Mom sighed, took a sip of her chardonnay – she loved her alcohol as much as Dad – and looked away from me. And I’m not afraid to throw up because of them. My answer was, “But I love strawberries, Mommy. And if I didn’t want to spend my days throwing up, I should stay away from them. So one day my mom sat me down – my dad was away on a business trip or maybe he was getting drunk in his study I can’t remember that part – and told me that strawberries were wrong for me. Cue exaggerated laughter from her riveted audience, that reached me from where I’d hide under the stairs.Īfter a number of such trips, they found out that I was allergic to a certain component in strawberries, and that was the reason for my nausea.

So much so that my nanny would have to take me to the emergency room, because my mom does not look good under hospital lighting. One by one, I’d eat them all and within thirty minutes of that, I’d start throwing up. In fact, her favorite story to tell at her famous dinner parties is how when I was little, I’d steal strawberries from the kitchen and hide in my closet. She’s been saying that for as long as I can remember. My mom, Victoria Moore, says I love the things that are completely wrong for me. Because you don’t go around kissing your best friend’s dad, do you?Įven though that’s all you ever dream about. The hands that make her want to forget everything and kiss Graham Edwards – Mr.

The hands that she wants on her body, touching her, feeling her skin… No matter how cruel and mean he is, how much he hurts her with his cold-hearted and abrasive ways, she won’t give up.Īnd neither will she think about his tempting lips or his sculpted muscles or his strong hands. She’s going to find him and bring him back. Rumor has it that he’s been living up in the mountains of Colorado, all alone and in isolation. Now everyone thinks she’s a slut and he has disappeared.

On her eighteenth birthday, she got drunk and threw herself at him, causing a huge scandal in their sleepy suburban town. Violet Moore is in love with a man who hates her. 'You don't go around kissing your best friend's dad, do you? Even though that's all you ever dream about.'

Dreams of 18 by Saffron A. Kent