When We Were Sisters by Emilie Richards Page B

couldn’t just ask?”
    â€œI have asked until I’m blue in the face. But believe it or not, this decision is mostly about me . I willingly gave up my career when we had Nik. But I never said that would be permanent. Now I have an amazing opportunity—”
    â€œTo photograph Cecilia’s life—”
    â€œIt was my life, too! Cecilia’s life and mine intersected for years, remember? She says she needs to go back and confront her demons. I’m not sure I don’t, as well. This life with you and the kids isn’t the only one I’ve had. And even if I can’t remember the accident, I bet that life was flashing in front of my eyes as the SUV got closer.”
    Regret transformed his face. For a moment he looked more like the man I married, the one who wasn’t too busy for conversations like this. “I’m sorry for everything that happened. More than you apparently believe. I’m so grateful we didn’t lose you. But my childhood wasn’t all milk and cookies, either. We didn’t know what a leftover was. Some months my family had to choose between electricity or heat. So you know why I work as hard as I do. I want us to be secure, not to worry about whether the kids will get scholarships to a good school, not to worry whether Pet can afford a nice wedding if she wants one.”
    â€œRight now Pet needs a father, not a husband.”
    â€œYou’re determined not to understand, aren’t you?”
    â€œI do understand. But you can’t see what your determination not to be like your father is doing to us. Gus is an idealist, an artist, a dreamer, and when you were growing up he didn’t always worry about paying your gas bill. But he was there for you, Kris. He adores you. Cecilia was there for me , and not only don’t I want our children to grow up with an empty space where their father ought to be, I want to do this for my sister. I want to be there for her .”
    If he was moved, this time he didn’t show it. “You said you haven’t decided.”
    â€œThat’s what I said.” I hesitated before I shook my head. “But I want to do this. I need to. If I decide to go ahead I won’t simply walk out on you. I’ll find help, and I’ll come home whenever I can. I’ll call and text and email, and the kids will always know I’m there when they need me.”
    â€œWhat good will that do if you’re a thousand miles away? They’re too young to be here alone.”
    â€œI can hire somebody to be here when the kids come home from school. I’ll make sure she cleans and has dinner on the table by the time you get home to eat with them, too. But I need to do this. The night of the accident? Everybody at dinner had moved on with their lives, and they were all so excited, even if they were feeling overburdened. And me? I had nothing to contribute except the name of Nik’s orthodontist.”
    â€œYou could have dropped Cecilia’s name. That always gets attention.”
    I just stared at him.
    â€œI’m sorry,” he said stiffly before he rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling instead of me. “But you just don’t have a clue what this will do to my career. The only reason I’ve been able to get where I am is that I work harder than anybody else.”
    â€œAt the expense of your family.”
    â€œ For my family!”
    â€œNo.” I turned away and flipped off the bedside lamp. “I need a good night’s sleep. I couldn’t get one in the hospital.”
    â€œYou’ve pretty well guaranteed that neither of us will get one tonight.”
    I heard him get up and leave our bedroom. I wondered where he planned to sleep, but I didn’t get up to look for him, to try to smooth things over so he would come back to bed. This couldn’t be smoothed over. Because even though I hadn’t said it in so many words, I had made my decision.
    I