Accelerated by Bronwen Hruska Page B

perfectly educated.” The drinks were fueling the true Nicole, who didn’t put up with anyone’s bullshit. She might have gotten away with it on those grounds, but she’d called Bradley kids snotty. Which was going to be a problem.
    “Why the name calling?” Dick said, disapprovingly.
    “She’s talking about Kat like she’s one of the unwashed.”
    “Kat is an extremely bright child,” Maureen said.
    “Yeah,” Nicole said. “ I know that.”
    “She’s going to be able to rise above the twenty-eight to one student-teacher ratio,” Maureen said. “And the funding problems.”
    Nicole put down the plaid napkin that, he now saw, matched Maureen’s dress. “Maybe we should go.”
    A pang of jealousy hit Sean. It wasn’t fair. He wanted to go, too.
    “But Mommy, I want to have stuffing.” Kat pouted and tears welled in her big brown eyes. Nicole sat back down with a sigh.
    But Maureen wouldn’t stop. She couldn’t. It was a pathology. “The thing that makes Bradley exceptional is its screening process.”
    “Ha!” Nicole exclaimed, and rolled her eyes. “The idea of basing admission on an interview with a four-year-old is pure insanity.”
    “Oh, I disagree,” Maureen continued, in an upbeat tone as if she were discussing the benefit of insulated drapes or cooking with canola oil. “It weeds out the hyperactive children and the slow children.”
    It hit him then. Ellie had grown up with Maureen for a mother, a role model. It put everything into perspective. Ellie had done well—fantastically well—given the circumstances of her childhood. He really should cut her some slack.
    Instead of thrashing back, Nicole channeled her frustration into a long exhale. Unfortunately, her lips were pressed into a snarl and they slapped against one another, hurtling specks of saliva onto the tablecloth.
    “Jake jumps on the table during reading and imitates the teacher,” Kat said to no one in particular. “Ms. Herbst calls him ‘Wild Child.’ He poked Chloe with a sharp pencil and her hand was bleeding.”
    Nicole frowned at her daughter, who was not helping her case.
    Sean’s mind raced. He needed a topic that would get Maureen and Nicole to disengage. He tried to channel Ellie. He reached for his wine glass and the idea hit him. He remembered drinking himself into oblivion one year when Maureen went on endlessly about her volunteer work. Since then, there had been an implicit pact among the family to avoid the subject at all cost. He realized now it was the only way. “Maureen,” he ventured, throwing caution to the wind. “What’s happening with the volunteering?”
    She looked surprised and, he thought, suspicious. But she took the bait. “Lots of exciting things.”
    He polished off his wine and signaled for a refill. “Start at the beginning. Tell us everything.”
    Dick glared at him from the head of the table.
    “I’m focusing most of my time these days on Bright Future,” she said. “They’re doing such important work.” Maureen leaned forward, eagerly. “I just helped coordinate a huge mailing about peanut allergy awareness. We’ll save dozens of lives this year.”
    “My friend Calvin might die from a peanut allergy,” Toby said. “He’s my best friend.” The entire table went quiet. Toby looked around trying to figure out what to do next.
    “Oh no,” Maureen said, looking genuinely upset. She grabbed Toby’s hand and held it. “I’m so sorry, Toby. How awful.” She shook her head and clucked her tongue. “These allergies are getting worse all the time. Terrifying.”
    Toby broke the substantial silence that followed with another bomb. “Mom called last night,” he said.
    The news was enough to jolt Nicole out of her funk. She tried to catch Sean’s eye across the marzipan Pilgrims and Indians.
    “She called you?” Maureen looked almost hurt. She leaned toward Toby. “What did she say?”
    “She’s in Momtalk now. She says Happy Thanksgiving to