herself in a huff every time they have any kind of little disagreement. I just want her to try to get along with him. I feel like she’s keeping things from getting better between them.”
They all waited for her to continue. Sierra leaned her head back against the chair, eyes closed. Kate climbed out of the pool to move closer to her friend. She sat on the pool deck at the end of Sierra’s chair, dripping wet. Sierra finally murmured, “I mean, she’s always looking for some excuse to be mad. She expects me to smooth things over between them, and when I’m not there, it all falls apart. I’m glad they have this time to themselves to try to figure things out without me. My sister’s too little to really notice everything that’s going on…. I can’t be in the middle.” She cut off, her voice cracking. “I just can’t.” Her eyes remained closed, but it was obvious that if she opened them, she would start to cry.
Alexis and Kate looked at each other, unsure of what to do or say. Kate finally said, “Sierra, you can’t deal with their issues for them…. It’s not your fault.” Alexis chewed her lip and remained silent—she didn’t like to deal with emotional issues. Kate reached out to hold Sierra’s hand.
Finally the silence was broken by Adam. “My folks went through something similar a few years ago.” He spoke quietly. “My brothers and I were always caught in the middle, and it felt like crap.”
Sierra opened her eyes to look at Adam. “Really?”
“We used to hide under the stairs while they were fighting. No one wanted to be around them after a fight, since we either became targets for criticism or had to deal with my mom moping around, which just sucked.” He hoisted himself out of the pool. “We used to escape to Lex’s house whenever we could, just to get away. But then something must have clicked, because after about a year things started to get better. Every day a little bit more of the tension would ease up. Now it’s cool again. This will sound crass, but I have to say it: They’ll either work it out, or they’ll end it. Something will change.”
“Yeah,” Sierra agreed. “I guess that’s true.” She nodded. “I’ve gone through the trial separation, then the reconciliation, then the real separation, and now whatever this is…. I guess it can’t get a whole lot worse than this. I just want them to get to a place where it’s not a mystery every day. The uncertainty makes me crazy.”
Adam was nodding, as though he knew exactly how she felt. Kate hadn’t known any of this about Adam, and watching him relate to Sierra so compassionately made her start to see another side of him. “It will get better,” he told Sierra again. “The bickering might not end the way you’d like it to, but it will end.”
Sierra smiled at him gratefully, then said, “You know what? There’s really no point in me worrying about this here. For once I can’t do anything about it, so let’s just enjoy ourselves. Here we are, uninvited guests at this gorgeous pool, and I’m moaning about my parents’ issues. Kate, can you teach me a double flip?”
Kate nodded, happy to see her friend in a better place. She knew Sierra was still dwelling on her conversation with her mom, but felt like the best thing they could do was help her forget about everything for a while. So they all practiced backflips and spins and cannonballs, enjoying the privacy and relaxation of the pool. At one point Adam raided the concession stand, grabbing candy bars for each of them. When he handed Kate her favorite—a 3 Musketeers—she jokingly shot him a scolding look. He grinned, then pulled four soaking-wet dollar bills out of his pocket and left them under the counter as payment for their snack.
It was near eleven when they finally decided they’d better get moving to find a place to crash for the night. Kate slipped back into the cabana to trade Adam’s wet T-shirt for her jeans and tank top, and they
They all waited for her to continue. Sierra leaned her head back against the chair, eyes closed. Kate climbed out of the pool to move closer to her friend. She sat on the pool deck at the end of Sierra’s chair, dripping wet. Sierra finally murmured, “I mean, she’s always looking for some excuse to be mad. She expects me to smooth things over between them, and when I’m not there, it all falls apart. I’m glad they have this time to themselves to try to figure things out without me. My sister’s too little to really notice everything that’s going on…. I can’t be in the middle.” She cut off, her voice cracking. “I just can’t.” Her eyes remained closed, but it was obvious that if she opened them, she would start to cry.
Alexis and Kate looked at each other, unsure of what to do or say. Kate finally said, “Sierra, you can’t deal with their issues for them…. It’s not your fault.” Alexis chewed her lip and remained silent—she didn’t like to deal with emotional issues. Kate reached out to hold Sierra’s hand.
Finally the silence was broken by Adam. “My folks went through something similar a few years ago.” He spoke quietly. “My brothers and I were always caught in the middle, and it felt like crap.”
Sierra opened her eyes to look at Adam. “Really?”
“We used to hide under the stairs while they were fighting. No one wanted to be around them after a fight, since we either became targets for criticism or had to deal with my mom moping around, which just sucked.” He hoisted himself out of the pool. “We used to escape to Lex’s house whenever we could, just to get away. But then something must have clicked, because after about a year things started to get better. Every day a little bit more of the tension would ease up. Now it’s cool again. This will sound crass, but I have to say it: They’ll either work it out, or they’ll end it. Something will change.”
“Yeah,” Sierra agreed. “I guess that’s true.” She nodded. “I’ve gone through the trial separation, then the reconciliation, then the real separation, and now whatever this is…. I guess it can’t get a whole lot worse than this. I just want them to get to a place where it’s not a mystery every day. The uncertainty makes me crazy.”
Adam was nodding, as though he knew exactly how she felt. Kate hadn’t known any of this about Adam, and watching him relate to Sierra so compassionately made her start to see another side of him. “It will get better,” he told Sierra again. “The bickering might not end the way you’d like it to, but it will end.”
Sierra smiled at him gratefully, then said, “You know what? There’s really no point in me worrying about this here. For once I can’t do anything about it, so let’s just enjoy ourselves. Here we are, uninvited guests at this gorgeous pool, and I’m moaning about my parents’ issues. Kate, can you teach me a double flip?”
Kate nodded, happy to see her friend in a better place. She knew Sierra was still dwelling on her conversation with her mom, but felt like the best thing they could do was help her forget about everything for a while. So they all practiced backflips and spins and cannonballs, enjoying the privacy and relaxation of the pool. At one point Adam raided the concession stand, grabbing candy bars for each of them. When he handed Kate her favorite—a 3 Musketeers—she jokingly shot him a scolding look. He grinned, then pulled four soaking-wet dollar bills out of his pocket and left them under the counter as payment for their snack.
It was near eleven when they finally decided they’d better get moving to find a place to crash for the night. Kate slipped back into the cabana to trade Adam’s wet T-shirt for her jeans and tank top, and they
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