My mind flicked back to the conversation with Jessie from the week before, and before I knew it, her words were in my mouth.
“In case you forgot, my sister has Down Syndrome. Yeah, she’s doing great now. But you don’t understand. People with her condition are prone to health problems. And physical problems.”
“That didn’t seem to bother you before.”
My throat started to swell, and my eyes pricked at the corners, but I forced myself to croak through it anyway. “When I got that call last spring, though, and my parents told me that she—”
“Yes, I know what happened. You’ve already told me more times than I can count.”
“My parents aren’t young anymore, Amy. There’s a good chance Jade will live with us one day. Because she deserves a good life, and I’m not going to abandon her.” How could she not have known all this? How had we not had this conversation before?
“Derrick.” Amy stepped forward and squeezed one of my hands. But for the first time, I couldn’t return the squeeze. “I’m not saying you have to abandon her. I’m not that cold-hearted. But everyone has to find a happy medium in life. Boundaries, you know?”
“Oh.” I took my hand from hers and crossed my arms. “And what kind of happy medium are you suggesting for my baby sister in the case that my parents die?”
“Well,” she looked at the picture on the wall behind me, “there’s always adult daycare. Or one of those homes—”
An emotion I’d never felt for the woman standing in front of me flamed up in my chest. It felt a lot like the time I’d made that stupid bet in junior high that I could drink a whole bottle of hot sauce by myself.
“So you’ve been putting me off because my sister has special needs?”
“It’s not just because of that. It’s because you’re obsessed. Gosh, you treat her like…like your daughter!”
“I’m her brother. If I don’t look out for her, who will?”
“Your parents, Derrick! The ones who birthed her.”
“Are you really this opposed to spending our lives with someone who might need us? Because if you are, then we might as well just skip kids.”
“She’s not your kid!”
The silence was deafening after her shout died. Amy closed her eyes and muttered something beneath her breath then went to stare out the window.
“We’re done,” I said quietly as sounds of her quiet sobs filled the air. “Aren’t we?”
She didn’t turn. “We were done the moment you asked to leave Colorado.”
I nodded and ground my teeth. As I turned to open the door, however, I felt a hand on my arm. When I turned, she was holding her ring out, her eyes dripping with mascara and her face red and blotchy.
“Here,” she whispered. “Have it back.”
I stared at the ring for a long time before shaking my head.
“I had to wait like a client. Consider it payment for your time.” Then I left and didn’t look back.
23
Your Fault
Jessie
Another Saturday with Derrick and Jade. My mom had given me a suspicious look when as I’d left the house, and I knew I deserved it. This was beginning to be a weekly thing.
I looked around as I stepped into the little cafe. I felt more than a little guilty for being here this morning in particular, as my parents had hoped to spend the whole Fourth of July together. But after enduring a whole week of Derrick’s strange moods and exceptional silence, his text that morning had set off more than one alarm bell.
I hate to ask this of you, but I need to break something to my parents this morning, and I really need moral support. Could you be at Mugs Cafe by nine?
If he was asking me for moral support, it must be big. At first, I was inclined to say no, as I wanted no part in any drama that involved Mrs. Allen. But my conscience nagged at me when I remembered the way she’d spoken to Derrick that one morning, telling him Amy was the only thing he’d ever gotten right.
