Meri was waitingfor me in the lobby. Her red hair was tied back in a low ponytail and she had a baseball cap shielding her eyes. She was halfway through a huge bottle of water and shewas pushing her luggage back and forth like it was a baby carriage. She only tipped her chin up when she spotted me and I nodded in response as I stopped at the front desk.
I had to schedule a wake-up call for Henry. I didn’t want him to miss his flight.
With that handled, I trudged toward Meri, sore and exhausted and a little dazed. We walked toward our rental car in silence. It wasn’t unusual for us to go an hour or two without talking, especially after a late night. Especially after two weeks of late nights.
We didn’t say much until agreeing to stop in Sacramento for coffee.
On the way out of the café, I said, “I’m surprised you’re not limping.”
She gave me anif you only knewshake of her head and handed me the keys. “Wake me up when it’s time for my mud bath.”
The drive to the middle of nowhere spa we’d selected for the last few days of our vacation took another hour. We were quiet all the way to our casita.
“Pool?” she asked, yanking off her cap. “Or food?”
My need for discipline and order drowned out my exhaustion and I started unpacking. I knew I’d feel better when everything was in its place. “What about poolside food?” I asked. “That has to be an option. At the very minimum, we can ask about making it an option.”
Meri flopped face-first onto the bed while I hung up my clothes. “I like that,” she said into the linens. “Almost as much as I like this bed.”
“Good news. There’s an identical bed on the other side of the casita all for you.”
She rolled over, watching as I organized the drawers. “Remember when we were poor med students and we always shared a bed?”
“How could I forget?” I grinned at her. “I’m the one who diagnosed your bruxism. Speaking of which, have you been wearing your mouth guard?”
“Yes, it’s extremely sexy. All the boys love it when I talk dirty with it in.” She pushed off the bed with a grunt. “Okay. I’ll leave you alone with your compulsions. Be ready for the pool in fifteen.” Stopping in the doorway, she asked, “Was there a taco truck for the after party? Or donuts?”
“All of the above,” I said. “A whole bunch of food trucks.”
“Should’ve seen that coming,” she mused. “How was it?”
“I don’t know.” I folded my panties into crisp, clean squares. “I didn’t stay.”
Meri thunked her head back against the door. “Had something more interesting to do?”
I lifted a shoulder, still focused on my undies. “You could say that.”
A hissy growl soundedin the back of my throat as I glared at my phone.
“Put that thing away.” Meri slapped my arm. “We agreed we wouldn’t touch our work emails until we were back in Boston because they result in feral noises like the one you just made.” She adjusted the brim of her ultra-wide hat and futzed with her caftan again. “Don’t make me wrestle it away from you. You know I’ll win. I am small but scrappy.”
“It started with my sister.”
“Of course it did. She’s the origin of all your tension headaches.”
“She sent a text telling me to check my email because she sent me something last week and I hadn’t replied.”
“Is that something a heartfelt thank-you for being her continual safety net? Or repeatedly picking up her life and putting it back together at no cost to her? Better yet, your ongoing management of her medical care? Tolerating the way she bounces in and out of your life like a goddamn ping-pong ball? Anything along those lines?”
I rubbed my forehead. Iwasgetting a tension headache. “She’s coming to stay with me.”
“Delightful.” Meri turned to the mezze platter on a table between our lounge chairs. She scooped an outrageous amount of hummus onto a cucumber. “Let me guess how it went down. She didn’t ask if it was okay, she didn’t indicate how long she’d be staying, and she offered no explanation as to why she’s leaving D.C.”
My relationship with my sister was complicated.Allmy relationships were complicated. Aside from Meri, I didn’t have a single personal relationship that functioned normally. Everything was always one sudden move away from disaster and Brie was no different. If anything, Brie was my most complicated relationship because she was the only real family I had left.
So, I put up with her chaos. I didn’t have much choice.
“I give it six weeks,” I said. “She’ll remember that she doesn’t like me enough to live with me.”
