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SAGE
Every town was known for something, and my home was no exception. Capac stood for Cows and Pigs and Chickens. Laughter was the first reaction when hearing it, but people from my small Michigan town were always proud to spout off that fact to anyone who would listen. Nothing exciting ever happened here.
Except twenty years ago, when an unsolved crime created enough panic to make everyone lock their doors at night. And it stayed unsolved until a month ago when they’d finally found my mother’s remains.
I was convinced happiness could only be a phase. Nothing could stay good forever. My mother’s disappearance, and now her death. My dad’s illness. When life started going right, there was always something waiting to drag me back down.
“…what do you think? Sage? Sage,” Lacey yelled from the back seat, finally getting my attention.
A hand closed around my thigh, giving me comfort, as if he knew what I was thinking about. My boyfriend, Alex, glanced away from the road for a moment to give me a quick smile.
“So, what do you think?” Lacey asked again, leaning forward to talk right next to my ear.
“About what?”
She sighed. “I said it three times. Jamie is going to come over to join us today. Alex said it was okay. What’s wrong, Sage?”
“Nothing,” I lied, not wanting to ruin the day. “It would be nice to see him.”
I honestly really didn’t care if Jamie came or not. He was Lacey’s newest friend. She didn’t do relationships and was never with the same guy for long. But I’d met him a couple times, and he seemed nice.
Alex pulled into his parents’ driveway. It was so long and surrounded by trees that the house wasn’t visible from the dirt road. Finally, the small ranch-style house came into view. It was Alex’s childhood home, the only one he’d lived in until he moved in with Lacey and me.
“Geia, gios mou.” His mom greeted Alex in Greek with a big hug when we got out of the car. Both his parents had been raised in Greece but moved to the states after getting married. They were about as traditional as any marriage could be.
“Hi, Mom,” he said while trying to untangle himself from her hug.
“Alexandros, how are you?” his mom asked in her thick Greek accent, and I smiled. His parents were the only ones who didn’t use his nickname.
“I’m good. You remember Sage’s sister, Lacey?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Hi, Mrs. Rossi.”
“Sage, please. Call me Caitlin, like I’ve told you a hundred times before,” she said with a small laugh before giving me a warm hug. Her usual scent of sweet baked cookies surrounded me as sadness and longing swallowed me worse than usual. Ever since my mom’s funeral, anything that had to do with mothers was hitting me harder. Pulling away from Caitlin, I pushed those thoughts away, determined to enjoy the day.
With her arm linked with Alex’s, Caitlin led everyone around to the backyard. I looked excitedly at the pool that was attached to their back patio. There were a few lounge chairs in front of the pool, and closer to the house door was a patio table sitting under a huge umbrella and a small charcoal grill. Stepping onto the deck, I was ready to enjoy a day of relaxing. Too bad that meant dealing with his family.
Alex’s dad, Theo, was sitting at the patio table talking on the phone to someone. My guard rose a bit as he glanced over me before looking at his son.
“Hi, Alexandros. Sage and Lacey, how are you?” Theo asked coolly after he hung up the phone. Theo was much more subdued than his wife, and I felt like I had to walk on eggshells around him. When I’d first started dating Alex, I was positive he hated me. Actually, neither of his parents seemed to like me in the beginning. But his mom finally warmed up to me. It had only taken three years.
“Nikolas is getting the meat ready for the grill,” Theo said, just as Alex’s older brother slammed the screen door open with a tray filled with burgers and buns balancing in his hands.
“Baby brother, you finally made it. I see you brought the lovely Taylor sisters with you.” Nikolas’s gaze lingered on Lacey and me. “You two look great. Been working out with Alex?”
“Hey, Niko.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes but lost that battle when Niko’s identical twin, Geo, walked out of the house.
“Geo, I didn’t think you were coming today.” Alex gave his brother a hug like they hadn’t just seen each other at work yesterday.
“Geoffrey, help your brother with the food,” Theo ordered, watching Niko almost drop the tray. Alex and his brothers got the food ready to cook as I sat down next to Caitlin.
The twins were two years older than Alex, and they all spent a lot of time together. If Alex wasn’t with me, he was with them. They worked on the same construction crew, went to the gym when they could, and of course, spent every Sunday at their parents’ house.
I tolerated Niko and Geo. For Alex. Because they were his family. We’d all grown up in this small town, but I’d successfully ignored the twins until Alex came into my life. They were arrogant and cocky. Life of the party type of guys. Alex was the complete opposite. And I loved that about him.
Lacey and I chatted with Caitlin while the guys hung out at the grill as the burgers cooked. Once the food was done, we sat around the large patio table, and silence fell as everyone started eating.
“So, Sage, how are your classes going? Almost ready to be a teacher?” Geo asked with a smirk, and I scowled on the inside. He knew full well that this was a sore spot with his parents. Niko coughed to cover up a chuckle as his gaze darted from me to his twin. Alex pushed food around his plate and his parents both looked at me.
“Almost, I still have one more year, and then a semester of in-class training,” I answered as brightly as possible while shooting Geo an annoyed glance. Another awkward silence settled over the table. Theo’s mouth was pressed into a thin line, and Caitlin looked over at Alex.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to ignore their obvious disapproval. They were traditional. Which meant that the women who married their sons were supposed to stay home and care for the them. Alex didn’t share that belief, but he didn’t like to argue with his parents about it either.
“Lacey, is Jamie still coming?” Alex quickly asked, trying to change the subject.
“He should be here soon, if he can find the house.” Lacey laughed lightly in an attempt to ease the tension. I could practically hear my sister’s thoughts. One of the pros of not having relationships was not dealing with potential in-laws.
“Let me help,” I offered as Caitlin moved to collect everyone’s dishes.
“No, no. It’s okay, Sage. You came to relax and swim. I don’t mind.” Caitlin grabbed the plates from me and practically shooed me away.
Both Theo and Caitlin disappeared into the house while we all moved to the pool area and plopped into the lounge chairs. Immediately, Lacey took the sunscreen out of the bag and started to lather it all over her body.
I tanned as easily as Lacey burned. In the summer, Lacey went from white to red. There was no in between for her. I would never admit it out loud, but I was secretly grateful I looked more like our mother. We shared the same deep red hair and body type.
Lacey took after Dad. Freckles dotted her shoulders and back, and they looked adorable. I’d always thought Lacey was much prettier than me. Her high cheekbones could give models a run for their money. She had beautiful long legs that helped give her about four inches more to my five-foot-four-inch frame. The only feature we shared was our dad’s hazel eyes.
“You want me to get your back, Lacey?” Niko asked with his usual grin. He watched Lacey pull off her floor-length purple sundress to reveal a red bikini.
“Thanks, but Jamie can help when he gets here,” she replied with sarcastic sweetness as she rubbed the sunscreen on her legs. Her gaze darted between the twins before glancing at me. She still couldn’t tell them apart. Almost no one outside Alex’s family could. They were identical in every way. From their voices down to the way they walked. I could barely tell them apart even after being around them for the last three years since I started dating Alex.
“Why wait for him when we can help?” Geo interjected with a wink, scooting his chair closer to us.
