“Thank goodness you’re here. We need you to solve an argument.”
She grabbed my arm and towed us inside.
“Nice to see you again, Christopher. It’s been a while. The nice thing about someone else being in charge of time is that my sister isn’t late.” She looked pointedly at our joined hands. With a bright smile, she said, “You break her heart, I’ll break your face.”
At five foot three, it wasn’t likely, but she meant what she said and I appreciated the sentiment.
“What if she breaks mine?” he said, stepping into the kitchen.
That stopped her for a second. She glanced at me with a slight frown.
“You’re both crazy. You want my advice? Keep it simple, stay together. You adore each other. That way, everyone is happy.”
We looked at each other. I watched Christopher’s eyes. She amused him.
“If Brandon has any sense, he’ll see that in one second,” she said.
A cloud darkened Christopher’s face, but he didn’t release my hand. Instead, he tightened his grip.
“What’s the argument? The one you need me to solve.”
“Right. Dad says we went to the beach for the summer of 1997. I say he’s wrong. We went camping in California that year.”
“You’re both wrong. We stayed home. Too soon after mom died. We went to the coast in 1998 and went camping the next summer. I have photos upstairs if you need proof.”
“I’m going to tell Dad I was right.” She winked as we reached the kitchen.
Dad turned from slicing tomatoes. “What’s the verdict? Coast or camping? How’s the throat?”
“She’s still having trouble, sir.” Christopher released my hand and went forward and shook my dad’s. When done, he stepped back and rested his hand on the familiar position of my lower back. It belonged.
“Elizabeth looks smug, so I assume she knows the answer to Meghan’s question.”
“She can’t remember,” said Meghan.
“Liar. We stayed home that year.”
I held my phone up for Dad to read the explanation. Meghan stuck out her tongue. She hated when I was right. Time stood still here. It felt easy and familiar.
Dad laughed. “You girls never stop. Andrew should be here any minute. He was working. He’ll be glad for a new referee.”
We talked in the kitchen while Dad trotted back and forth to the grill outside, bringing it up to the optimal temperature. Sunday dinner was his favorite, and we weren’t allowed to help. He hadn’t cooked when I was young, but after mom died, he’d learned. He discovered he enjoyed it. Tonight’s menu looked like steak, baked potatoes, grilled vegetables, and green salad.
“At dinner, will you help me explain?”I said to Christopher.
He nodded and kissed my temple.
“You’re just talking to Christopher,” said Meghan with a pout. “You need to have a group chat and share with us, too.”
“It’ll be a lot faster if Christopher explains. If he’s wrong, I’ll interrupt.”
“Too bad you didn’t get laryngitis years ago,” she said.
A scowl crossed my face.
“You’ve always hated talking to people. Not us,” she corrected, “but people.” She waved her hand to indicate the public.
She had a point, but this hadn’t started by choice. A car door slammed out front.
