Page 35 of Welcome to Forever
Chapter 9
A week later, Kat could already feel her heart pounding as she drove to the Veterans’ Center with a box of John’s things in the trunk to donate. One box. Baby steps.
Julie leaned forward in the passenger seat beside her and changed the music. “I hate that song.”
“Pretty strong word,” Kat mused, glancing over.
“What’s a strong word?” Julie popped her gum and stared at her.
“Hate. You don’t really hate the song. You just don’t like it.” The silence that followed prompted her to look over at her sister again.
“Right. Okay. I really dislike that song.” Her sister rolled her eyes playfully, the corners of her mouth turning up. “But I reallylovethis one, which is another strong word. I really just mean I like it a lot. Does that word work for you?”
“Perfectly.” Kat smiled to herself.
“This word stuff is really getting annoying, you know that? And the array of plants you’ve placed by the kitchen sink, the ones you talk to all the time, that’s pretty creepy, sis.”
This made Kat laugh, and laughter was good. It eased the panic that’d been swirling through her all morning. Moving on in her actions and thoughts were one thing, but folding up John’s favorite shirt to give to someone who was alive and could actually wear it, that was hard. There were memories tied to every single thing she had of John’s—memories she worried she’d lose without them.
“One of the kids in my after-school group has been teaching us about talking to plants,” Kat said, trying not to think about the box. “It really works. You should see this kid’s specimens.”
“Specimens?” Julie popped another bubble. “You’re teaching kids to talk to plants? You know the parents will sue you when their brats all end up in padded cells.”
Kat tsked. “There’s actually a science behind this stuff. There have been research studies proving that when you talk to plants, it affects their growth. And I think the kids are learning about choosing their words and actions wisely.”
The kids that weren’t teasing Ben mercilessly over his theories, at least.
“The kid is the son of the school’s groundskeeper,” Kat continued. “He’s also the guy helping out with the group.”
Julie cracked her window and tossed her gum, making Kat nearly swerve into the next lane.
“Julie! The gum will hit other people’s cars. You can’t just toss it on the highway.”
Her sister stared at her for an exaggerated beat and continued. “You know what I think? I think you’re going gaga over this kid’s science stuff because you’ve got a thing for his dad.” Julie waggled her eyebrows. “Perhaps, Mr. Rebound Guy?”
“You know I’m not ready for that kind of thing.”
“What kind of thing? Lust? Dating? Sex?” Julie asked, drawing out the last word in a teasing manner.
“All of it,” Kat said as Julie snickered.
“Come on, sis. Sex is the greatest physical activity God ever invented. Yoga and sex.”
“God didn’t create sex for exercise. It’s a bonding thing,” Kat argued. “An act of love.”Geez, I really am Pollyanna.
“All I’m saying is, if you don’t use it, you lose it.”
Kat’s brain stuttered on her sister’s claim. “If I don’t have sex, I’ll lose my female parts?”
This made Julie burst into laughter. “You can’t even say the word. Vagina, Kat. It’s called a vagina. And, yes. It’ll rot and fall off one day, never to be seen again.”
Kat’s gaze slid over. “Let’s talk about something else, okay? What about you? Why did you and your ex break up?”
Julie redirected her attention out the window, suddenly quiet. “We just grew apart.”
“After three years? Did something happen?”
Julie shook her head, but Kat caught the subtle darkening of her eyes as she glanced over. Something had hurt her sister badly enough that she had left a job and man she loved. And badly enough for Julie to pack her bags and return to Seaside, which Kat never thought would happen.
