"Cosmetology school," she says as if we should've known. "Look at you both, I'm fucking good at it."
Jade's smile reaches her eyes. "That's amazing, Ads," she says.
"I haven't told Mom and Dad yet." Addie dries her hands on the towel hanging by the sink.
I hold up my hands. "Mums the word."
"Your move," she says to Jade, propping a hand on her hip. Then she skips out of the kitchen, leaving the remainder of the dishes unwashed.
Jade takes over, and I dry.
"What did she mean by that?" I ask.
Jade sighs. "She wants me to apprentice with Em."
"Why don't you?"
She hands me the bowl she was washing and shuts off the faucet.
"It doesn't pay," she says. "But also, it's not practical."
"What does being practical have to do with it?"
"Nursing is stable."
"But you hate it," I say, putting the bowl away.
"I don't. I mean, I don't like it either, but it'll pay well and there's always a need for nurses. Besides, I don't want to tattoo either." She sighs and leans back against the counter. "If I led a different life, I'd be in art school."
"It's not too late."
"Dude, it's not in the cards."
"So make it in the cards. What would you tell Coop if you found out he was settling on the next thirty years of his life?"
Her tongue spins the ring in her lip, and I risk it all, stealing a chaste kiss.
Her eyes go wide, and she touches her fingers to her lips, surprised.
"Mateo, check the pizzas," Mom says wandering back into the kitchen.
Jade takes a flustered step back and quickly excuses herself to go find Addie.
"I don't want to know," Mom says, cornering me by the oven. "But if there's something happening there, you better tell your sister before she never forgives either of you."
"Nothing's happening," I lie, handing her an oven mitt.
"It's going to though, isn't it?" she asks, tilting her head, studying me. "Even if she can't see it yet."
She asks, but apparently she doesn't expect an answer because she smacks me with the mitt, shooing me away from the oven.
After dinner, Kyler FaceTimes me and I excuse myself to the living room. The baby is so fucking cute and so tiny. I don't remember ever seeing a baby that small. I told him as much, and he said she eats all day long, so she must have his metabolism. It was good seeing him, the baby, and his wife. I promised to visit when I'm back in town.
Now I'm scrolling through Jade's "JaggedLines" account. This is what she should be doing. Not fucking nursing. The look on her face when she was studying last week while she waited to pick up Cooper was actual fucking torture.
"Dude." Coop plops next to me on to the couch.
"Hmm?" I toss my phone face down on the coffee table hoping he didn't see what I was looking at.
