Did she think that she was better than them?
Better than her own mother?
Obviously she wasn’t.
She gritted her teeth and refocused on Halia.
“You don’t need a lawyer,” her sister continued. “Not unless things get really ugly. And we’ll do everything that we can to try and make sure that doesn’t happen. I’ll help you.”
Thank you, she signed.
“We’re here for you. All of us.”
“I know. And I’m grateful.”
“It may get worse before it gets better. But itwillget better. You’ll get through this.”
Laurie nodded. Her analytical mind knew that Halia was right, even if the rest of her wasn’t quite there yet. Her gut was full of dread, and her nervous system was shredded… but as she sat there on the lanai with her sister, her heart eventually slowed to its normal rhythm.
“One day at a time.” Halia held out her hand.
Laurie took her sister’s hand, and her fear collapsed into grief. She squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden rush of tears, but they escaped and fell down her cheeks. She opened her eyes and brushed them away, feeling foolish.
“It’s okay to cry,” said her very stoic sister.
“I’ve literally never seen you cry,” Laurie said, laughing through her tears.
Halia nodded, and her smile was sad. “Sometimes I wish I still could.”
Laurie looked at her oldest sister, thinking about all that she had been through and all that she carried. Somehow, she still showed up for every single one of them. She was their rock, even though she’d endured more trauma than anyone else in the family.
That small shift in focus pulled Laurie out of her spiral, and she scrubbed her cheeks dry.
“Let’s take the kids to the beach.”
Sure, Halia signed, smiling.OK.
Laurie stood and went to pack a beach bag.
All of her problems would still be there tomorrow.
For the moment, she would just try to enjoy the day.
4
Oakley
Oakley had to sprint all the way from the Pilates studio to the elementary school theater, but she made it there with a minute to spare. She was still catching her breath when Harper and the rest of the kids were wrapping up rehearsal.
“Did you run here?” Hayden gave her the side-eye from a folding table near the door; she had opted to bring her sketchbook and sit through Harper’s hula class rather than tagging along to the Pilates studio. The girls had already seen enough ofherclasses that they could probably teach Pilates themselves.
“Walk more, drive less,” Oakley said breathlessly. “Remember?”
“Right,walk. Not run across town like a crazy person. You’re all sweaty.”
“If I’d’ve walked,” she huffed, “I would have been late.”
“So? I have to stay here for rehearsal anyway.” Hayden’s musical theater program had the space right after Harper’s dance class, which had seemed convenient at the time… but somehow, Oakley still wound up running around town like a chicken with its head cut off.
