Page 66 of Counting the Days
“Youare? You don’t seem nervous at all,” she yelled while blinking rapidly.
“Well, hosting always makes me anxious—and I don’t know, you’re here now and I…want you to…think I’m cool.” He laughed. “I almost said ‘have a good time,’ but I’ll just be honest.”
Rhea smiled. His honesty always made her feel like less of a freak. Whenever he shared a piece of his inner world, she felt a kindred connection with him that tethered her to the ground.
“How could I possibly not think you were cool?” she asked at her normal volume; his vulnerability bolstered her enough to stop yelling.
“Wait ’til you meet my sisters.”
“Oh God, they’re here?”
As they entered the house, Rhea wished she had a case of beer to shield herself with and a bottle of wine to hold out in front of her like a sword. Her empty, shaking hands made her feel utterly exposed.
Three women screamed from somewhere inside the house, and Rhea jumped. The women ran toward her, and she resisted the instinct to hide behind Danny. She felt reality folding in onitself as she took in three women who looked identical to Danny. Rhea was clinging to Danny’s arm as three other Dannys with long black hair ran at her, screaming:
“Rhea?!”
“We’resoexcited to meet you!”
“Recognized youimmediatelyfrom your picture!”
All of this was said at the same time. The women talked over one another at a breathtaking pace. They had an unusually strong East Coast energy for people who were born in Long Beach.
“Dan talks about youconstantly—”
“I feel like I already know you—”
“You’re evenprettierthan your photos—”
“But your photos are allgorgeous—”
“Dan sent ussomany—”
“Okay,” Danny interrupted, “this is obviously gonna be humiliating for me, so I’m gonna go out back and pretend it isn’t happening. You good?” he asked Rhea with an expression that apologized for his sisters but also communicated she had no choice but to stay here and bond with them.
The sisters seemed cordial, but Rhea could sense something else in their eyes. The sister to her left:If you hurt Danny, I’ll kill you.The sister to her right:If you don’t like me, I’ll die.The sister directly in front of her:Danny will always love me more than you.
“Of course, I’m good. I’m so excited to meet you all,” Rhea lied.
Danny disappeared through the house as the women backed Rhea into a corner.
“Danneverlets us meet his girlfriends—”
“We thought he was gay for thelongesttime—”
“He’ssopicky—”
“We thought he’dneversettle down—”
“But he’ssoserious about you—”
“I could tell from the first time he met you—”
“I was the first person he told—”
“What? That’s not true, he calledmeon his way home from the party—”
“It wasn’t a party. It was ababy shower,right, Rhea?”
