“They won’t understand, and then I’ll be to blame for that, too.”
“Mad, I’m a grown-up. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me and my choices. No matter how Mom and Dad take it, it’s not your fault.”
An hour later, Lizzie wished she’d listened to Maddy’s advice. Her parents sat at either side of their dining room table with pained looks on their faces. Her mother’s trembling hand covered her mouth; her thin brows were pinched together, and her father scowled, his eyes flaming with disappointment.
“Dad, say something. Anything,” Lizzie pleaded.
“You’re not the girl I raised.” Vernon Barber pushed from the table, avoiding eye contact with Lizzie. He bent and kissed the top of Maddy’s head. “Madison, thank you for coming home for dinner.”
It might have been the condescending way he made the proclamation about her or the emotions of the last few days getting the better of her. Lizzie wasn’t sure what tipped her over the edge, but she threw her napkin on the table and pushed to her feet.
“I’m paying for the education you couldn’t afford. How about saying something like, Thank you. We may not think it’s the best way to go about it, but good job.”
“Lizzie!” Maddy snapped.
Lizzie had never raised her voice to their father before, and she knew she was skirting a dangerous line, but she was too angry to stop.
Her father waited until she was done, then silently left the room.
“Vernon,” their mother said in a harsh whisper. Margaret Barber watched her husband walk upstairs; then she picked up her fork and, without looking at Lizzie or Maddy, said, “Shall we finish our meal?”
Maddy gave Lizzie a stern look that clearly said, I told you so!
“Mom, I want to talk about this. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you and Dad sooner.” Lizzie’s stomach ached, but it wasn’t sadness that had her pushing her mother to talk. It was anger. Anger at feeling like she’d needed to keep the whole damn thing a secret in the first place, anger for putting herself in this position. Anger at her father for walking away.
When her mother didn’t respond, she pushed harder. “Talk to me, please?” Lizzie pleaded.
Her mother placed her fork beside her plate and folded her hands in her lap. Her eyes were sad and confused at once, but there was no mistaking the sheen of love hovering above the other emotions. “Elizabeth, I know you did this for your sister. And before that, for yourself, but that doesn’t make it right.”
“It doesn’t make it wrong, either,” Madison said, surprising them all.
Their mother exhaled a long breath. “This will take your father some time to get over.”
“And you?” Lizzie asked, bracing herself with the table to keep from running from the room.
“You’re my daughter, and I love you.” Her mother reached for Lizzie’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “We all make mistakes. Some are just bigger than others.”
They finished dinner in silence, and when Lizzie and Madison left, their mother embraced them both and said, “This will just take some time,” to Lizzie.
When Lizzie dropped Maddy off at her dorm, Maddy hugged her tightly and said, “You’re the best sister I could ever have, and I love you and appreciate your ability to be a ho in private.”
Maddy had always been able to cheer Lizzie up, and after their tense dinner with their mother and being shunned by their father, she needed to remember why she was doing the show in the first place. And when it came to Maddy, she still felt like no concession was too big.
Chapter Twenty-Three
BLUE WORRIED ALL evening about Lizzie telling her family about the webcast. As proud as he was of Lizzie for wanting to finally tell her family the truth, the more he thought about it, the more concerned he became. He’d had hours to be introspective about Lizzie’s webcast, and among other things, he realized that while complete honesty was vital to him, that didn’t mean it was right for everyone else. He didn’t want her to come home to an empty house if the evening didn’t go well, so he’d driven to her house a half hour ago and had been waiting for her on her porch ever since.
When his cell phone rang, he hoped it was Lizzie, but wasn’t surprised to see Sky’s name on the screen. He answered the call knowing he hadn’t been fair to Sky either. “I’m sorry I didn’t return your calls.”
“I hope you have redeemed yourself. What the hell, Blue?”
“Don’t you think this whole thing was a freaking blow to me?” He paced the yard. “First, she completely steals my heart, then she reveals that she walks around in an apron and heels for strangers. It’s not like she’s on Rachael Ray, fully dressed.”
“She’s not naked, Blue. I watched a video. I think she looks hot as a blonde.”
“She’d look hot bald.” He smiled, thinking about how true that was. “That’s not the point. She owns me, Sky. Heart and soul, and now…”