Free In a Moon Smile by Sherri Coner Page B

attention.
    “Don’t forget that one guy, Willis,” Charlotte said through laughter. “He left you for the priesthood.”
    This time, Charlotte choked on her own joke and spewed food across the linen tablecloth. Beady tears of meanness glistened in her eyes. No way to stop her now. Chesney tried to ignore Charlotte’s painful darts.
    It’s my own damn fault, of course, for providing way too much material for Charlotte’s comedy routine.
    “When Gil McElroy ignored her during my wedding reception, Chez got so drunk that she puked in a potted plant by the elevator,” Charlotte was laughing so hard, she struggled to finish the sentence.
    “Not true,” Chesney said weakly.
    “I saw you,” Charlotte snapped. “And so did my bridesmaids.”
    “Fine,” Chesney shrugged, unwilling to admit guilt but also unwilling to bawl hysterically. She decided to be very, very thankful that Charlotte and her spies apparently missed the part where she dry humped the DJ that evening, during the chicken dance.
    “What about that whirlwind romance with Mr. Becker’s son?” Charlotte asked. “He was supposedly so perfect.”
    “If you really must know, Charlotte, Winston Becker picked his nose incessantly,” Chesney said hotly. “He also had sinus trouble and sniffed constantly.”
    Mom, remember when she ran away to the Dominican Republic after ending her relationship with Marcus DeVaney?” Charlotte was laughing so hard that tears streamed triumphantly down her face.
    Madelyn struggled to hide a faint smile. Lyle feverishly stabbed at the meat chunks on his plate. Cooper snickered. Piper drooled on her pastel pink bib.
    Traitors . All of you are traitors. You are entertained by my pain. Hold your breath for the next time I grace your doorstep with baked ziti.
    Chesney wanted to smear the green bean casserole all over Charlotte’s face and scream her head off like the mental patient they apparently thought she was.
    “And remember…” Charlotte’s voice was now a high-pitched squeal.
    “Shut up, Charlotte,” Chesney said in a low voice.
    More snickers erupted around the table then quietly died. Cooper hid a grin behind his huge, skinny hand. Charlotte’s mouth gaped open in an amused, toothy smile.
    “You’ve got to admit, dear, that Charlotte has a point,” Lyle said.
    “Charlotte always has a point, Dad,” Chesney said. “It’s always a nicely sharpened point. And it’s always aimed at my back.”
    “I have a concern,” Madelyn said in a tight, loud voice. “I’m realizing, dear, that your real estate purchase allows you to escape all the gossip about the cancelled wedding. You will simply move away to Bean Blossom and leave your father and me to survive the rumor mill.”
    “I hardly think that’s fair to mom and dad, Chesney,” Charlotte said quickly. She never missed an opportunity to show their parents what a worthless idiot their other daughter happened to be. Charlotte turned a hateful gaze in Chesney’s direction. “I’m sure you’ve never considered how embarrassing this will be for the rest of us. But then again, running away is what you seem to do best.”
    This accusation felt like hot oil on Chesney’s face. She never intended for her family to take the brunt of the break up. “I won’t move until spring,” she said in a low voice. “I will be responsible for cancellations, along with handling all the gossip.” Clearing her throat, she glanced at her father and said, “Of course I will also be responsible for lost deposits.”
    “Lost deposits are the least of our worries,” Madelyn snapped. “Look at the position you’ve put us in again. We are again the laughing stock. And it’s all because you can’t seem to…”
    “Get it right,” Chesney muttered as she stared across the table at her mother, the statue. “I just can’t get anything quite right, can I?” She stood and excused herself from the table.
    “You should face the facts,” Charlotte’s voice trailed