the guests. Tonight he looked especially good, with his sandy brown hair gelled up at the sides in a short faux hawk and a dress shirt unbuttoned at the top.
Carefully tucked-in pink and blue cloth napkins blossomed like lily petals from the mouths of glass goblets throughout the banquet hall. Caitlin paused to smile for a photo with a friend. Black and white balloons with long ribbons tied to their ends floated around the room like guests at the party. Caitlin posed, hand on her hip, for another photo. Waiters in bow ties glided between tables, carrying trays of fizzy champagne. This party at Galloping Hills, where many people held their weddings, made her feel almost like a princess, right down to the tables with white embossed tablecloths and gold-painted chairs. Perfect.
Her sisters showed up, looking gorgeous as usual. One wore a leopard-print dress, the other a lacy white strapless minidress, outfits that did more than enough to show off their voluptuousness. For some reason Caitlin was the only one who had ended up model thin. Sheresembled their mother in that way. The three sisters were so close that they each shared pieces of a necklace. Her oldest sister’s charm read, “Laugh,” while her middle sister’s read, “Love.” Caitlin’s read, “Live.”
Someone had hooked up an iPod to the stereo system in place of a live deejay, and R&B tunes bumped in the background. Yet Caitlin couldn’t help but notice that the waxy wooden dance floor was mostly empty. No one at her party was dancing.
Her mom, dad, and sisters gathered on the floor to pose with Caitlin for a banquet photo, grinning together, looking like one flawless family. It would be easy for people to look at the attractive clan with envy, oblivious to all the drama that went on at home. But if you saw the party through Caitlin’s eyes, you knew better.
She sensed that something else was off too. Caitlin glanced over at Jonathan’s younger brother, Josh. He didn’t really seem to be talking to anyone. He sat separated from the festivities, in the hallway alone, staring off into the distance with a look of silent detachment or depression. Caitlin thought Josh was a good-looking young man too, but he didn’t have his older brother’s charm and charisma. Every once in a while, she’d see Jonathan go out and try to coax his brother back inside to join the party, to no avail.
Caitlin knew that Josh didn’t care for her. She had always tried to be nice to him, but he’d made it known to Jonathan that he didn’t like being around when she was present. This party was probably the last place on earth that Josh wanted to be.
But there was something else about Josh, Caitlin thought, something suspicious, like an illness that she couldn’t quite diagnose. Whatever it was, it frightened her. Caitlin knew that Norma could tell something was wrong with Josh too. During the party, the professor had gone into the hall beyond the banquet ballroom and tried chatting with him. But Norma later told Caitlin how despondent he had been.
She smiled pretty for the camera again.
Once Caitlin had told Jonathan’s younger brother that he reminded her of Socrates, the way he philosophized in long, hard-to-decipher sentences.
Josh hadn’t responded at first.
“Does that bother you?” Caitlin had asked.
“No,” Josh had said. “That’s a compliment.”
But some of his behavior unnerved Caitlin. Josh didn’t look directly at people, and sometimes he asked weird, out-of-context questions. “Why do you always listen to Eminem when I’m in the car?” he’d accuse, as if she were listening to the music to intentionally piss him off.
Something about her boyfriend’s younger brother alarmed her. She had mentioned her concerns to Norma more than once but didn’t dare tell Jonathan. She didn’t want to upset him.
S HE HAD BEEN dating Jonathan for five years now, and she often stopped by to visit him in the apartment he shared with his brother. Josh was
Carefully tucked-in pink and blue cloth napkins blossomed like lily petals from the mouths of glass goblets throughout the banquet hall. Caitlin paused to smile for a photo with a friend. Black and white balloons with long ribbons tied to their ends floated around the room like guests at the party. Caitlin posed, hand on her hip, for another photo. Waiters in bow ties glided between tables, carrying trays of fizzy champagne. This party at Galloping Hills, where many people held their weddings, made her feel almost like a princess, right down to the tables with white embossed tablecloths and gold-painted chairs. Perfect.
Her sisters showed up, looking gorgeous as usual. One wore a leopard-print dress, the other a lacy white strapless minidress, outfits that did more than enough to show off their voluptuousness. For some reason Caitlin was the only one who had ended up model thin. Sheresembled their mother in that way. The three sisters were so close that they each shared pieces of a necklace. Her oldest sister’s charm read, “Laugh,” while her middle sister’s read, “Love.” Caitlin’s read, “Live.”
Someone had hooked up an iPod to the stereo system in place of a live deejay, and R&B tunes bumped in the background. Yet Caitlin couldn’t help but notice that the waxy wooden dance floor was mostly empty. No one at her party was dancing.
Her mom, dad, and sisters gathered on the floor to pose with Caitlin for a banquet photo, grinning together, looking like one flawless family. It would be easy for people to look at the attractive clan with envy, oblivious to all the drama that went on at home. But if you saw the party through Caitlin’s eyes, you knew better.
She sensed that something else was off too. Caitlin glanced over at Jonathan’s younger brother, Josh. He didn’t really seem to be talking to anyone. He sat separated from the festivities, in the hallway alone, staring off into the distance with a look of silent detachment or depression. Caitlin thought Josh was a good-looking young man too, but he didn’t have his older brother’s charm and charisma. Every once in a while, she’d see Jonathan go out and try to coax his brother back inside to join the party, to no avail.
Caitlin knew that Josh didn’t care for her. She had always tried to be nice to him, but he’d made it known to Jonathan that he didn’t like being around when she was present. This party was probably the last place on earth that Josh wanted to be.
But there was something else about Josh, Caitlin thought, something suspicious, like an illness that she couldn’t quite diagnose. Whatever it was, it frightened her. Caitlin knew that Norma could tell something was wrong with Josh too. During the party, the professor had gone into the hall beyond the banquet ballroom and tried chatting with him. But Norma later told Caitlin how despondent he had been.
She smiled pretty for the camera again.
Once Caitlin had told Jonathan’s younger brother that he reminded her of Socrates, the way he philosophized in long, hard-to-decipher sentences.
Josh hadn’t responded at first.
“Does that bother you?” Caitlin had asked.
“No,” Josh had said. “That’s a compliment.”
But some of his behavior unnerved Caitlin. Josh didn’t look directly at people, and sometimes he asked weird, out-of-context questions. “Why do you always listen to Eminem when I’m in the car?” he’d accuse, as if she were listening to the music to intentionally piss him off.
Something about her boyfriend’s younger brother alarmed her. She had mentioned her concerns to Norma more than once but didn’t dare tell Jonathan. She didn’t want to upset him.
S HE HAD BEEN dating Jonathan for five years now, and she often stopped by to visit him in the apartment he shared with his brother. Josh was
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