Indulge by Angela Graham Page B

adrenaline
disappeared.
    “See, and this is where Grandma and Grandpa used to live,”
she told him.
    I stood in the doorway, watching her cook at the stove
while Oliver sat on the countertop a few feet over, looking through a small
stack of photos.
    “Oh, and Grandma said this is where she used to work when
she was in high school like me.”
    “And where would that be?” I asked, strolling in and plucking
Oliver from the counter before he fell.
    “Hi, Daddy.” He pressed a picture to my face. “See
Gramma?”
    “Hi,” I pulled my head back to focus on the photo of my mother
when she was still young, standing outside a large building with The Harmony
Tribune carved over the entrance. “Very nice.”
    He handed the rest to me and I closed my eyes for a brief
moment. If Julia was planning a presentation about me, it was too early.
    “Did Aunt Julia wake you up early?”
    He shook his head, smiling. “We making toast for you.”
    “French toast,” she clarified for him.
    “French toast,” he mimicked.
    I sat him on a dining-room chair. “I can’t wait to try it.”
    I gave an easy smile despite my less-than-truthful
admission. My sister was far from even a basic cook; I always had trouble
swallowing whatever she served.
    “It’s early,” I said, directing my comment at Julia as I
sat beside Oliver, waiting.
    She didn’t say a word as she brought over a pitcher of
juice and three glasses.
    I turned my attention to Oliver, asking how he’d slept.
He quickly explained how the penguins that play under his bed at night were up
late playing with his new dinosaurs, keeping him awake.
    “Next time, just tell them to go to sleep,” Julia
advised, giggling.
    “I do. They neva listen,” he pouted. I messed his hair,
chuckling.
    “Here you go. Enjoy.” She marveled with pride as she set
our plates in front of us. She grabbed a knife and fork and began cutting up
Oliver’s toast before I had the chance.
    My first bite was the hardest to swallow. The spice she’d
used was one I didn’t recognize and the egg was overcooked, but with my glass
of juice it was edible enough.
    “I have something to tell you,” she started, sitting
across from me. She took a bite from her plate and made a face she quickly
tried to cover when my brows shot up in amusement. Yeah, she’d be eating her
surprise breakfast as well.
    She took a drink and I waited, giving her the go-ahead
expression.
    “It’s official: I’m moving to Harmony next summer, and
I’ve even gotten a job there.”
    I took another drink from my glass, then set it down
slowly.
    She hurried with her words before I could speak. “It’s
minimum wage, but it’s in a little boutique on Main Street, not far from the
dorms.”
    “How did you find a job?”
    “I, um, I went there. Mom said I could.”
    “I see. You did that this week?”
    “Yesterday.”
    “Mmm hmm.” I set my fork down and pushed my plate
forward, not willing to suffer through her breakfast anymore. “And how will you
pay for your classes, books, dorm?”
    “I applied for student loans.”
    I slid my chair back and stood, carrying my full plate to
the sink and dropping it in. What was she thinking? Loans? She didn’t have to
go that route. I pulled a yogurt from the fridge and a spoon from the silverware
drawer, grabbing a banana from the counter as I walked back over.
    “Here you go.” I opened the yogurt and handed it to Oliver,
having noticed him moving his French toast around his plate, also not continuing
to eat after his first bite. His gloomy face lit up as he took it.
    “So then it sounds like you have everything figured out,”
I added, peeling the banana and placing it beside Oliver.
    “Mom offered to help if I needed it.”
    That sent my temper churning further. Of course she’d need help!“Mom doesn’t have the money to help you. She lives on
savings, Julia.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Mom took me out for a twenty-dollar
sandwich yesterday, Logan, with her Chanel