Page 87 of Nixon’s Promise

So, there in the kitchen when we were finally talking openly I didn’t want to do anything that would make Mandy shut down, but I had to. We were already talking about Dad and Carla so now was the right time, even if I didn’t want to ask.

“Do you want to go to California so we can go visit…?” Shit. Why this was so much harder than I thought? Mandy was now staring at me and that made it even harder. “To visit Dad and Carla’s—”

“No.” She cut me off.

“But I thought—”

“I thought about what Nixon said. He’s right. I can talk to them anywhere.” I held my sister’s gaze, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth or if she was trying to bury her hurt. “Really, Micky, I don’t want to go.”

“If you change your mind, I want you to tell me.”

“Did Dad ever take you to visit your mom?”

A sharp pain stabbed me in the chest. There was a mixture of longing and guilt. She’d been gone for so long now and Carla had been in my life for more years than my mom had, I couldn’t gauge which hurt worse—losing Carla or when I’d lost my mom. Not that it was a contest, but in the back of my mind, and in my heart, I felt a tingle of contrition for missing Carla more.

“I never went back after my mom’s funeral. Dad told me she’d always be in my heart and we didn’t need to go sit at the cemetery to talk to her. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about this sooner. I should’ve. I should’ve known to ask if that was something you and Zack wanted.”

“No, you have nothing to apologize for. I do. I’ve been a pain in the ass and I know it. I blocked Richie, by the way. That was…really stupid of me to get caught up with him.”

Fucking Richie. I wanted to correct her and call him Deputy Dirt Dog, but I refrained.

“You know, life isn’t some big mystery. It’s simple. Not always easy—but when you break it down it’s nothing more than a series of choices. Right or wrong, you have to live with them. Then you need to decide what you’re going to do with the consequences. Learn? Grow? Celebrate? What value did your choice bring to you? You made a mistake. We all make them. And you’re gonna make more, little sister. Thankfully this lesson wasn’t as hard to learn as it could’ve been.”

“Thanks for being so cool about it,” she mumbled.

Now that the heavy was done I changed the subject. “So, uh… how’s Caleb?” I asked.

“He asked me to prom.”

“He what?” I turned to gape at Mandy. Prom was a big deal and right around the corner. We’d need to go dress shopping and get her new shoes, and jewelry, and we needed to make her a hair appointment. “What’d you say?”

“I told him no.”

“You what? Why? I thought you liked him.”

“I do. He’s funny and he’s not like the other guys. He can be goofy but he’s serious about his future and works hard in school. The other guys try and give him shit about it and call him a nerd, but he blows them off. He was accepted into UMUC so he’s really smart.”

“So why’d you tell him no?” I asked again.

“Because he asked me over text. Text! I don’t need some big grand gesture like you see on Pinterest where high school boys basically set up something like a marriage proposal, but text? Um, no! I told him to ask me again in person and he may have a better chance of me saying yes.”

I couldn’t hold back the laugh that bubbled up and the smile that joined.

“That’s right, sister. Make him work for it.”

Mandy smiled back, the first real smile I’d seen in what felt like a lifetime.

She went on to tell me she’d found a prom dress online she liked and she’d found one on sale. I continued to soak up all the goodness Mandy was giving me while managing to finish the pasta salad. All the while, she was molding hamburger patties and gabbing away.

This was what I’d been waiting for. My fun, full-of-life, smart, talented sister to return.

It was after dinner and Mandy had gone up to her room to read the emails from her mom I’d printed. It was nearing dark, so Zack and Holden were chasing Sally, trying to get her in for the night. Holden did not have Nixon’s touch, therefore Sally was running circles around the two guys as they clucked their tongues and called her name.

Nixon found this hilarious as he sat next to me on the patio, beer in hand, and I’d venture to say a full belly after the amount of food he’d consumed.

“I guess Holden hasn’t learned your techniques,” I murmured.

“What’s that?” Nixon looked from the paddock to me.