AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh. You’re pretty hot and heavy with Charlie these days, aren’t you?” Alana could just sense it. It was her older-sister power.
Julia swatted the menu. “Why don’t we share a bottle of rosé? Or this natural orange wine looks great.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
Julia rolled her eyes. “We have a lot to catch up on, Alana. You haven’t filled me in on the whole story, you know.”
“Are you suggesting that we make a trade?” Alana asked.
“Story for story,” Julia affirmed with a nod of her head.
“An eye for an eye,” Alana quipped.
They ordered the natural orange wine and shared a small bowl of Spanish olives. With Alana’s first sip, a wave of exhaustion fell over her. She blinked into it, reminding herself that it was already one in the morning, tomorrow, in Paris.
“My body’s confused,” she confessed.
“My body and mind are always confused,” Julia countered with a grin.
Alana laughed. “At least you’re dating someone.”
“That’s made me even more confused, in some ways,” Julia whispered. “He’s my teenage boyfriend. What are we doing together! Sometimes I wake up and look at him and think, wait, did any of the past twenty-five years even happen?”
Alana puffed out her cheeks. “That’s how I felt when I saw the painting at the gallery.”
“I cannot believe he wanted to sell it,” Julia breathed.
“I know! He always said it was too important. Too close to his heart.” Tears sprung to Alana’s eyes just thinking about it.
“It’s so shameless. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the fact that Jackson told me he was moving to China just a few days before he actually did. And in front of our children!”
“A monster,” Alana said.
Julia dropped her gaze to the table. “I wish you hadn’t gone back to Paris. I shouldn’t have let you.”
“I had to figure it out for myself,” Alana whispered. “And now, I’m famous again. So, there’s that.”
“Cheers to being famous,” Julia replied with a shrug.
“Cheers to being famous for all the wrong reasons,” Alana added, clinking her glass with Julia’s. “And I’ll get to enjoy the fame for a little while longer. My lawyer thinks that the divorce will be very public.”
“Oh! Fun.” Julia scrunched her nose. “At least we’re getting divorced together.”
“Gosh, this really isEat Pray Love.” Alana sipped her orange wine. The tang spread out across her tongue. “What about Mom and Dad? Are they headed to divorce-land?”
“Hmm.” Julia’s eyes grew shadowed. “They had a few good days right before you left. You remember that.”
“Oh, yes. The piano playing, the laughing, and the pizza party.”
“Yeah. But I think it’s just too much for them, sometimes. They have their moments of happiness. Sometimes, I catch them out on the back porch, sharing silence as they drink coffee. But more often than not, Dad’s still up in his study. I don’t know how to break that habit.”
Alana shrugged. “Maybe too much time went by.”
“Maybe.” Julia shook her head.
Julia turned slightly to pull her gorgeous hair into a bun. Alana watched her quick motions, which were the same mannerisms as her long-ago days as a teenager.
“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Alana began.
Julia turned, adjusting the bun. “What?”
“Just that Mom used to force me to take you to parties. I resented both of you for that.”
Julia’s smile broke into a wide grin. “Oh gosh. Yeah, I was such a pain in the butt as your kid sister.”
“But now, I don’t know who I would rather be with on the entire planet. You’re it, sis.”
Julia’s eyes watered as she drew her arms around Alana, who’d begun to weep. “I feel the exact same way. I’m so glad you’re back.”
