Page 73 of Grown-Up Second Chance

“I’m sure I’ve cleaned like this before,” I said. “Mom would never have let me get away with a messy room.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. Your side of our room was always neat.” Kathleen sat on the couch. “But you only went in for sweeping under the bed or taking everything off the shelves and polishing when Mom made you. Except for that one other time.”

I carefully arranged the pieces until I got to the pink-veined rock in the shape of a heart.

“The night after the prom,” Kathleen said as I examined the rock Joe had found and given me.

How could I have forgotten where that came from? He’d given it to me the day of graduation. I’d stuffed it in the pocket of my dress where it nestled next to all the feelings I denied.

“So what’s happened between you and Joe now?” she asked.

“What?” Then her words registered. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. I just needed a day to myself. Joe and I will do something later in the week. His son’s coming, so he won’t have much time.” I carefully put the rock on the shelf.

“We never liked him,” Kathleen said.

“Who? Joe? Everyone loved him.”

“Not Joe. Larry. Dad knew he was lazy right from the beginning.”

“Larry worked,” I protested, flopping onto one of the easy chairs, my energy depleted.

“The bare minimum to keep his job.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do,” Kathleen said.

“Dad grilled him every Christmas,” Liz said from the kitchen. “As soon as you left, he and Mom would have a long talk on the porch. Kathleen and I took turns listening.”

“How special,” I said.

“We were worried about you,” Kathleen said. “Larry made you sad. Everyone could see that. Being with Joe has brought back the sister we knew as a kid: happy and full of vitality.”

“It was hard to see you so unhappy,” Liz said.

“I was fine,” I said.

Kathleen gave me “the look,” the one that reminded me “fine” meant anything but.

“We love you,” Kathleen said. “Whatever has happened between you and Joe, fix it.”

“But nothing has happened.”

“Maybe that’s the problem,” Liz said.

“Nothing’s going to happen,” I said. “Joe and I are friends, like we’ve always been. That’s all.”

“Then it’s time for one of you to change it. Stop doing what you’ve always done, Di. It’s only going to get you the same results. You deserve more. Believe in yourself. This time, reach for the moon.”

Kathleen got up from her position.

“Need any help?” she asked Liz.

“Actually, I could. From both of you. This recipe is a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

Kathleen looked over at me.

“Of course,” I said. “What else are sisters for? All for one …”

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