My jaw dropped and I felt like I’d gotten slapped in the face. “What? Married?”
“Sure,” said Julia in a carefree voice. “When will the wedding be? As the wife of the President of Superbia, I have a very full calendar and need to know ahead of time when—”
“Mother,” said Barrett firmly, his face scarlet. “Please stop with your joking. It’s not appropriate.”
Julia flashed Barrett a mischievous smile. “So long as your mother can call you Barry. Deal?”
Barrett sighed so deeply that I thought he’d never stop. “Fine.”
“I still don’t get it,” I said. “Who said anything about marriage?”
“Mother has a very strange sense of humor,” Barrett explained hurriedly. “She’s always teasing me about girls and marriage and stuff. Pay her no heed.”
“There you go again,” said Julia in a fake hurt voice,
