Page 8 of Hargrave Health Kick
“But why?”
Veronica took a big gulp of the soda. “No idea. Again, I gave you the whining warning.”
“You did. But I didn’t believe it.” Celeste centered the block of cream cheese in a shallow bowl and poured hot pepper jelly over it. She dumped small square crackers into another bowl. “Come on. We’re going out back and you’re going to tell me everything.”
“What if I don’t want to?” Veronica protested, even as she followed with the drinks and napkins.
Outside on the screened porch, Celeste set the snacks on the table between two wicker chairs and took a seat. “Tell big sister all about your funk.”
“It’s dumb,” Veronica began. And then suddenly the entire story was pouring out of her. “All these years I’ve loved my work. Helping people heal or teaching them how to feel good in the bodies that they have is my jam.”
“It is. One hundred percent,” Celeste agreed. “When did it change?”
“I’m not sure. And that’s not being coy. But it was changing before you ever moved in, so don’t even begin to gothere.”
Celeste leaned back, considering. “I actually wasn’t going there.” She seemed surprised. “That’s good news for both of us.”
Veronica chuckled despite her off-kilter mood. “Absolutely.” But that only brought the focus right back to her. Why was she struggling? The new ideas of yesterday had helped, but not enough. “I can’t get Susannah out of my head. Her assistant, Marley, says it’s cancer. Whatever the prognosis, the disease is winning this week.”
Celeste scooped a cracker through the dip and popped it into her mouth. She always did things like that when she needed time to think. “You’re thinking about making some recipes for her.”
Not a question. “Yes. Only as a courtesy, not for any potential collaboration. I know you were here for Mom more often than either me or Natalie.”
“Or Dad,” Celeste grumbled.
Veronica let that go by without a comment. Celeste wouldn’t be happy to learn Veronica had been talking to their father a lot lately. Honestly, that was the most likely source of her discontent. But this wasn’t the best time to come clean.
To be fair, their father had been here for his wife in those final weeks especially. Reducing his hours and commuting from the island to his practice in Columbia. It was only in the aftermath that he checked out completely, leaving the girls to handle all the final details.
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand Celeste’s bitterness, but she also understood the helplessness of knowing everything thatshouldwork wasn’t giving any relief or healing to the most important person in his life.
“You carried the load. I tried to be here?—”
“You were here,” her sister stated.
Physically, she’d done her best to pitch in, to make snacks her mother wanted to eat. And it had been helpful. Until it wasn’t. “It was so hard when she’d turn waspish or go on one of those ridiculous nonsensical tangents.”
“Yeah, those were awful.” Celeste fixed her gaze on the afternoon light burnishing the grass to a soft brassy green. “I should’ve told you how much I appreciated you sticking it out with me.”
Tears blurred Veronica’s vision for a moment. She let the emotion roll through before she dared speak again. “Susannah is doing that to Marley. At least, that’s the vibe I got when I was over there yesterday. Supposedly, she’s here to create some similar content, but it’s always nice to just enjoy a treat, right?”
“I think so,” Celeste said. “But you don’t want to collaborate?”
Veronica shook her head. “I don’t have the patience right now to try and weave through another decaying brain.”
“Oh, end stages.”
Veronica nodded. “There was a touch of the manic in her eyes and the way her assistant reacted… All of it took me back.”
“But it didn’t squash your compassion,” Celeste pointed out. She raised her drink to make a toast. “To Veronica, my remarkable sister.”
“Now you’re being silly.”
Celeste rolled her eyes. “What is it you want to make? Mom was always fond of the breakfast cookies. Some days it was the only thing I could get her to eat.”
“Really? I guess that never registered.”
“I’m sure I told you. I didn’t hide things from y’all.”
