AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You there?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Just pondering.”
“Pondering anything in particular?” Syd asked. It was Thursday night and we were chilling on the porch after we’d made individual pizzas in the really fancy oven.
“Just thinking about the twins,” I said, which wasn’t a lie. I had been thinking about them plenty of times.
“How are they doing at camp?” Joy asked.
“I’ve gotten exactly three texts, and one of them was just a blurry picture of nothing. They promised and promised they’d text me every hour of every day and I knew things were going to change when they got there. It just means they’re too busy having fun, which is what I wanted anyway.”
“Or they’ve escaped camp and are on the run from the law and can’t contact you,” Syd said.
“Why? Why would you say that?” I asked.
Sydney just shrugged. “That’s what I would do if I had an identical twin. Crimes.”
“I mean, they have had their share of shenanigans,” I said. “But I don’t think they’d do anything criminal.”
At least I hoped not. I hoped I’d set a good example for them. Plus, they were eleven. How much trouble could they really get into?
* * *
Mark and Sadiedid check in with me a few times, just asking how things were going. And then there was Liam, who demanded a video chat with all three of us on Friday night.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” I asked him.
“I’m going out tomorrow night,” he said. Liam was kind of a homebody like me, so we would encourage each other to do shit. I mean, I did plenty of things with Joy and Syd, but he said that didn’t count because they were my comfort zone, apparently.
“Ohhh, you have a date?” I asked. Liam rolled his eyes, but his cheeks got red. “Ohhh, youaregoing on a date!”
Joy and Syd both laughed and threw questions at him.
“Jesus, calm down,” Liam said. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Tell me everything,” I said.
“Yes, and tell us too because we want to know,” Joy said.
Her name was Gwen, and she came into the coffee shop every morning and ordered a matcha latte and one day she’d slipped him her number, in an effortlessly cool move that I had to admire. She was a labor and delivery nurse and adored her job.
“So far I approve, but I’m gonna want to meet her,” I said.
Liam groaned. “I haven’t even gone on a date with her yet. No way am I letting her meet you yet.” He shook his head violently.
“Fine, fine. But if I happen to show up to get coffee some morning and she just happens to be there…”
Liam glared at me. “I swear to god, if you do that, you are no longer my sister.”
I laughed. “I’m not out to sabotage your life. I think she sounds like a great girl, and I wish you luck on your date. Where are you taking her?”
“So they have these kitten cuddle hours at the animal shelter, and she mentioned how much she loves animals, so we’re doing that, and then hitting up the burger place my friend Kenny runs, and then if she wants to hang out we might take a walk on the beach or if she’s done, then I’ll take her home.”
All of my romance book reading definitely rubbed off on him, I was proud to say.
“Good boy,” I said, and he made a face at me.
“You know that I’m an adult, right? With a full-time job and everything? I have a retirement plan,” he said.
