more to her than she had realized. She had been secretly counting on that opportunity to be involved in a child’s life over the long run. But now that motherhood was her only option, she felt ambivalent. “It’s a big decision, Joely. Give me some time to figure things out.” She turned toward the kitchen.
“The problem is there isn’t time.”
# # #
Late Sunday morning, still in her pajamas, Joely watched a kitchen remodel on TV. Usually she would have critiqued their color palette or their workmanship, but she remained silent.
“When do you think you’ll feel like going back to work?” Kate asked during a commercial break.
Unlike Kate, Joely had been brave enough to pursue a career with an uncertain future. When Joely finished her art degree, she waited tables for nearly a year until an interior designer saw the leopard she had painted on a friend’s car and hired her. Ever since then, she spent her days painting murals—vineyards in dining rooms and Neverland scenes in nurseries—that kind of stuff. It was her dream job.
“I have no idea.” Joely watched her hamster crawl under the couch. “I don’t know how people do it when they retire. It’s odd not having a reason to get out of bed in the morning.”
“That’s why I’m sure you’ll be happier once you’re painting again.” When Kate thought about it, it wasn’t just the activity, but the people that made her own job enjoyable. If she didn’t work, she would miss Trish and Rhonda. . . and every one of her students from Susan Abel to Kevin Zwik. Joely, however, didn’t see the same people repeatedly except for Kelly, the decorator she worked for. Every job meant meeting new clients and she loved that.
They watched two more decorating shows before Joely spoke again. “I like your necklace.”
Kate fondled the red stone on the chain around her neck. “You know where I got this, don’t you?”
“No,” Joely answered, which Kate couldn’t believe since it was such an awesome story.
“Don’t you remember when Mom and Dad took us to a mine? We sifted through buckets of dirt looking for gems. I probably wasn’t older than six and you must’ve been about three. I thought maybe I’d find gold and we’d be rich, but mostly I found obsidian and green-colored hiddenite. Just as you were growing restless and decided it would be more fun to chase ducks in a nearby pond, I actually found a dust-covered red stone. The owner of the mine said it was a real garnet. So we took it to a jeweler and had it cut, polished and made into this necklace,” Kate finished her monologue, twirling the stone in her right hand. “How could you not remember that?”
Joely shrugged. Of all the things she had going for her, a good memory was not one of them. When she took high school chemistry, she hung note cards all over their bedroom to help her learn the elements. By the day of the test, Kate had unintentionally memorized even the not-so-obvious ones—like potassium is represented with a K and Pb is the symbol for lead. Somehow Joely still only scored a C-.
Joely nodded toward the stone. “It’s very pretty.”
“That’s what you thought then, too. When you saw it, you said you wanted one and started to cry.”
“I did not.”
“Yes you did.”
Joely picked up a paperback book near her and started flipping through it. “A garnet is perfect for you.” Her finger pointed at the text. “It says here it’s associated with creativity and devotion to others.”
Kate silently berated herself for not trying to find a gem for Joely. Back then I was so self-centered, she thought. I’d taken pleasure in having something my little sister didn’t have. Once again I can have something Joely can’t, only this time I don’t want it.
Kate feared Joely’s melancholy mood was starting to wear off onto her. Even though it was noon, they hadn’t even eaten breakfast. Kate suspected if she weren’t there, Joely might not bother to eat all
“The problem is there isn’t time.”
# # #
Late Sunday morning, still in her pajamas, Joely watched a kitchen remodel on TV. Usually she would have critiqued their color palette or their workmanship, but she remained silent.
“When do you think you’ll feel like going back to work?” Kate asked during a commercial break.
Unlike Kate, Joely had been brave enough to pursue a career with an uncertain future. When Joely finished her art degree, she waited tables for nearly a year until an interior designer saw the leopard she had painted on a friend’s car and hired her. Ever since then, she spent her days painting murals—vineyards in dining rooms and Neverland scenes in nurseries—that kind of stuff. It was her dream job.
“I have no idea.” Joely watched her hamster crawl under the couch. “I don’t know how people do it when they retire. It’s odd not having a reason to get out of bed in the morning.”
“That’s why I’m sure you’ll be happier once you’re painting again.” When Kate thought about it, it wasn’t just the activity, but the people that made her own job enjoyable. If she didn’t work, she would miss Trish and Rhonda. . . and every one of her students from Susan Abel to Kevin Zwik. Joely, however, didn’t see the same people repeatedly except for Kelly, the decorator she worked for. Every job meant meeting new clients and she loved that.
They watched two more decorating shows before Joely spoke again. “I like your necklace.”
Kate fondled the red stone on the chain around her neck. “You know where I got this, don’t you?”
“No,” Joely answered, which Kate couldn’t believe since it was such an awesome story.
“Don’t you remember when Mom and Dad took us to a mine? We sifted through buckets of dirt looking for gems. I probably wasn’t older than six and you must’ve been about three. I thought maybe I’d find gold and we’d be rich, but mostly I found obsidian and green-colored hiddenite. Just as you were growing restless and decided it would be more fun to chase ducks in a nearby pond, I actually found a dust-covered red stone. The owner of the mine said it was a real garnet. So we took it to a jeweler and had it cut, polished and made into this necklace,” Kate finished her monologue, twirling the stone in her right hand. “How could you not remember that?”
Joely shrugged. Of all the things she had going for her, a good memory was not one of them. When she took high school chemistry, she hung note cards all over their bedroom to help her learn the elements. By the day of the test, Kate had unintentionally memorized even the not-so-obvious ones—like potassium is represented with a K and Pb is the symbol for lead. Somehow Joely still only scored a C-.
Joely nodded toward the stone. “It’s very pretty.”
“That’s what you thought then, too. When you saw it, you said you wanted one and started to cry.”
“I did not.”
“Yes you did.”
Joely picked up a paperback book near her and started flipping through it. “A garnet is perfect for you.” Her finger pointed at the text. “It says here it’s associated with creativity and devotion to others.”
Kate silently berated herself for not trying to find a gem for Joely. Back then I was so self-centered, she thought. I’d taken pleasure in having something my little sister didn’t have. Once again I can have something Joely can’t, only this time I don’t want it.
Kate feared Joely’s melancholy mood was starting to wear off onto her. Even though it was noon, they hadn’t even eaten breakfast. Kate suspected if she weren’t there, Joely might not bother to eat all
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