Free Dark Sacrifice by Angie Sandro Page B

chair, fanning myself with one hand. “George,” I say with a haughty nod.
    Maggie’s boyfriend, Tommy, leans around George and waves. “Welcome home.”
    â€œYeah, welcome home,” George says.
    My stomach sours. My first home-cooked meal in over a month, and he’s ruining it. So unfair. Maybe if I concentrate hard enough, I can pretend he doesn’t exist. It works on ghosts.
    One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight…ooh, deviled eggs.
    I snatch four off the platter. Maggie sets by my elbow.
    Bessie sits on my other side so I’m squished between her and her daughter. Maggie and her boyfriend, Tommy, give each other long, penetrating looks throughout dinner. They monopolize the conversation, which suits me fine since I don’t have to come up with small talk. George sends a raised eyebrow in my direction during a particularly uncomfortable silence, and I shrug.
    â€œOkay, what’s going on?” I ask, unable to take the suspense. “If I’m making you all uncomfortable, let me know.”
    â€œWhat?” Maggie’s voice hits squawk decibels. She shifts in her chair and melts me with sad eyes. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. We’re the ones making you uncomfortable, aren’t we?”
    â€œTold you this was a bad idea,” Tommy says around a mouthful of food.
    â€œIt’s the only time we’ll all be together. Mala’s going to stay with her aunt soon.”
    I frown at Maggie. I hadn’t told her or Bessie about my aunt problems. Either of them. Did George blab the news about Marcheline to Bessie? Who I decide to stay with is nobody’s business but my own.
    Maggie stands up, and Tommy puts down his fork, a rarity, which means whatever she’s about to say is important. “’Kay, I might as well get this over with before I make the situation worse and this dinner gets out of control.” She turns to her mother. “Everyone else already knows this. Tommy asked me to marry him, and…well, I said yes.”
    I sit back in my chair, wishing I could dive beneath the table to avoid the explosion. This is why Maggie used me as a buffer between herself and Bessie. I shake my head at Maggie in sympathy. Poor girl picked the worst day to spring this news on her mother. If she’d bothered to run it by me first, I would’ve warned her about Bessie’s sour mood.
    My breath catches when Bessie calmly wipes her mouth, folds the napkin, lays it on the table, and rises. “Conference in my office,” she tells Maggie. “This means you too, Tommy.”
    The air puffs out, and I suck in a deep breath, light-headed.
    Whew! Thank God I’m only an honorary member of the family.
    They trail Bessie out of the room, like scolded puppies with their tails between their legs. I bite into a crispy chicken thigh. The juice fills my mouth, and I moan. So good.
    â€œWell, that was awkward,” George says.
    A startled laugh erupts out of me, and I almost spit out my chicken. I’d forgotten about George. Awkward? Very. I chew up the mouthful. What sort of response does he expect? “Uh, yeah.”
    â€œThis is probably something they should’ve told Bessie about without guests present.”
    â€œMaybe they needed us to provide moral support. Did you see Bessie? She didn’t even lose her cool. Everything will be fine.”
    â€œYou might be right.”
    â€œDo you approve of the marriage?”
    He quirks an eyebrow. “Do you want me to answer that question here?”
    I glance toward the closed office door and shake my head. I haven’t had time to wrap my mind around the idea of a Tommy and Maggie wedding. She told me about it, and I didn’t take her seriously. After that, Mama died. I didn’t think of much else at that point. Even with Bessie’s outward appearance of calm, I still listen for the screams. The odds are fifty-fifty that I’ll be attending Maggie and