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She’s quiet for a minute, like she’s thinking it through.
“Where would they stay?” she asks.
“Where would who stay?” Sam pops her head inside the office doorway without a care in the world.
“No one, nosey,” I say as Sam comes into the room and plops down in the other empty chair.
Nora seems more amused than annoyed. I’m glad the two of them get along. “My parents want to see me. It’s been a while, too long really. SJ suggested they come here to visit, but I don’t know where they’d stay.”
“You can bunk with me and let your parents have SJ’s room. SJ can keep his unusually large behind on the sofa. Easy peasy,” Sam says with a giggle. Her expression is almost sarcastic, like she’s saying duh! with her face.
“I thought you were getting an air mattress.” Mom comes into the office to join the conversation. Where the hell has she been this whole time?
“I keep forgetting to grab one when I’m here.” You’d think I’d remember how uncomfortable that damn sofa is. My back aches just thinking about sleeping on it again tonight.
“Mom, it’s okay with you and Dad if Nora’s parents come to visit for a few days, right?” Sam doesn’t waste a moment, making it her business to arrange everything.
Part of me is thankful. At least Nora will still be here with me. Sam and I both know our parents won’t say no. They’ve never met a stranger.
Mom looks at me and then Nora. “Of course. The more the merrier.” Mom’s bright smile makes me smile as well.
She’s always been welcoming to anyone Sam and I brought home. She wanted us to be happy and wanted us to be safe, so our house was always the hangout growing up. With the age gap between Sam and me, Mom had teens and littles there at the same time. Both of our groups were rowdy as hell, but Mom just smiled and let us have our fun. Now that I’m older, I’m pretty sure she loved every minute.
“There, it’s settled then,” Sam says, proud of herself.
“I’ll call them tonight and talk to them about it,” Nora says.
She doesn’t seem reluctant, but she doesn’t seem thrilled with the idea either. Maybe getting away from me for a bit was what she wanted. My stomach turns at that thought.
We need to talk…soon.
“Now that’s settled, let’s go home.” Dad walks up behind Mom, resting his hand on her shoulder with a knowing smile on his face. She places her much smaller hand over his.
“Nora and I want to go shopping,” Sam says.
“We do?” Nora asks.
I chuckle at her look of surprise at Sam’s demand. Nora scoots forward on the couch, careful to keep her leg propped on the coffee table in front of her. I’m sitting in the recliner in the living room, watching recaps from a baseball game last night, and Nora has been reading on her phone.
It’s Sunday afternoon, and we’ve relaxed around the house for most of the morning. The store is closed on Sundays. When I was growing up, Sundays were my favorite time of the week. Momma always cooked a big dinner, and we stayed home doing things together.
Sometimes it was yardwork and chores around the house that needed to be done, but I never minded because we did it together. Friends could come over, and we would hang at the house. We played basketball in the driveway. Dad and Momma would get out there with us and shoot some hoops. We played horse, and as Sam got bigger, she played with us, too.
Sundays are some of my favorite childhood memories. I’m pulled out of my thoughts when Nora asks where the mall is.
“You actually want to go? What about your ankle?” I ask.
“It’s getting better and better every day, and with the new boot from the doc, I think I can handle it,” she answers, a hopeful look on her face.
I know that look. She wants to go, even though she didn’t even think of it as a possibility five minutes ago.
It’s been a week since Nora left the bar without saying a word. A week since my heart stopped and restarted at a different tempo. One that beats only for Nora. Things are still awkward at times. She’s still tiptoeing around me.
The easy, playful, and comfortable relationship we had before is now stiffer, more formal. It feels like she’s just my client, which is exactly what I said I wanted, but I fucking hate every minute of it.
I playfully groan, acting like the last thing I want to do is follow my sister and Nora around a mall for hours, but in truth, I’ll do just about anything right now to put a smile on Nora’s face.
That’s another thing that’s changed over the week. Her smiles haven’t been as big or as frequent. She’s stopped joking and poking at me. Every conversation we have now is about business. I want us to go back to the way we were before.
