AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I fiddled with the button on the radio for the hundredth time trying to find a station playing something happy and uplifting. My options were new country, old country, country classics, and a fuzzy church broadcast.
“I’m signing up for satellite radio as soon as I pull in the driveway,” I announced to no one.
My phone rang, saving me from listening to one more song about having your heart broken. I hit the hands-free button on my steering wheel.
“Hello?”
“How’s it going? Are you still alive?” Maxine’s voice brought a smile to my face.
“I’m still alive and doing fine. It’s a beautiful day for a drive.”
I could manifest joy. According to the self-help book I’d started frantically reading yesterday, I could manifest any emotion into being. I had the power to change my own life.
“Uh-huh. You’re not nervous at all about going home and seeing your sister for the first time in ten years?”
“Not really, no.”
The lie to end all lies. I’d lain awake in bed for hours the past couple of nights worrying about daddy and dreading returning to Beacon Hill. I wanted to go home like I wanted to eat a dirt pie filled with baked worms. I was going to have to manifest my way through this whole damn trip.
“Really? You’re not worried about going home to a town your sister single-handedly imploded? The sister who is also engaged to your childhood crush — who, I assume, found out you had a crush on him when your stories were released into the wild.” She didn’t even try to keep the skepticism out of her voice.
I shrugged, even though she couldn’t see it. “I’m not the same person I was when I left. I’ve grown up. Changed.”
“Are you sure about that?” When I didn’t respond right away, she added, “You’re not still a computer nerd with a glaringly absent social life and almost no friends?”
“You know, if the whole computer-prodigy thing doesn’t work out, you definitely have a career in motivational speaking,” I deadpanned. “I have friends. You’re my friend.”
“We’re work friends. That’s just trauma bonding from being forced to spend forty hours a week together.”
“Maxine!” I yelled, gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. “Was there a reason you called besides to make me start panicking?”
“I’m getting ready for my date, so I thought I’d check in with you. And I know you, Sutton. I don’t for one second believe you’re doing fine.”
“Yes, I’m nervous, okay? Every time I think about seeing Sissy, my hands start sweating, my heart does this weird flutter thing in my chest that’s either straight-up panic or an undiagnosed heart condition, and I get this lump in my throat that I’m pretty positive is barf.” I paused. “And I absolutely hate that I’m giving her that kind of power.”
Maxine was quiet for a second. Then she said, “I did some serious social media stalking yesterday. Your sister is a piece of work. She’s clearly trying to be an influencer.”
I hesitated before asking, “Is it working?”
“Meh, hard to say. I can tell you one thing she was doing with her time in LA. The good Lord did not give her those lips. I’d bet money she wasn’t born with those boobs either.”
“Her surgeon did a really good job on her boobs,” I admitted begrudgingly. “This may shock you, but she’s not a natural blonde either.”
“I did put those pieces together myself. I think Trailer Park Barbie has been preparing to be a Real Housewife for quite a while.”
“I believe she prefers Discount Dolly, and you’re not wrong.”
“Do you have any idea what you’re going to say when you see her?” Maxine asked around what sounded like a mouthful of food.
“Assuming punching her in the throat is out of the question, no.”
“Wow, she brings out the violence in you. I like it.” I could hear her take a drink, and decided that listening to people eat over the phone might need to go on my villain-origin list. It must be something about how close the microphone was to the person’s mouth. “You know that you can call me any time, day or night, if you need to, right?”
I did. Maxine might be wrapped in a hard, sarcastic shell, but she had a warm gooey center that made her an amazing friend.
“I know, thanks. I still can’t believe how accommodating Matt was about me working remotely. It was very rude of him.”
I had secretly hoped my boss would veto my remote working request, which would have limited my trip to a week of PTO. Instead, he’d had the audacity to be super-concerned about Daddy and had insisted I take as long as I needed. The nerve of that guy.
