Page 4 of Built to Fall
“Aunt Carrie, I’ve got to go help Eden with something. I’ll talk to you soon. Please, try not to worry about me. Hug the kids for me, and make sure Judy is behaving.”Her twin girls. My dog she’s taken in.
“I will try my best.” She still sounds worried, though. “Love you, sweet girl. Talk to you soon.”
“Love you too,” I reply, hanging up the phone.
Another knock.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
I open the door swiftly, reeling back at the sight of Eden. Red-faced. Sweating.
“Jesus.” My lips curve upward. “Did you run a marathon or hang a picture above our couch?”
“Neither.” Huffing out a breath, she gives me a mock downturned look. “Can you help me?”
My mouth parted both in shock and amusement. “You didn’t even get the picturehung up?”
“I tried to do it by myself while you were on the phone. It’swaytoo heavy for my noodle arms.”
“You didn’t ask Meredith or Kara to help?”
“Kara left, and Meredith said she’s not helping me hang a picture of Audrey Hepburn.”
“Put her on the TV if you want to see her in the living room that badly!” Meredith calls from her bedroom.
Eden gives me a pointed look, as if to say,“See?”
“I also asked if you would see if Braxton could come over and help me!” she yells back toward Meredith’s room.
“Again, I don’t want a thousand-pound painting hanging over the place where we sit. That thing could kill one of us.”
Eden averts her back to me. “Will you help me?”
I step out into the living room, getting another look at the painting. I can see what Eden finds appealing about it, and in all honesty, I think we should all be grateful it’s not pink or red, considering those are two of the only colors that Eden’s bedroom consists of.
But the paint is dabbed on in thick layers, making the portrait 3-D. I can tell by looking at it that it’s extremely heavy, and the more I think about it, the more shocked I am that Eden was able to lift it at all when originally planning where it would go.
“Mer is right. If it’s super heavy, it needs to be mounted properly, and the two of us aren’t going to be able to do that.”
She lets out a winded breath. “Must the two of you be so logical?”
I doubt Meredith was really trying to belogical.She was likely just trying to get out of doing it.
Joining us in the living room, Meredith exits her room, now fully dressed with half blow-dried hair. She’s wearing baggy jeans with a floral tank top and a zip-up jacket over top.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“Nowhere. I think Braxton’s coming over, though.”
I don’t question it, but only because I’ve come to the conclusion that Meredith and Braxton areconfusing.Plain and simple.
Nobody knows what’s going on with them. According to the information I’ve gathered, they began dating at the beginning of last school year—during the year I was holed up in Boston—but they mysteriously broke up before leaving for summer vacation.
It seems plausible that they figured it wasn’t worth the hassle of being long distance for the summer when he’s in NewYork and she’s in Washington. That’s what we’ve all assumed happened. Neither of them has confirmed nor denied.
Now that everyone’s back in New Haven and living in the same apartment complex, it’s become easier for them to fall right back into place. They might not be technicallydating, but they’re doing just about everything else together.
And I can’t fault her. Braxton’s a good guy, from what I’ve seen. He’s also cute. In a moms-love-him kind of way. He seems good for her.
