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“Let’s go to the furniture store together. There’s one outside of town, but if you’re willing to spend a bit of money, there’s a better place about an hour away. Real rustic, handmade furniture. Leather goods. It’s a nice place.”
“Yeah. That sounds good.”
Their club sandwiches arrived a few minutes later, and both of them were too hungry to talk, happy to eat in silence.
They had a strange relationship. Emily had always looked up to her older sister, but with seven years between them, it meant that by the time Emily had turned twelve, Rebecca had already left for college.
Before that, she’d had plenty of memories of them playing catch outside or going for hikes through the woods behind their house, playing some kind of imaginary game. But that all stopped when Rebecca went to college, and with medical school, by the time she was done, Emily was getting ready to leave too.
It would be nice this month to finally spend time with her sister again.
“Thanks for telling me about that yoga class last night,” Emily said. “I think I would have been a lot stiffer today if I hadn’t gone. And I think I needed the distraction.”
Rebecca finished her sandwich. “Try not to treat this cabin like a work project. Take your time with it.”
“I’m only here for a month.”
“And why does it have to be wrapped up by then?”
Emily shrugged. “I don’t want it to be left empty for weeks. I assume I’ll rent it out. And it would be good to have it ready to do that in the New Year. I can do that part remotely.”
“Hm. True.” Rebecca held her gaze. “All I’m saying is don’t put any unnecessary pressure on yourself. I know you work really hard in New York. Maybe, try and see this renovation as a fun thing. A hobby.”
“I know.” Emily nodded. She did have a tendency to go all in when she was working on something, and her sister knew her well enough to see that the same thing could happen here.
“I’m glad you went to that class. Maya is so good.”
“Yeah. I used to go two or three times a week a few years ago, but I guess I just got busy with work, and I let it slide.”
“You have to look after yourself.”
“Yeah. I know.” Emily inhaled a deep breath. It was advice she knew she needed to hear. “What’s Maya’s story?” The question was out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop herself. She couldn’t shake the image of Quinn wrapping her arms around Maya last night after class. They could be friends. That was probably all it was, but she might as well find out from someone who knew just about everyone in this town.
Rebecca’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean?”
“Is she gay?”
Rebecca laughed. “I see your thing for older women is alive and well.”
Emily tilted her head, still waiting for an answer, not particularly caring if her sister had the wrong idea. “Is she?”
“I honestly don’t know, but aren’t you supposed to be able to tell?”
“Never mind,” Emily said, glancing down at her watch, knowing Rebecca would have to go any minute.
“Are you free Saturday? I know you’ll be working on the cabin, but I was hoping to steal you for a couple of hours. I’m a few people down this week.”
“Oh.” Emily stood up and slid on her jacket, leaving a few dollar bills on the table. She’d completely forgotten that Rebecca spent her Saturdays running a meal delivery service for the elderly in their community. “Yeah. Definitely.”
“You’re sure?”
Emily nodded as they went up to the counter to pay. “This week is all about making decisions, and then I’ll be letting the professionals in. I’m going to need new carpets. The kitchen is getting a full remodel. So, yeah by Saturday, I should be free.”
“Thanks.” Rebecca waved her off when she tried to pay. “Are you really around for a whole month?” she asked as they left, the cold air hitting them as they stepped outside.
“Yep. Boss’s orders.”
“It’ll be nice having you around this year,” Rebecca said, wrapping her scarf around her neck as they headed towards their cars.
