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Nora crossed her arms tight over her chest. “You’re kidding, right?”
Brielle blinked hard to make sure the mess that was their kitchen was not a mirage. “Uh, no. I’ve seen boys’ dorm rooms that were in better shape than this house.”
“Well, why don’t you askMomto do it? She’s the supposed expert.”
“Nora, Mom’s busy, you know that.”
“Yeah, sure, busy.” Nora fished into her pocket to pull out her phone. Brielle fought the instinct to tell her to put it away at the table. She actually wanted to check her own phone—she’d heard it buzz while she was flipping a chicken breast—but she hadn’t spent much time with her sister in ages. But she didn’t know what else to say. Nora had still been so cute and little when Brielle had left for college—at least in Brielle’s eyes. She’d stillcaredabout spending time with her big sister. Brielle wasn’t sure when Nora had started pulling away. Mom had kept them both too busy whenever Brielle had been home for the summer.
“Can you, like, ask Mom to lay off me this summer?”
Brielle paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. “What do you mean?”
Nora rolled her eyes. “ImeanI don’t want to be her merry little maid this summer.”
“Mom’s not going to let you just hang out with your friends…”
Nora groaned and put her phone down on the table. “Heaven forbid I do that. But no, I have plans.”
“You have… plans? Does Mom know?”
“Not yet.” Nora tossed her long brown hair back over her shoulder and clasped her hands together. “Summer camp. Well, more like an immersion camp. A good thing for my college resume.”
“Immersion in what?” Brielle popped the piece of chicken into her mouth.
“Spanish!” Nora spoke as if Brielle were stupid for not reading her mind. “Some of usare actually interested in our heritage…”
Brielle stopped chewing. Even the chicken was rubbery. She grabbed a napkin and spit the piece back out. “You don’t even remember Dad.”
“I do too remember him! And it’s not justabout him, god!”
“Okay,” said Brielle, distracted as her phone buzzed again from the kitchen counter. She stood up. “I’ll back you up. But you have to tell Mom about it.”
Something clanged from the table behind Brielle as she went to check her phone. “She’ll just ask me how I plan to afford it,” said Nora.
“Well, how do you?” Brielle tapped the screen. There was the email from her mom about her work schedule and a group text that Gavin had sent in reply to Lilac and copied to Pembroke and Brielle.
Nora growled like an angry cat. “God, do I have to think of everything?”
Brielle tapped on the message. “Well,Idon’t have money to send you to camp.”
“I wasn’tasking you! Although since you’re working for Mom this summer with no plans to do anything else with your life, I don’t see why you couldn’t afford to spare a few thousand.”
“A few thousand?” Brielle scoffed. “Yeah. Right. Plus, I’m saving for when I do move, and I have student loans that are going to start going into repayment…” Gavin’s text included a picture of an immaculate, if incredibly small, loft living room. Brielle could see Lake Michigan in the background.Stunning view, wrote Gavin. Another text followed with an image showing the hardwood floor of the apartment, a bunch of clothing crumpled on the ground.And not-so-stunning view. Seriously just walked in and called out Ryder’s name and he’s doing someone in the master bedroom. Forget what time I said I’d be here or he really can’t keep it in his pants long enough to welcome me?
Yikes. Brielle wasn’t sure how she’d handle that kind of awkward situation, but she wouldn’t be crashing in someone’s living room to begin with. Gavin had two roommates now. Chances were, they’d both have guys in and out through that living room to their bedrooms throughout his entire stay. At least with Lilac, he could shut his bedroom door to tune it all out.
“Whatever.” Nora passed by with her plate in hand and started half-assedly scraping it all into the garbage. “You may be satisfied cleaning toilets for the rest of your life, but I’m not letting Mom lock me into being her servant forever like you.”
“Nora!” Brielle watched as Nora added her plate to the stack and walked away, leaving the dishwasher unopened. “Mom doesn’twantme to keep cleaning for her.”
“You tell yourself that if it helps you sleep better.” Nora grabbed her phone off the table and stomped out of the room with more sound than seemed possible coming from her petite, lanky frame.
Brielle shook her head and turned back to her phone, ready to add her own “woe is me” tale to the message thread.If this is what it’s like to have kids, she thought,maybe it’s best I don’t go searching for Mr. Right to start a family for the next decade.
* * *
Even though Mrs. Tanakawas usually a Monday-Wednesday-Friday client, she’d been insistent she couldn’t skip a holiday without making up for it the next day, so this week, Brielle had the pleasure of cleaning invisible dust off her shelves on a Tuesday as well. And to come back again the next day.
