all be together for the holidays. Love these guys soooo much! Best friends forever. #Alltogether #Threemusketeers #BestFriendsForever #ThreeBestFriends #ThreesCompany .
My heart sank. It was India's caption and anyone who read it would think what a close-knit group of friends and not realize anyone was missing from that photo. Sure, I was in another state, so naturally I couldn't be there for it, but the way India wrote that made me feel so left out. I mean, what did she mean by the "Three's Company" hashtag? And sometimes people tagged friends who weren't there in pictures and added, "Wish you were here," but there was no mention of a fourth member of the group.
"Ready for bed, hon?" Mom asked coming into my room.
"Yeah, just signing off."
"Okay, sleep well."
I got into bed and hoped I was reading into things, but the knot in my stomach wouldn't go away.
Chapter Three
Â
The next day, we went to visit my Grandma Albright. I'd never felt comfortable at her house. It always seemed like a museum or something with its vases and wood-paneled walls. I grew up hearing, "Don't touch that â it's expensive, delicate, too nice for you," etc. It's not a lot of fun being someplace where I felt like everything I did was wrong. Mom made me wear a boring outfit with a bright green corduroy skirt and a pink turtleneck with a matching green-and-pink sweater over it. It was totally preppy and made me look about six years old. I tried putting on some makeup, but Mom said Grandma would throw a fit if I wore a lot. There was no way I was going to be in Christmas pics barefaced and washed-out (again), so I put on a little concealer over my breakouts, a dab of blush, some mascara, and a little pink lipstick which I blotted just to give me a little color. It looked like I wasn't wearing makeup at all. Even Mom said Grandma couldn't object to what I had on.
We walked into Grandma's house, and she had some candy dishes out. I didn't smell anything cooking, which was weird since it was lunchtime. Were we supposed to eat or something before we came over?
"Mom, what time is lunch?" Dad asked, kissing Grandma on the cheek.
"Oh, well everyone's always on diets, so I thought I'd just put out sandwich items, and you can make a little something yourselves," Grandma said, leading us into the kitchen. I exchanged a look with Mom. On the gray marble countertop was a tiny plate of sliced ham and turkey, some cheese slices, four lettuce leaves, and three slices of tomato.
"Help yourselves," she said.
"To what?" Mom whispered to me. "You better hope the rest of the family got here early and ate, or else we're all going to be fighting to the death over a tomato slice."
I laughed out loud, and Grandma called out to me, "Is everything all right, Landry?"
"Yeah, I just am so happy toâ¦see ham. It's my favorite."
Dad walked over to the counter, and Mom asked him if everyone else had already eaten.
"Yeah, they ate at noon," he said.
"Without us?" she asked.
"Oh, well, she said come around noon, but I thought, you know, wheneverâ¦"
"Wait, around noon or at noon?" Mom asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Does it matter?"
"Yes, it matters! We're late," she said. "And she's probably going to blame me for it. Why didn't you just say we needed to be here at noon? I thought it was a casual drop-in thing since you didn't specify a time."
Mom sighed, but Dad shrugged and started making a sandwich.
She leaned over to me. "He loves tomatoes, so take two slices, and I'll take the other one."
I shook my head, but it was nice to be on the same side as my mother for a change, so I took the tomato slices and she smirked.
Grandma wanted us to come into the living room with my aunt, uncle, and cousins, Bryan and Lucy. I felt stupid eating in front of them while they basically watched, and I could tell my mom did, too. I never noticed how loud I chewed. Did I always sound this obnoxious when I ate? No one said anything, so all I heard was the three of
My heart sank. It was India's caption and anyone who read it would think what a close-knit group of friends and not realize anyone was missing from that photo. Sure, I was in another state, so naturally I couldn't be there for it, but the way India wrote that made me feel so left out. I mean, what did she mean by the "Three's Company" hashtag? And sometimes people tagged friends who weren't there in pictures and added, "Wish you were here," but there was no mention of a fourth member of the group.
"Ready for bed, hon?" Mom asked coming into my room.
"Yeah, just signing off."
"Okay, sleep well."
I got into bed and hoped I was reading into things, but the knot in my stomach wouldn't go away.
Chapter Three
Â
The next day, we went to visit my Grandma Albright. I'd never felt comfortable at her house. It always seemed like a museum or something with its vases and wood-paneled walls. I grew up hearing, "Don't touch that â it's expensive, delicate, too nice for you," etc. It's not a lot of fun being someplace where I felt like everything I did was wrong. Mom made me wear a boring outfit with a bright green corduroy skirt and a pink turtleneck with a matching green-and-pink sweater over it. It was totally preppy and made me look about six years old. I tried putting on some makeup, but Mom said Grandma would throw a fit if I wore a lot. There was no way I was going to be in Christmas pics barefaced and washed-out (again), so I put on a little concealer over my breakouts, a dab of blush, some mascara, and a little pink lipstick which I blotted just to give me a little color. It looked like I wasn't wearing makeup at all. Even Mom said Grandma couldn't object to what I had on.
We walked into Grandma's house, and she had some candy dishes out. I didn't smell anything cooking, which was weird since it was lunchtime. Were we supposed to eat or something before we came over?
"Mom, what time is lunch?" Dad asked, kissing Grandma on the cheek.
"Oh, well everyone's always on diets, so I thought I'd just put out sandwich items, and you can make a little something yourselves," Grandma said, leading us into the kitchen. I exchanged a look with Mom. On the gray marble countertop was a tiny plate of sliced ham and turkey, some cheese slices, four lettuce leaves, and three slices of tomato.
"Help yourselves," she said.
"To what?" Mom whispered to me. "You better hope the rest of the family got here early and ate, or else we're all going to be fighting to the death over a tomato slice."
I laughed out loud, and Grandma called out to me, "Is everything all right, Landry?"
"Yeah, I just am so happy toâ¦see ham. It's my favorite."
Dad walked over to the counter, and Mom asked him if everyone else had already eaten.
"Yeah, they ate at noon," he said.
"Without us?" she asked.
"Oh, well, she said come around noon, but I thought, you know, wheneverâ¦"
"Wait, around noon or at noon?" Mom asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Does it matter?"
"Yes, it matters! We're late," she said. "And she's probably going to blame me for it. Why didn't you just say we needed to be here at noon? I thought it was a casual drop-in thing since you didn't specify a time."
Mom sighed, but Dad shrugged and started making a sandwich.
She leaned over to me. "He loves tomatoes, so take two slices, and I'll take the other one."
I shook my head, but it was nice to be on the same side as my mother for a change, so I took the tomato slices and she smirked.
Grandma wanted us to come into the living room with my aunt, uncle, and cousins, Bryan and Lucy. I felt stupid eating in front of them while they basically watched, and I could tell my mom did, too. I never noticed how loud I chewed. Did I always sound this obnoxious when I ate? No one said anything, so all I heard was the three of
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