“Watch what?” Callie asks as she enters the room. As soon as she sees the TV, she sits on the recliner. “The best part is about to happen.”
“Shhh.” Lexi scolds her mom. “Peter’s never seen this.”
The “o” her mouth makes sends electricity sparking through my body. I should not be this attracted to this woman when her daughter is literally right next to her. She mimes zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the key.
I keep watching for the best part she’s talking about. So far, I’m not impressed. Then the love interest is sitting on the bleachers with a microphone and starts freaking singing. Then a few seconds later the band joins in for music.
I can see why she likes this scene. There’s no way it’s the grand gesture because I don’t think the movie is halfway through. But it’s showing interest. Maybe that’s what I need to do. It seems like a better idea than being pissed off because I don’t know what to do with what I’m feeling. Nobody has ever gotten under my skin the way Callie does.
“You realize that’s more likely to happen in a small town than city, right?”
“Why do you say that?” Callie leans back and crosses her legs.
“Because in a small town, like Asheville, everyone would be willing to help out. Especially if the person had some pull in the social hierarchy.”
“Kind of like all the Summers kids and my brother.” She lifts an eyebrow.
Lexi backs away from her mom, unsure of how this conversation is going to play out. “We brought you food.” She sets it on the coffee table. “I’m going to my room.”
It’s funny she has already laid claim to it and considers it hers. She feels comfortable here and I’m glad.
“Thank you.” I pick up the takeout container and grab the wrapped silverware. My stomach grumbles. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich didn’t fill me up the way I’d hoped. But I turn my attention back to Callie. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t act so shocked. All of you were popular in high school. I don’t know about Piper and Parker since we graduated before them. But I know for a fact the rest of you were. You could have easily pulled off something for a girl you liked.”
Little does she know I spent most of my time watching her. There was no way in hell I was going to do anything about it. She’s Miles’s little sister. Off limits doesn’t even begin to explain where my teenage brain was.
“Phillip and Pierce maybe. I’ve never been one to make a show of how I’m feeling.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” She grunts.
I could ask her what she means by the statement, but I’ll let it go. Mostly because I know what she means. Even though I had a certain amount of popularity because of my older siblings, I stayed in the background as much as possible. Being the center of attention never appealed to me. It still doesn’t. Piper never asks me to be in any of the winery marketing because she knows how I feel.
“Were you as obsessed with this movie as Paula was?” Changing the subject feels like the best move here. At least until I know how she’s feeling after what happened earlier today.
“Who do you think showed it to me?” She laughs. “Did you never wonder where I went when I disappeared for long periods of time? I would hang out with Paula and a bowl of popcorn.”
I’m happy my sister included Callie in things. She didn’t seem to have a ton of girlfriends when we were in school. I’m only unsure if it was by choice or because they were jerks. It’s not my place to ask. Not yet, anyway.
“That actually makes sense.” I take a bite of the enchiladas they brought me. The food is still lukewarm and doesn’t need to be heated. “Thank you for the food. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but it wasn’t as fulfilling as I thought it would be.”
She laughs, loud and long. The sound gives me some reassurance she isn’t still upset about earlier. “At our age, a PB&J is a snack, not a meal.”
“I didn’t want to make an entire meal for one person. And…I’m out of frozen dinners.”
“How do you live on those? You have to eat actual food sometimes.”
“I do. Why do you think I make batches of chili? It’s enough to feed me for a few days. Other times I’ll go hang out with one of my siblings to get food. Or, I’ll go to my parents’ house.”
She eyes me as if I should act like an adult at my age. I do mostly, but so much food would go to waste. I don’t know how to cook for one person.
“Are you excited about starting your job tomorrow?” I have to break the silence filling the room after discussing how much I don’t cook. Even though I can.
“Yes?”
“You don’t sound too sure about it.”
“I’m nervous. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to have found a job so quickly, but it feels like a step backward having to rely on help from the people I grew up with.”
