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“So. How’s the new gig, Mel?” I asked, trying to ignore the sarcastic, derisive tones coming from the kitchen. I wanted to enjoy this time with my sisters, not focus on mom and dad’s strained dynamic. It was getting so old.
“It’s been pretty good so far! Awfully fancy. Like something out of the movies.”
“How fancy are we talking?” Larissa inquired. “Like, could I get a massage without going into debt?” She winked. “Or better yet, do you have any physical therapists affiliated with the spa?”
Melinda chuckled. “Of course, sis. I’ll get you my friends and family discount. We’ve got great masseuses who do hot stone treatments, too. Plus cave therapies like mineral baths, all that stuff. Low lighting and aromatherapy, soft music that’ll relax you the moment you step inside. It’s pretty dreamy.”
“That sounds amazing!” I said, imagining how nice it would feel to slip into a mineral bath at the end of a grueling work week. My muscles had been feeling a bit more sore lately.
Although, come to think of it, some of that might have been Nathaniel’s fault.
“Have you thought any more about going to school for counseling?” Larissa asked.
Melinda shrugged, sighing. “I don’t know. It’s so… big. It would take a long time. That sort of thing is a huge commitment, and I’m not sure if it’s right for me.”
“You’ll figure it out,” I encouraged. “If it takes time to figure out the right thing to do, that’s better than jumping into something you’re not sure about.”
Melinda nodded. “Good point. You’re wise beyond your years, kid,” she said with a smile.
Just then, all our heads turned at once toward the kitchen. Mom’s voice was getting louder. Then, a pan clattered loudly onto the floor.
“Well,” Melinda quipped, “sounds like Mom’s new vacation property wasn’t enough to make her happy, after all.”
Larissa snorted. I laughed. But all three of us knew that it was more sad than funny.
Then Larissa threw me a curveball. “Oh, by the way, Amelia? Now that we’re all together in the same place… it’s time for you to fess up. I want to know your little secret, and I’m sure Melinda does, too.”
I blinked, taken aback.
Melinda nodded eagerly, eyebrows raised, smiling.
“What secret?” I asked. “I don’t have a secret.” I hoped my cheeks weren’t turning pink. It was my dead giveaway. They all knew it.
“I know you’ve been seeing a guy,” Larissa said, matter-of-factly. “It’s so obvious! You’ve been on cloud nine floating around the apartment, humming under your breath while you do your meal prep, singing off-key in the shower, dancing in your socks across the wood floor. You, my dear little sister, have a crush on someone. So, who is it?”
“Yeah,” Melinda added, “let’s hear about whoever is handsome and charming enough to tempt our sweet, innocent little Amelia.”
Oh, boy.
“Guys…”
“C’mon, sis!” Larissa urged, giving me a little squeeze on the shoulders. “You can tell us!”
It was no use trying to deny it. I just had to buck up and admit it.
“Fine. Yes, I’m seeing someone.” Their eyes went wide, with big grins on their faces. “But” I cautioned, “I’m not ready to say who it is. Things are still too early. It’s very new.”
Melinda made an exaggerated sad face. Larissa pursed her lips and sighed, rolling her eyes.
Then Mom and Dad called us into the dining room.
Phew.
My sisters and I got up from the sofa and made our way over to the dining table.
“Anything we can do to help?” I asked my mom.
“No,” she replied brusquely, sporting an apron that read“Queen of the Castle”over her tight pink dress. She wore sky-high heels and her expensive three-carat diamond studs, along with glossy lipstick, newly refreshed eyelash extensions, and a rather intense self-tan shade considering it was November. “The table has been set, girls. Everything is prepared. Will you just take a seat already?”
