissions requirements."

"I can get in on my own merits, even without
the name."

"Can?"

Jessie winked. "Not an issue yet."

Was he still breathing? "And when will it
be?"

"In about two years," Jessie smirked.

Martin swallowed hard. "Right. So, can I get
you some juice or something?" Jessie giggled as he walked over to
the beverages. Miranda shook her head, laughing to herself.

The last expected door chime finally sounded.
Miranda inhaled and opened the door. There they were, the bright,
happy couple. Only they didn’t look too happy.

Emily was radiant in a white cotton summer
dress with a light blue sash, a grown up version of something a
seven-year-old might wear to a birthday party. Her hair was pulled
back and her cheekbones looked sharp against the rest of her full
face. She was gorgeous, even with the forced smile.

Mitch, tanned from all the days at the beach
with his new wife, was not smiling. He was still handsome in the
suit and shirt he was wearing, but his eyes shot out ice and
fire.

"Miranda, thank you so much!" Emily eased
Mitch’s grip on her and embraced Miranda. "Everything looks
beautiful. You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble."

"Are you kidding me?" She looked at Emily,
but she could feel Mitch’s eyes boring a hole through her. "You
didn’t think you’d get out of having a reception just because you
eloped, did you?"

"Now that wasn’t why we ran off…"

"Right, it was just to make sure we didn’t
talk you out of doing something stupid!" Jessie bounded over and
pulled Emily into a hug. "You idiot! What the Hell were you
thinking? Oh, hi—I’m Jessie. You must be Mitch." Jessie stuck her
hand almost in Mitch’s face.

He stood back then took her hand and shook
it. "Hi. Nice to finally put a face to...all the stories."

"Stories, huh?" Jessie giggled. "Martin was
just telling me all about Ireland."

Mitch turned white. "Excuse me," he mumbled,
and immediately turned to walk over to Martin. He pointed to Jessie
and threw up his hands. Martin shrugged, gave him a drink and
laughed.

"Wow, Em, he’s so intense!" Jessie said at a
stage whisper. "I can really see what you like about him."

"Mm hmm, and you’re pretty rotten. You’ll
like him once you get to know him. Scratch that—you’ll like him
once you get to talk to him."

"I don’t know. He’s being about as nice to
Miranda as your last loser was to me. What’s the difference
again?"

"Mitch isn’t a lying, drug-dealing
psychopath?"

"Eh, all the same to me. It was the pompous I
didn’t like the last time."

Richard and Zainab, red and smiling,
returned. Miranda made a mental note to check through all of the
bedrooms after everyone left for any signs of mischief.

"Em!" Zainab ran over to hug Emily and
Richard kissed her on the cheek. Mitch came back to Emily and
wrapped his arm around her waist. "Congratulations," Richard said,
shaking Mitch’s free hand. "You are both full of surprises."

"Good ones, right?" Emily smiled.

Richard chuckled. "This is definitely a good
surprise."

"So glad you approve," Mitch said, tightening
his grip on Emily. "And what did you do to celebrate your
graduation?"

"Nothing, for the first time in...forever,"
Zainab chimed in. "Did you guys know that he actually knows how to
sleep? It’s amazing! And we’ve watched a little TV and we’ve even
gone to the movies. It’s like Richard’s a real person all of a
sudden."

"Hmm," Jessie said. "You must get that from
your dad’s side of the family. No, that couldn’t be, actually. Are
you sure you’re really my cousin Richard?"

"Who else would take this much smack from
you?" Richard said, chucking Jessie gently under the chin. Emily,
Zainab and Miranda looked at each other for a moment, trying to
absorb Richard’s really awkward use of slang. Miranda was the first
one to break, and soon everyone was giggling.

The spell of laughter was broken when the
front door opened and Alex Sheldon walked into his living room.

Alex was in his late forties. His features
might have been too big for his face when he was younger, but now
it gave him an almost craggy, rugged handsomeness. His wavy hair
was halfway between gray and black, and his very dark eyes were
impossible to penetrate.

"Hello, Richard, good to see you. Jessie,
dear, how are you?"

"Just fine," Jessie said, then turned to walk
away.

"Good to hear. And you must be Zainab. I’ve
heard a great deal about you." He introduced himself to Martin, and
then he made his way over to the newlyweds. "Nothing is as
unmistakable as a newly married couple. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Emily said with a small nod.
"Mitch and I really appreciate you letting us use your home like
this."

"As I’m sure you’ve discovered, once Miranda
gets an idea in her head, no one has any peace until she sees it
through."

"That sounds… ruthless," Mitch said, never
letting his eyes leave Alex’s. "Something she might have picked up
from you?"

Everyone else in the room stopped breathing,
but Alex smiled. "If Miranda has learned anything from me, it’s
more what not to do than what to repeat. Although," he said, "I do
hope she understands the value of protecting the people she
loves."

"It is," Mitch said, lowering his voice and
making it even deeper than usual, "something I understand very well
myself."

Jessie and Martin looked at each other and
then everyone else in the room. "Wow, Miranda, you didn’t tell me
we were going to get entertainment too. Thanks, but maybe Martin
and I can go into the kitchen and get some food while the rest of
you act this out?"

"No, I think we’re all ready for food," Alex
said, not letting his eyes waiver from Mitch’s. "Wouldn’t you
agree?"

"Absolutely. I think we’ve said what we
needed to."

Miranda and Alex seated themselves at
opposite ends of the table. Richard and Zainab flanked Alex while
Mitch and Emily sat on either side of Miranda. Martin sat in
between Emily and Zainab with Jessie in between Richard and Mitch.
Miranda nodded approvingly. Richard would keep an eye on Jessie,
especially through the wine course.

As Miranda had hoped, Zainab engaged Alex in
conversation, pulling Richard in as well. It was a little hard to
make out, but Miranda was pretty sure she heard something about
South African wine vineyards and potential investment in
Namibia.

Jessie divided her time between tormenting
Richard and teasing her newest prey. Miranda pitied Martin, but she
couldn’t stop laughing when she looked at them. He was a decent guy
who didn’t want to be accused of anything with a sixteen-year-old
but he still couldn’t take his eyes off of her. And Jessie knew it,
so she kept talking and laughing and distracted him every time he
tried to say something to Mitch. Richard couldn’t decide between
being annoyed, nervous or amused himself.

Mitch could have used a little conversation
with Martin. As it was, he was dividing his time between his food
and intense glances at his wife. Emily tried repeatedly to pull him
into a conversation with her and Miranda, but he wouldn’t have any
of it. Jessie, on a brief respite from playing with Martin, looked
at the two of them out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah, Em, you’re
right!" she practically shouted. "Conversation is key!" Mitch
glared at her and Martin looked around nervously. "Jessie, would
you like to trade seats?"

When dinner was over, Jessie walked up to
Martin. "Zainab and Richard are giving me a ride home, but they’re
not going to stay. I’ll be all by myself. Want to keep me
company?"

Before Martin could say anything, Miranda
threw her arm around Jessie’s shoulder. "I think I’ll come over and
we’ll have a little slumber party tonight. What do you say?"

"Fine!" Jessie groaned. "None of you are any
fun."

Emily hugged Miranda and Zainab goodbye,
promising to call later, and Mitch dragged Martin out before he
could consider Jessie’s offer. Miranda kissed Zainab and Jessie
good-bye before closing the door.

She turned to Alex. "Thank you for
staying."

"Zainab is really lovely and surprisingly
lively. I didn’t think that was Richard’s type."

"I think he likes to hear something other
than the sound of his own thoughts sometimes."

"And Jessie..." He waited a moment. "She
didn’t give Martin her number, did she?"

"I don’t think so, but she’s not above
breaking into someone else’s cell phone to get his number."

"Probably not. Well, Emily seems sweet. I’m
sorry I didn’t get more of a chance to talk to her."

Yes, Emily could be sweet. "And Mitch?" she
said quietly. "I’m sorry he was so rude to you."

Alex shook his head. "He’s just being a good
husband, I think. I’m not sure I’d respect him if he’d acted any
differently."

~~~

"You suck," Emily said as soon as they walked
off of Miranda’s walkway.

"It wasn’t my idea to go to that."

"And yet, there we were. Did you have to be
so...ugh!"

"Um, guys?" Mitch and Emily turned to see
Martin waving his hand. "Someone want to tell me what the Hell is
going on?"

"It’s a long story," Emily said to Martin.
Turning toward Mitch she said, "And it doesn’t justify you acting
like a jerk to our friend." She pointed her finger into his chest
for emphasis.

He grabbed her hand. She tried half-heartedly
to pull away. "He seems to think he’s above the law, and she’s
protecting a sociopath."

Martin made a face. "Wait, what? Why is Alex
a sociopath?"

Emily pursed her lips and rolled her eyes.
"And now I have to explain."

They found a half-empty Starbucks on Boylston
Street. Over caffeinated beverages, Mitch told Martin about how
Michael Abbot, Richard’s cousin from the other side of his family
and also Alex’s ward, had shoved Emily’s hand down his pants, how
Miranda, incredibly, had prevented them from reporting it to the
police and how Mitch had gotten a little bit of revenge in a bowl
of vegetable dip.