Page 168 of Terms Of Un-Endearment
When I finish, she tilts her head and forces me to meet her gaze. “Look, the truth is, we got screwed in the Dad department. There’s no two ways about that.”
A laugh escapes. I’m calmer now, but I still can’t return her sad smile.
“But we hit it big in the sibling department.” She holds my gaze until I’m able to actually smile. “The friend department, too.”
I nod. She’s not wrong there. “Mum’s not too bad either.”
“Mum’s amazing.”
“I don’t even mind Piper much anymore, now that she’s grown up,” I say carefully.
“Piper’s always been awesome. You were just in your stuff back then.”
I nod again. Frankie’s not wrong about that either.
“I’ve missed you. Thanks for coming.” This is the first time Frankie’s been back in two years, which is a good sign she feels safe here. “Your hair is shorter.” I tug one of the curls. It’s my job as her brother. “Looks good.”
“Yeah?” She swipes my hand away. “There’s a hairdresser in Serenity Cove who YouTubed videos on how to cut curly hair, but I reckon she did all right.” Frankie scrunches her hair. “And she’s a fraction of the price of Juan.”
“But does she sell stories about you to the highest bidder?” My voice is light, but only because I don’t want to upset Frankie by dwelling too long on painful memories. Juan never sold stories about her, but another stylist at his salon did. He got fired, but the damage had been done.
We can laugh or cry over the bad stuff, and I prefer laughing.
“No, but it’s anything but serene. This week alone, I had to talk down a retiree threatening to key a surfboard over a parking spot, someone lit sage in the bathroom, and—this one’s my personal favorite—I found a seagull in a cardboard box under the sink. It was labeledEmotional Support Animal.With glitter gel pen.” Frankie laughs, and I try to picture what she finds so charming about Serenity Cove.
“But, even after a couple years,” she continues. “No one knows or cares who I am. I have all the privacy I want there.”
She smiles as if to assure me, but I know she’s being honest. When she stands and tugs me up, there’s a looseness to it. A chill vibe I haven’t felt from her, even before she walked away from Hollywood.
But as she walks toward the back door, Frankie’s serious. Still relaxed, but she’s got a purpose, and nothing gets in mysister’s way when she wants something. She looks back at me when she gets to the door, her expression all business.
“Okay, time to figure out what to do about Piper. I’m starting to wonder if you not only don’t mind her but also might be a bit keen on her.” She glances over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow and a grin.
My mobile buzzes, saving me from answering Frankie. I take it out and read the text from an unknown number. “It’s Piper,” I say, unable to hold back my smile as I read her apology.
It quickly disappears when I read the next lines.
“What does she say?” Frankie asks.
“She says she can’t do lunch, but also…sorry for sushi in my room?”
I look at Frankie, who closes her eyes and shakes her head. “That would explain the smell inside. You two. No one can hate each other this much without circling all the way back around to falling in love. Ask her if she turned the heat up too. It’s a million degrees in here.”
While Frankie walks to the thermostat, I re-read Piper’s text all the way to the subtext. Yeah, she’s done something bad to my room, but she’s also apologized for it and wants to talk tonight. I don’t know what the “talk” means. Shoot the breeze like we’re old friends? Or rehash all our old arguments?
Or—and this would be the best-case scenario—get to know each other?
With the way my life is crumbling today, the last reason is the least likely one, but with the memory of Piper’s smile from this morning still fresh, it’s the one I decide to pin my hopes on, anyway.
And I reckon I know what might make our “talk” the one bright spot in what’s turning out to be a downer of a day.
I message her back before I can talk myself out of my idea.
Would love to talk. I’ll have dinner waiting.
Chapter 23
Piper
