Page 107 of Hard to Get

One of the women screeches, “Get back here, you little… rascal!”

Cheryl.

She takes off after the boy at a run, holding up her long skirt.

“Oh my God.” Stella covers her mouth with her hands.

“Give that to me!” Cheryl cries. “That should have been mine!’ She grabs the boy, who resists, and they both go down in a swirl of dusty-rose satin.

Every guest in the room says, “Ohhhhhh.”

“You… can’t… have it,” Cheryl insists as she wrestles with the kid.

Stella’s head drops forward.

“You’re a boy!” Cheryl adds, then finally gets the flowers out of the kid’s clutches. “Yes!” She jumps up and dances around.

“How much champagne did she have?” Stella cries. “This is so embarrassing.”

I slide my arm around her and pull her close. “It’s your mom who should be embarrassed. Not you.”

She presses her forehead to my shoulder. “Can we leave now? Maybe I can just hide under the table for a while.” She lifts the tablecloth.

I remove the fabric from her grip. “That’s your call, baby. I’ll do whatever you want.”

She heaves a sigh. “I better check on Mom.”

“Let’s go.”

We make our way over to Cheryl where Meredith and Harrison are already talking to her. The boy has disappeared.

“Mom.” Stella gives her mother a piercing look. “What the hell was that all about?”

“A boy cannot have the bouquet,” Cheryl says, as if this is evident. “He stole it out of my hands!”

“Let’s go chat out in the lobby,” Stella suggests, taking her mom’s arm.

“Good idea,” Harrison says.

We all follow them into the spacious, marble-floored lobby. I feel the eyes of other guests on us.

“Are you drunk, Mom?” Harrison asks.

“No!”

I don’t know her that well, but she doesn’t seem wasted.

“Why would you do that?” he demands.

“I told you.” She seems to be calming down. “I… I wanted the bouquet.”

Her sad tone is… well, sad.

“Did you get hurt when you fell?” Stella asks quietly.

“No. I’m fine.” Cheryl twitches the skirt of her dress back into place. “Where’s Jason?”

We all look at each other and shrug.