When We Were Sisters by Emilie Richards Page A

me?”
    â€œListen, it was rhetorical, okay? I know why you . Cecilia’s been trying to get you to work for her as long as I’ve known you. Longer, even.”
    â€œAnd I have carefully not done so. Not because I’m not good enough, but because my life has gone in other directions.”
    â€œAnd...”
    I knew what else Kris was referring to. Years ago, during my college internship with famous celebrity photographer Max Filstein—an internship Cecilia had arranged for me—Max had given me some sage advice. In between critical tirades he’d admitted I had talent, yes, but he had insisted I should never focus it on my sister. Because even though I had a gift for exposing souls, when it came to Cecilia, I was clueless.
    Max still calls regularly and rants about the way I’m wasting the skills he taught me. These days I take photos of my flowers and shrubs for gardening magazines, and sometimes I do photo shoots for local families or school fund-raisers. Once I opened an envelope to find magazine photos of my old roses torn to shreds with Max’s business card nestled among them.
    â€œI think enough time has passed that I can do this and do it well,” I said, hoping it was true.
    â€œHow long is she talking about? A week? Two?”
    â€œLive filming begins in a little more than three weeks and goes through January. Maybe a bit into February.”
    He made a noise low in his throat, as if to say, you’re kidding .
    â€œThere will be times when I can fly home to visit. Thanksgiving for sure, and I told Cecilia we’re going to the Czech Republic to be with your parents for Christmas. I told her those ten days are nonnegotiable.”
    I hoped Kris would see I was already thinking of him. His father, Gus, was teaching for a year at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, a triumphant return after years of exile. It would be the family trip of a lifetime.
    â€œDon’t you think that whether you’ll go to Prague is kind of beside the point, Robin?” Now he was unable to hide the anger in his voice. “In the meantime you’re talking about leaving the kids and me at home taking care of things for months while you trail your sister all over the country or wherever the hell you’ll be going.”
    I was sorry Cecilia’s offer had come up now. I should have presented the whole thing with more tact, and I should have considered it carefully for more reasons than I was willing to go into with Kris. But I’d lashed out at him earlier, and this is what I got. Of course no matter how I phrased it, I was dropping a bombshell.
    â€œI haven’t decided yet.” I hoped that would delay the discussion, but it was not to be.
    â€œThen please decide not to go, okay? It was hard enough handling things while you were in the hospital.”
    Suddenly he wasn’t the only angry person in our bed. “Really? I’m so sorry I inconvenienced you. Maybe I should have stopped the car that plowed into us with my superpowers. Or maybe I shouldn’t have gone to dinner at all, considering that I had to beg poor Michael to babysit because you had something more important to do.”
    He stared at me, and I stared right back.
    â€œLet’s face it,” I went on. “ Everything is more important than spending time with your kids, Kris. Everything except me and what I need. You wonder why Nik is surly? Maybe it’s because he’s beginning to realize he won’t have a father to guide him through the difficult waters ahead. While you’re at it, take a look at your daughter. Girls develop so much faster these days, and when it comes to men, Pet will need help figuring out how to separate the wheat from the chaff. She’ll need a role model. And what kind of role model is a man who’s too busy to spend time with her?”
    â€œIs that what this is about? You’re trying to force me to be a hands-on father? You