“Maybe the only person today?” Sunny rolls her eyes with a smile that softens the blow. “Besides, I understand that you have a date withtheJoe Pratt tonight.” Her perfect eyebrows pump up and down for emphasis.
“Isn’t he your brother?”
“Yes, and I’ve been trying to get that guy to go out with a decent woman for years. Don’t take this moment away from me.” I can hear Sarah in the tone of her lecture. She flips her legs off the couch and stands. “I have a new facial to try out on you and date outfits for you to try on. Let’s get you ready.”
Mercer plops on the other couch with a man-spread that would rival the burliest of men, sipping from a fountain soda cup the size of a trough. “And I’ll watch.”
“No, you won’t, Merce.” Sunny drags her to her feet. “I need to try this facial out on a few skin types so we can use it in the spa. You’re my guinea pig today, too.”
Twenty minutes later I’m sitting on Mercer and Sunny’s shared bathroom counter with a layer of honey-like goo slathered on my face. Mercer’s face is also covered in goo, but she’s sitting on the closed toilet with her feet propped up next to me, still nursing her gigantic soda. This bathroom is half the size of my bathroom at home, but a high window makes it bright and sunny with that natural light perfect for doing makeup and spotting stray chin hairs.
Sunny had disappeared into her closet a while ago to grab potential date outfits and she re-emerges behind an armload ofdresses, winded and smiling. “Okay. I think most of these should work, even though we’re…” She motions between us and her face is an exact replica of the yikes emoji.
“I know. You’re tall and willowy, and I’m… not.” I say it with a laugh. Sunny looks like a graceful five-ten (being vertically gifted is a family trait, apparently) and I am five-seven in my tallest shoes. I had to come to terms with my diminutive height long ago. It is the one feature my father hasn’t offered to surgically alter, and only because he couldn’t. That’s what platforms and heels are for. And not that I had taken him up on his other offers. I had somehow avoided the plastic surgery bug thus far.
“Oh, stop. That’s not what I was going to say. You have curves. I’m a surfboard. But these should be good.” She holds up three dresses: A flowing blue one with a smocked bodice, a hunter green wrap dress with a teal floral print, and a pink sundress with a pattern of dark green leaves and bright lemony flowers. That one looks vintage and my stomach does a happy little jump. Sunny must’ve seen my eyes linger on the pink dress because she immediately hands it to me and hooks the other dresses on the curtain rod. “I brought these because they seem like you, but I can get something else if you want. Maybe some jeans and blouses?”
“These are exactly what I would’ve picked. This one is adorable. Where did you find it?” I’m sliding my fingers over the fabric greedily like some kind of vintage clothing groupie and this dress is The Beatles. Clothing like this is a major weakness of mine, much to my mother's dismay.
“A thrift shop. We have the best one here. There are a lot of retirees in this town who donate their old treasures. Merce and I found this one last week.”
“The same day I found that leather jacket fortwo bucks,” Mercer says with pride.
“Which you have yet to wear,” Sunny teases.
“Like you’ve worn the dress!”
“But you willneverwear that leather jacket!” She turns to me. “It’s red.” Case closed.
“It wastwo bucks!” Mercer’s face is turning red under the goo.
I cut in, “So, no one has worn the dress? I can’t wear it first.”
“Are you kidding? This dress is perfect for you. I have some cute wedges to go with it, too.” An alarm goes off on her phone. “Okay, let’s get that crap off your faces and see how it did.”
While I’m lying on the bathroom counter, head hanging in the sink as Sunny rinses my face with warm water, I decide to feel her out for information on Joe. It’s sneaky time.
“You said you’ve been trying to get Joe to go out with a decent woman for years.” Subtlety, thy name is Indigo. “Has he dated some crazies?”
They both laugh, then Sunny is quiet for long enough that I start to squirm. “Promise you won’t tell Joe I told you?”
I mimic crossing my heart. “Promise.”
“He was actually engaged. A few years ago. They were young when they met and he was ridiculous about her. Head over heels. That was back when he used to smile.”
Mercer cuts in, “Yeah, before Captain Stoic reported for duty. He used to be so fun. Remember when that idiot Blake broke up with you and he took us to Vegas to ride roller coasters for the day?”
“He was fun,” Sunny says on a sad exhale. “Then he met Lindsie his junior year of college. At first she was cool. Nice. Whatever. She would come home with him on the weekends. She was a little aloof, but I thought maybe she was just shy. My family can be a lot. Then he stopped coming home. He’d hang out with her family on the weekends. We were all shocked when we found out on her social media that they were engaged.” She pats my shoulder and I feel like she’s consoling me. “You can sit up.” Oh. She’s done washing my face. She pulls me up so Mercer can take my place.
She startswiping the goo off of Mercer’s face and continues the story. “So, my mom freaks out, obviously.”
“Don’t cross Miss Sarah,” this laughing warning comes from Mercer in the sink.
Sunny joins her laughing, “Yeah, my mom was none too pleased to find out that way, but Lindsie had her claws so deep into Joe, and he loved her so much. It was gross.”
There’s a queasy knot in my stomach. I want to find this Lindsie girl and fast pitch a few bags of colored powder in her face. “What happened?”
“He graduated and moved home to take over Nizhóní. She knew that was his plan. She promised she’d come with him, even though they rarely visited all through college. At first I think she liked the idea of taking over the family business.”
