To my right Lily was wasting no time downing her bagel and draining her coffee. It appeared that, like me, she had a hard time limit on this impromptu family lunch. Gng over and catg me looking at her she lets out a breath and shakes her head again.

  “It is so weird seeing you again. Especially here.”

  “Yeah.” I say. “When I realized who Heather was, um, weird. Like you say.”

  “Keep up with any of our old cssmates?”

  “Not really.” I say. “Kinda just…lost touch.”

  “You ah, Elliot. Life just gets so damned busy, right?”

  “Yeah.” I say, choosing to skip over the fact that it wasn’t busyness but maise that made me lose tact with our cohort. “So, a doctor, huh?”

  “Resident doctor.” She corrects. “Still got a few hurdles yet.”

  “You look tired.” Heather says. “You’re looking after yourself?”

  “I’m fine, Mom.” Lily says.

  “Heather tells me you’re one of the youo rise so far so fast.” I say. “I didn’t realize we had a genius in raduating css.”

  “HA!” Lily guffaws. “Hardly. Just good old-fashioned hard work.”

  “That’s my girl.” Heather beams proudly.

  “No, there’s only one genius in this family.” Lily says. All eyes turn to Mia who looks around nervously, suddenly looking like a mouse ered by a roomful of cats. Beside her Rebecca’s shoulder’s rise, as proud of her daughter as Heather was of hers. “Mia is a violinist and…I just ’t even. You’ve never heard anything like her. You just ’t believe anything could be so beautiful.” Emotion swells in Lily’s voice. “Her Devil’s Trill brings me to tears.”

  “I prefer her Devil Went Down to Geia.” Julie quips which gets a cute, if brief, smirk from Mia. “Yee haw!”

  “Our own little Paganini.” Heather says.

  “Devil’s Trill? Devil Went Down to Geia?” I chuckle. “Am I sensing a theme?”

  Mia squirms unfortably and leans closer to her mom, her face going dark. “I have…” Her already soft voice fades, being so quiet I had to read her lips to make out the word. “…dreams…”

  “That is private, child.” Rebecca gently ys her hand over her daughter’s. “He is not one of us.”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  I could see how desperate Mia was not to be the focus of attention so I shift the versation quickly to another. “And what do you do, Julie?”

  “What don’t I do is a better question.” She ughs, across from her Rebecca is roll her eyes. “Dog walker, food taster, house sitter, survey taker, mystery shopper, I do it all!”

  “Yes. If there’s a job that requires absolutely no talent or work ethic, Julie’s your woman.” Rebecca jibes.

  Julie replies by blowing a loud raspberry, elig looks from the tables around us and making her uptight cousin’s scowl deepen. For Julie it was mission aplished.

  “Um, Rebecca.” I say quickly before another squabble could break out. “What’s your job?”

  “My…job?”

  “Be nice, Rebecca.” Heather says. “She runs an art and antiques gallery downtown.”

  “Very posh.” Lily adds. “Really high end stuff.”

  Heather chuckles. “Think of the Hive, but for rich people. She helped me so much with getting it up and running.”

  “If you took more of my advice you could turn that pto something.” Rebecca says.

  “It is something.” Her sister replies. “And I like it just how it is.”

  “It’s your business.” Rebecca takes a sip of tea.

  “And you’re married?” I ask. “Roger was it?”

  “Yes.” Rebecswers with something approag a smile softening her features. “I cimed my Rhteen years ago.”

  “Uncle Roger is a judge.” Lily says.

  “And a total nerd.” Julie jests. “But a lovable nerd.” Warm smiles and nods go around the table givihe sehat he was indeed quite beloved by these women.

  “Well.” Lily drains the st of her coffee. “I gotta go.” She stands and slips her purse over her shoulder. “It was great seeing everybody.” She then looks down to me, shaking her head yet again. “I ’t believe it’s you.” Patting my shoulder she says. “I’ll o talk with you at some point.”

  “About Liam?”

  “About everything.”

  Heather gets up to hug and kiss her daughter. “Didn’t I tell you he was handsome?”

  “Mom, you’re…” Lily sighs. “Deal with this, okay? Soon!”

  “I will.” Heather pulls her in for an. “I love you.”

  “Love you too, Mum.”

  “Don’t work too hard.”

  “That’d be a first.” Walking around the table she fist bumps Julie along the way before stopping beside Mia. “Ready?”

  Mia nods though her tea is untouched and her food only half eaten. “May I be excused, Mother?”

  “You may.” She says. “Straight to school now.” She gives Lily a look. “No excursions.”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  “I will see you for supper.”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  Rebecca turns Mia’s face toward her and holds her head in her hands as she studies her a moment. She straightens her gsses then runs two fingers along her hair band to e y perfectly straight, fussing over her in a simir way to Heather’s doting but with airely different energy.

  “You are powerful. You are unstoppable. You are perfeobody is your equal.” Rebecca kisses her daughter’s forehead. “Do me proud, child.”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  Mia rises and gives us a curtsy. “Julie. Auher.” She bashfully gnces my way. “It leasure to meet you, Sir.”

  “Mia.”

  “Elliot.” She corrects herself.

  “Take care.” I say.

  With that Lily and Mia exit the cafe.

  “Wish I could be there when she breaks the o Liam.” Julie says while lig a hot ustache from off her upper lip. “Did you guys really hate each other that much?”

  “It was just petty school stuff.” I lie. “You know what kids are like.”

  “Boys are so, well, boisterous.” Heather says. “Just boys being boys.”

  Rebecca, her eyes looking down at her teacup as she very slowly tur in its saucer. “Liam called me yesterday.”

  At my side I feel Heather tense up. “He did?”

  “We should talk.” She says. “At a better time perhaps?”

  “Yes.” Heather nods, looking hurt and deeply ashamed. I could only guess what had upset her but I couldn’t bear to see her like this. Beh the table I slip my hand into hers and give it a squeeze. Her worry eases as she ches my hand back again.

  “I should be going too.” I say. Though I could have stayed a few more minutes I sehat this Liam thing was going to hover over her until she could talk about it.

  “Okay.” Heather smiles as my hair. “Again, I am sorry about all this. I thought they’d be…better behaved.”

  “Us!?” Laughs Julie.

  “o apologize.” I say. “It was great to meet your family.”

  “I ’t wait to hear about your day.” Heather says.

  “I ’t wait to tell you about it. It’s been awesome so far.”

  “Oh good!”

  “Hey, I was thinking I might cook tonight.”

  “Oh?” Heather giggles, to which Rebecca sighs. “What are we having?”

  “Tacos.” I say boldly, before fessing. “It’s about all I know how to make.”

  “Ha ha ha! That sounds wonderful.” She squeezes my hara hard. “We hit the store together after work.”

  “Deal.”

  “I like tacos.” Julie says, a eh choose to ignore.

  I could tell that Heather wao hug me but that prying eyes were keepi bay. “Have a good afternoon at work, handsome.”

  “You too.”

  I take my lunch bag and rise. “Rebecca.” I nod. “Julie.”

  “Elliot.” Rebeods back.

  “Oh no.” Julie says as she grabs her st two browo hold like a sandwi one hand. “You’re not leavih these two. I gotta feeling things are about to get reeeal awkward around here.” She gets up and throws her arm around my neck. “I’ll walk ya back.”

  I ’t eve a backward gnce as Julie walks me from the cafe, not letting me go until the sidewalk. Heading back the way we came Julie and I walk toward my work site.

  “Little douche bag.” Julie grumbles. “Liam’s such a bitch.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “He probably asked Becks and Roger for money.” She says. “I mean, they got lots but that’s not the point.”

  “It’s not?”

  “You don’t know what it’s like for us.” She says, getting serious for the first time since I’d met her. “Not being able to look after a boy or have them look after you, it’s humiliating. It’s a bit different, because Liam’s her son, but I’m not sure if that makes it worse or better. Liam going to Rebecca is a sp iher’s face. And the selfish little priew that too. Pah! Anyway.” She shakes her head and nudges me shoulder to shoulder. “So tell me, cutie. How much has she doh you?”

  “Um…”

  “Food and drink I assume?”

  “Uh…”

  “Massage? Feathers?”

  “Mm…”

  “Sex?”

  “Erm…”

  “I know. None of my business.” She says. “Whatever you two got up to, must have been intense, huh?”

  “Um, yeah.” I say. “It was…wonderful.”

  “I bet it was. My honey boys are a high, but hers must be level. Probably sted awhile too.”

  “I don’t uand.”

  “Heather’s a matriarch. All her shit is dialed up to 11.”

  “Oh.” As we cross the street a question that had been simmering at the bay mind bubbles up. “Julie. What’s a honey hole?”

  “Oh my God! They’re only the best thing ever.” She says excitedly. “Polite pany call them princes els. But I ain’t polite pany, ha! The coolest thing about matriarchs is that ohe ol’ royal jelly is up the chute…” She makes a crude gesture with her fist to demonstrate. “…their bond is so powerful that it makes their man impervious to other women.”

  “Huh?”

  “I mean, a man with zero risk of actal bonding.” She holds up the chocote squares and offers. “Brownie?”

  “No thanks.”

  “We have to be so fug careful around guys.” She tinues. “There’s a stant risk of getting too close, especially ohe honey’s been tasted. It’s some pretty heavy shit to have a guy’s eure in the palm of your hand. Your own future too. Those bonds go both ways and they just don’t break. We ’t just fool around like other chicks. It sucks!”

  “She told me about the bond.”

  “Heather is oough bitch surviving Alexander like she did.” She sighs. “Most of us aren’t that strong. Mia’s parents for example.”

  “Mia?”

  She nods, a fsh of sadness in her eyes. “When her mom passed her dad…couldn’t…well, you get the picture.” After a few silent steps she whispers. “Mia was the one who found him.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “It’s not unon with us. Like I said, those bonds don’t break.” She shakes her head again. “Anyways! The thing about a Matriarch’s man is that he safe for the rest of us to be around. We feed him honey, fool around with him, hang out as long as we like, whatever we want.” She says. “The rest of us could pass him around all day for a week and he’d still be hers. A honey boy, ns attached.”

  “Pass him around?”

  “So to speak.”

  “So is Roger…?”

  “Nah.” She says. “Rebecca’s not a matriarch, as much as she acts like ohey’re super rare. We love the o death, he’s one of our own, but if we fuck around with Roger too much he’ll get spoiled. And there’s nothing worse than a ruined man. There’s a little wiggle room in the honey boy phase but once a man’s cimed he is strictly off limits. A ruined man fucks with everybody involved and NEVER ends well. Long story short, we are life-boo one man and pletely monogamous.” She pauses. “Unless we’re lucky enough to get a honey hole and Matriarch willing to share him. So this Myles guy that Heather’s talking about? Tell me about him.” Just then a chorus of hooting greets us from my coworkers who had stayed behind for lunch. Fetting all about her question Julie starts waving. “Ha ha ha! I’m back, boys! Whip’em out!”