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out from a stranger named
Roy.”
    She sighed. “I’m sure your guest
doesn’t want to hear this.”
    I looked at David. My mother was
right. He didn’t want to hear this. He’d had enough stressful Christmases. I
gritted my teeth. “Well, how was the wedding?” I asked civilly.
    “We hardly had a wedding,” my
mother sniffed. “We just went to town hall.”
    She showed us the big kitchen with
its wraparound porch overlooking the infinity pool and Sol’s dock slip down on
the bay. The house was beautiful, big, modern, and immaculate.
    “I can show you upstairs, too,” my
mother said, when we reached the staircase.
    “That’s okay,” I said quickly.
“We’re tired. I’m tired. I just want to take a shower.”
    She brought us up to the guest
rooms, which were identically beige with sea foam accents.
    “Sorry,” I muttered to David once
she’d left us to unpack. “I didn’t mean to go all teenaged drama queen on you.”
    He laughed. “I kind of liked it. So,
is this her fifth husband?”
    “Sixth,” I shook my head.
“Honestly, why bother? How can you think, after five failed marriages, that
it’s worth getting married for a sixth time?”
    He smiled and shrugged. “Maybe she
loves him.”
    “Right,” I said.
    “Well, she loves you,” he said, a
little bit sadly.
    I exhaled and closed my eyes.
“Yeah, I know. I know. You’re right. I’m being a bitch. I’m over it. Totally
over it. We’ll have fun. In Belvedere with my crazy family.”

Chapter Six
    It ended up being the nicest break from school I’d ever had.
Sol and my mother were still in some kind of honeymoon phase, so I took David
all over—to the Castro, Golden Gate Park, Stinson Beach, the Ferry Building,
and the old Marine bases.
    “I love it here,” David said when
we were walking across the bridge, bundled in warm coats. “Seriously, I do,” he
said fervently. “It’s so beautiful. And the people seem so happy.”
    Later that day, we went to Greens
for overpriced organic food and priceless views. The water came right up to the
window and David sipped lemonade and told me about South Dakota.
    “It's cold,” he told me. “And
small. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. There’s all this wide-open space, but
everyone knew everyone. And it was so conservative. And you know me...I’ve
always had the voice and the limp wrists. I never seemed straight.” His voice
wavered for a moment. He seemed raw, like he was actively experiencing what it
was like to be there. “I just sometimes felt like I would be crushed by it. I couldn’t
hide it. Being gay. Being me. I couldn't hide it."
    He hardly ever talked about this.
It hurt to hear.
    “I tried though. God, I tried.” He sighed.
“I think what bothers me most about it, though, is that it made me ashamed of
who I was. And I’m not ashamed of who I am. And I’m never going to let anybody
do that to me again.”
    I met his shining, blue eyes and
saw the resolution there. I believed him.

Chapter Seven
    On Christmas Eve, my mother insisted we have brunch. Alone.
Without David.
    My mother wore Prada. I wore ripped
jeans and a Free Lil Wayne t-shirt I’d gotten at a college journalism
conference in Ohio. She was horrified.
    “With all of the beautiful clothing
you have, I can't believe you would choose that shirt—”
    “Do you want me to take it off?” I
asked. “Because if that would make you more comfortable, I can.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous, Hadley.”
    She ordered a salad with dressing
on the side. I ordered a burger and curly fries. She grimaced.
    “So, tell me about school.”
    “It’s great,” I said.
    “I’m very proud of you,” she said.
“And I’m very proud of your writing.”
    I fought the urge to say something
snarky. “Thanks,” I said.
    “You know, I have an old friend at Vogue .
I feel like that might be just the place for you.”
    I stared at her incredulously. “Are
you kidding me?”
    “Well, they have really good
articles in