Page 22 of Sweet Spot

Ellen’s eyes went round. Allie shot her a look before turning it on me. “Is there a guy in the hallway?”

“No.”

“Case in point.”

I stuck out my tongue. “What are you making?”

“Your favorite.”

Linguine with mushrooms and peas. I washed my hands and helped Ellen make the salad. My sister had done this dozens of times over the years. Usually when she missed me because I was working a lot and not answering her calls as quickly as she liked.

“So out with it. How many texts have I responded slowly to and how many calls have I ignored.”

Ellen snorted.

“Four calls and like twenty text messages.”

“I’ve been bad,” I whispered to Ellen. She snorted again. “Well as you can see, sister dear, I am alive and well. Just busy.”

“Because you took a job when you promised to rest. I suppose I’ll need to start making appointments to see you?” Then her eyes narrowed and she waved a spatula at me. “Something’s up. What’s going on?”

Allie had an usually attuned sense of my moods. She always had. “Nothing. Just work. It’s a very complicated situation and it’s taking all of my brain power.”

“Nope. Try again. My sister senses are tingling.”

“You do not have ‘sister senses’.”

“I do!” She insisted. “It’s my superpower.”

I faked a gasp. “You have superpowers! I can’t wait to tell Dad! He’ll be so excited to have a real-life superhero for a daughter.”

Ellen rolled her lips between her teeth, fighting hard to keep from laughing. I bounced my eyebrows. “You might live with her, but I’ve dealt with this way longer than you. Take notes.”

Allie turned off the stove. “Deflecting now? You definitely have something going on. It can’t be Mei or drama with Jeri. That leaves…a man!”

“Just because you desperately want me to get married so Shawn has someone to hang out with at family parties, doesn’t mean I have a man.”

Ellen tossed the salad and moved it over by the stove where Allie was mixing the linguine into the sauce, mushrooms, and peas. I followed behind with the bowls.

“I don’t desperately want you to get married,” Allie whispered loudly. “I just miss you and I know there is something more than love of your work going on with you.”

“Well my work is all consuming. When would I even meet a man? It’s not like the last guy left me with a good impression of the male species.” We each took a seat at my table and dug in.

Allie shook her head. “I still can’t get over that. A masculinity coach? That shit’s toxic as fuck.”

Ellen’s mouth fell open.

“This is a safe space, Els. When we’re doing girl talk, everything’s on the table. And you should know your mother likes to swear about the boys she doesn’t like.”

Allie twisted her lips off to the side and nodded. “It is twisted as fuck.”

I nodded too, playing along because it was absolutely Allie’s intention to shock her daughter a little. It was her way of making Ellen feel like she was being included in something special and only for grown women. “It is twisted as fuck.”

“Wait.” Allie smacked the table. “You did it again! Stop deflecting and tell me about him!”

“Who?” I asked innocently and stabbed some salad onto my fork.

“Fine. You don’t want to tell your own sister about your love life when you know everything about mine?”

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