room out to someone else, so I’ll have to go live with the parents for a while. And, oh yeah, I always seem to go for creeps or unattainable rock stars. I’m not batting a thousand over here.”
“But you’re young and pretty…”
“And a train wreck. Hot mess rings a bell. I showed up to a morning class after partying all night once. Still had my party dress on. Got a date. I bet you can imagine how that turned out. Train. Wreck. You’re looking just fine from where I’m standin’.”
“That’s comforting,” Sara murmured with a smile.
Christie shrugged. “Okay, now that the crisis of self-worth is over, I cannot believe you know Mike Frost. Cannot believe it. From childhood!” Christie skipped over a log. “I am in awe.”
“I can’t believe he’s here. How random is that? I haven’t seen the guy in a couple decades. Crazy.”
“Well, you have to get chummy so I can hit that.”
“Didn’t you say he was on another level, and that you go for unattainable men…?”
“I have a short attention span. What?”
Sara laughed and shook her head. “Man. He just… He’s all confident and awesome, and I’m still a pile of… me. I’m happy for him—don’t roll your eyes. He was like my brother; I want the best for him. But still, yeah, I’ve failed at life so far. I’ll have to punch him for silently pointing it out.”
“Well, I’m failing at life. As we speak. And guess what, you’re still super cool, and so am I. So if I turn out like you, I think I’m doing okay. But you keep saying brother. Does that mean you’re going to hook me up, or what?”
Sara rolled her eyes and shoved a goofy-grinning Christie. “Since when do people set their friends up with siblings?”
“But he’s not really your sibling…” Christie’s eyebrows waggled suggestively.
“When we were kids, the guy slept in my bed half the week until he started puberty. He would’ve kept on, but my mom put her foot down.”
“Why? Did he cop a feel, the dirty dog?”
Sara laughed and waved her hand at the thought. “Tried to shove me over to get more room, more like. No, she probably saw the winds changing and wanted to head it off. He had a crush on me at that point.” Sara couldn’t help but think back on it with fondness. “I was still a couple years away from those kinds of feelings, I think. At eleven, when he left, I was just starting to get interested in all that. I mean, like… you know… curious.”
“Yes, Aunt Gertrude, I know about the birds and the bees. I get it. Girls mature faster than boys, too. You were probably a year away from playing doctor.”
“We did that at, like, six. His was the first penis I ever saw. I literally pointed and laughed. I thought it was weird. He got so pissed off he stormed out of the house to make sure he had the same equipment his brothers did.”
“No. I mean the naughtier kind.”
“Okay, this conversation is going downhill. Anyway, he probably counts his lucky stars he got out before the train wreck lost its brakes and took out a station.”
“Hey, that’s my analogy!”
“It fit. C’mon, let’s go brave the jerk twins.”
Christie opened the door and olé’ed Sara through. “We need to work on your swearing. Jackass twins sounds better.”
“Trucker.”
“Saint.”
Sara crinkled her nose as they entered the house. “How is that a bad thing?”
“Except from eventually being burned at the stake, you mean? Good point. Saints were women behaving badly. I take that one back. Anyway, I definitely think God is bending down a helping hand on this one. You already know the hottest triangle man in this whole outfit, with the best skills no less, and are roomies with the biggest bitch. I’ll sort you out and he’ll be great to lean on. Things are looking up.”
Sara couldn’t help but laugh as they entered the kitchen and reached for aprons.
* * *
“Mawch!” The little girl put her fists on her hips as she studied a boy a few years older. “Mawch!”
The little boy mimicked her. His eyes dropped to her feet, stomping up and down where she stood.
“Like dis.” She trudged off in front of him, stern and commanding. After a few steps, she glanced back to check his progress.
“What are they doing?” the little boy’s mom, Pam, asked, an enchanted smile on her face as she watched her son following the little girl’s lead.
“Marching.” Denise chuckled. “Sara learned