bright side is that if they catch a problem now, they can help him before he goes to kindergarten. That would be good, right?”
“Ye-es. I guess. I mean, I hope so. If it’s something they can fix.”
I stopped stirring the hot water in the granules. “You think it might not be.”
Her mouth twisted and she fought a sob. “I don’t know. You never know, do you? I mean, you have a kid. You pray over them every night, and you hope for the best.”
I handed her a box of tissues, and she dabbed at her eyes. “Let’schange the subject. There isn’t anything I can do for Owen, after all. Not until I know more. Mom told me about Lisa Butterworth. That’s so sad. We ran around together. You remember, don’t you?”
“No. Oh, wait! Was it Lisa who used to sneak out with you to go over to Beth Black’s house and watch MTV?”
Alice Rose laughed. “Guilty as charged. Hard to believe she’s dead. Mom also told me about her stealing your client list.”
Handing over the iced coffee, I poured myself a cup of hot water and added the instant mix. “I feel sick about it, Alice Rose. Really sick.”
“About her dying or her cheating Mom?”
“Both. Friday night I ran into her at Walk-Inn Foods. I sort of had a fight with her.”
Alice Rose snickered. “You never were one to back down.”
“Well, she honked me off big-time. I trusted her, Alice Rose! When she came to the shop, she looked like a million bucks. Very professional. She’d really grown into her features and learned to do her hair. And education? Shoot, I was impressed. Never in a million years did I think she’d run a scam on us. She was your friend, right? How do you explain what she did?”
“I can tell you exactly what happened to her. I mean, I can at least explain why she’s so ambitious,” my sister said. “Wow, this smells great.”
“I added vanilla to the creamer. Is that what you call someone who tricks other people? Ambitious?” I took my coffee pot and rinsed it out at the sink.
“That’s not what I would call ambitious, but I think Lisa looked at herself that way. Yes, I’m sure she did. We’ve had our problems with sibling rivalry, right?”
I squirmed. “Yeah.”
“I suspect deep down that you’d like to have a family.I see how you are with my boys. I wish I had a career. There are times when I think that if I have to wash another load of clothes, I’ll go screaming and naked into the street. But Lisa’s older sister, Eliza? She’s an attorney up in New York City. Married to one of those Wall Street financial whiz kids. I ran into Lisa and her mother in the grocery store, and all Mrs. Butterworth could talk about was Eliza this and Eliza that. Never mind that poor Lisa was standing right there looking terrific and hurt. I mean, you could see it in her face. But her mom kept going on and on. Finally, I asked Lisa how she was doing, and Mrs. Butterworth laughed and said, ‘Still messing with hair.’ Can you imagine?”
“That’s just so mean!”
“You should have seen the expression on Lisa’s face. She nearly cried.”
A pang of sympathy hit me hard in the solar plexus. “We’ve been lucky. Mom’s never compared us to each other. Never pointed out that you’re happily married and I’m an ink blot on the family tree.”
My sister finished her iced coffee. “Mom loves us both, and we know that. Always has and always will. Sure, there’re times that I get mad at you. And, yes, sometimes, I wish I was her favorite. Bet you wish you were, too!”
“Of course I do, that’s human nature, but you know Mom. She’d rather have bamboo splinters rammed under her fingernails than create friction between us. Like you said, she loves us both, and we know it. We’ve always been there for each other as a family. Remember that when you get to worrying about Owen. He’s got us. He’ll be okay.”
She stood up, walked around the counter, and hugged me tightly. “And you remember it when you think about the
“Ye-es. I guess. I mean, I hope so. If it’s something they can fix.”
I stopped stirring the hot water in the granules. “You think it might not be.”
Her mouth twisted and she fought a sob. “I don’t know. You never know, do you? I mean, you have a kid. You pray over them every night, and you hope for the best.”
I handed her a box of tissues, and she dabbed at her eyes. “Let’schange the subject. There isn’t anything I can do for Owen, after all. Not until I know more. Mom told me about Lisa Butterworth. That’s so sad. We ran around together. You remember, don’t you?”
“No. Oh, wait! Was it Lisa who used to sneak out with you to go over to Beth Black’s house and watch MTV?”
Alice Rose laughed. “Guilty as charged. Hard to believe she’s dead. Mom also told me about her stealing your client list.”
Handing over the iced coffee, I poured myself a cup of hot water and added the instant mix. “I feel sick about it, Alice Rose. Really sick.”
“About her dying or her cheating Mom?”
“Both. Friday night I ran into her at Walk-Inn Foods. I sort of had a fight with her.”
Alice Rose snickered. “You never were one to back down.”
“Well, she honked me off big-time. I trusted her, Alice Rose! When she came to the shop, she looked like a million bucks. Very professional. She’d really grown into her features and learned to do her hair. And education? Shoot, I was impressed. Never in a million years did I think she’d run a scam on us. She was your friend, right? How do you explain what she did?”
“I can tell you exactly what happened to her. I mean, I can at least explain why she’s so ambitious,” my sister said. “Wow, this smells great.”
“I added vanilla to the creamer. Is that what you call someone who tricks other people? Ambitious?” I took my coffee pot and rinsed it out at the sink.
“That’s not what I would call ambitious, but I think Lisa looked at herself that way. Yes, I’m sure she did. We’ve had our problems with sibling rivalry, right?”
I squirmed. “Yeah.”
“I suspect deep down that you’d like to have a family.I see how you are with my boys. I wish I had a career. There are times when I think that if I have to wash another load of clothes, I’ll go screaming and naked into the street. But Lisa’s older sister, Eliza? She’s an attorney up in New York City. Married to one of those Wall Street financial whiz kids. I ran into Lisa and her mother in the grocery store, and all Mrs. Butterworth could talk about was Eliza this and Eliza that. Never mind that poor Lisa was standing right there looking terrific and hurt. I mean, you could see it in her face. But her mom kept going on and on. Finally, I asked Lisa how she was doing, and Mrs. Butterworth laughed and said, ‘Still messing with hair.’ Can you imagine?”
“That’s just so mean!”
“You should have seen the expression on Lisa’s face. She nearly cried.”
A pang of sympathy hit me hard in the solar plexus. “We’ve been lucky. Mom’s never compared us to each other. Never pointed out that you’re happily married and I’m an ink blot on the family tree.”
My sister finished her iced coffee. “Mom loves us both, and we know that. Always has and always will. Sure, there’re times that I get mad at you. And, yes, sometimes, I wish I was her favorite. Bet you wish you were, too!”
“Of course I do, that’s human nature, but you know Mom. She’d rather have bamboo splinters rammed under her fingernails than create friction between us. Like you said, she loves us both, and we know it. We’ve always been there for each other as a family. Remember that when you get to worrying about Owen. He’s got us. He’ll be okay.”
She stood up, walked around the counter, and hugged me tightly. “And you remember it when you think about the
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