Page 28 of Cryptic Curse

We get into my truck, and I start the engine and roll out of the parking lot.

“Of all the…” Robin murmurs.

Yeah, Robbie’s in one of her moods.Not like she ever tries to hide it.

“What’s sticking in your craw?”I ask.

She shakes her head.“You’ll think it’s nothing.”

“Come on, Robbie.You know I’m the one who gets you the most.”

She lets out a huff.“Just Mom.Being her Mom self.”

I chuckle.Yeah, I get it.“What did she do now?”

“A big dinner.I mean, really?It’s great that Raven and Vinnie are engaged, and we all were expecting it.But why in the hell did she decide to host some big engagement dinner tonight?When it’s already after four o’clock?And the father of the bride-to-be is still stuck in a hospital bed and can’t string two words together?”

“You know Mom,” I say.“She likes to keep herself in a permanent state of denial.And when she’s doing something else—cooking a big dinner, even though we have staff that could do it—she’s focused on something.She’s not worried about Dad lying in a hospital bed or the fact that his aphasia is making him sound like a lunatic.”

She swallows.“Except ‘they’re coming’ makes a lot of sense.”

I roll my eyes.“Only if we know who ‘they’ are.If that’s even what Dad meant to say.Before you got in, he referred to me as a door.”

Robin is quiet for a moment, until— “I’m so glad Ray is okay.That she’s in remission and is going to be fine.And that she’s found love.Even if it is with a mobster…”

“Vinnie’s not like that,” I say.“You know that.”

She shrugs.“Yeah, I know that.You can’t help the family you’re born into.”

It doesn’t take a literary scholar to decipher what Robin is saying.She and I have both lamented the fact that we were born to the Bellamys.I doubt that Falcon, Raven, or Eagle ever have.Not that we aren’t grateful for the fortunes we have.But a hell of a lot of conditions come with that privilege.

Robin sighs.“Do you think that if I’d announcedmyengagement today, we would be having a big last-minute shindig at the house?”

I don’t reply because I simply don’t know the answer.

“I’m not begrudging Raven,” Robin says quickly.“You know I love her like a sister.”She smiles.

That was always Robin and Raven’s little joke when signing yearbooks back in high school.Love you like a sis.

“I know that, Robbie.”

“It’s just that… You and I both know she wouldn’t have done this for me.”

“Ravendidjust survive cancer,” I remind her.

She holds up a hand.“That’s not even what I mean.We’re all ecstatic that Ray’s okay.But I just know it wouldn’t have been the same if I’d been the one with the big announcement.”

“I guess we’ll never know, Robin, because youdidn’tmake any big announcements tonight.”

She lets out a sigh.“And based on the last couple of guys I’ve dated, I won’t be doing that anytime soon.”She shrugs again.“Much to Mom’s consternation, I’m sure.”

She’s not wrong.Mom is the quintessential housewife.She believes a woman’s place is in the home.Our grandparents were immigrants from Mexico, devout Catholics, and though Mom didn’t push her religion on us, she’s very traditional in her values.

Even though our household was always fully staffed, Mom enjoyed working in the kitchen, helping the staff, or even giving them the night off and making dinner herself.She always insisted on making a hot breakfast for Dad every morning.The kitchen was her domain then.

Come to think of it, with Dad in the hospital and all the kids out of the house, maybe she’s feeling a little lost.Maybethat’swhy she jumped at the opportunity to host a big dinner.

Robin is quiet for a few more minutes.Until she turns to me.In my peripheral vision, I see that she’s getting ready to ask a question.A big one.