Chapter 10 - He Stepped Closer and Mom Would Not Move
I could feel the heat from all those phone lights on my wet skin. My dress stuck cold to my legs and my hair dripped down Mom's arm, and I didn't try to wipe it. I just kept my face turned in against her side where I couldn't have to see everybody looking.
Mom's hand was locked around my shoulder. Not shaking. Her other arm was across me like a seat belt.
Richard's shoes made a sound on the marble when he came forward again. I heard it before I saw it. One step, then another. He stopped close enough that I could smell his cologne and the coffee on his breath.
He didn't look at me. He looked at Mom.
"Give her to me for a second," he said. His voice was lower this time, trying to sound calm. "You're making this bigger than it is."
Mom didn't answer right away. I felt her breathe in once, slow. Her fingers pressed a little harder into my shoulder, holding me still.
"No," she said.
Richard shifted his weight. His tuxedo jacket pulled tight across his shoulders. I could see his hands out of the corner of my eye, open like he wanted someone to agree with him.
"Elena," he said. "Think about what this looks like. Let me handle it."
"We're not handling anything," Mom said. Her voice stayed flat. "She stays with me."
A woman behind us whispered something and another phone light swung and steadied. The little white circles floated in my vision when I blinked. My ears were ringing from the chandelier hum and all the people being too quiet.
Richard took one more step. His shoe almost touched Mom's shoe. He leaned in a little, like if he got closer we would have to listen.
"You don't walk out in the middle of this," he said. "You talk to me first. That's how this works."
Mom turned her chin just enough to meet him. I felt her body go still in a different way, not scared still. Set still.
"I said no," she said. "I'm not explaining her to you. I'm not handing her over so you can smooth it out."
His jaw moved. He glanced sideways, fast, at the row of phones. For a second his smile tried to come back, the one grown-ups use for pictures, but nobody put their phone down.
"Come on," he said, softer now, meant just for her. "Don't do this in front of everyone."
Mom didn't look away from him. She pulled me half a step back, away from his reach, and her arm tightened.
"We're staying right here until you step back," she said.
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I pressed my forehead harder into her dress and held onto the fabric with both hands. My fingers were cold and wrinkled and I couldn't make them stop trembling, so I just balled them up in the navy cloth. I didn't say anything. I didn't lift my head.
Richard stayed where he was for a long moment. I could hear him breathing through his nose. Then he looked around again, at all the lights pointed at us, and he didn't step forward again. He just stood there with his hands hanging empty at his sides while Mom kept me against her and didn't move.
