this whole thing takes place out in the woods. That’s not new per se, but it was certainly news to me when Chris told me.”
“Chris,” April repeated blankly. “Oh, do you mean Christine Donovan? She owns the bookstore, right?” She smiled at my nod, like she’d caught me out. “So you found something to do while I’m at therapy.”
“Yep. What can I say, I miss books.”
“You were an English major, right?” After I nodded, April fell quiet as I pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. “Are you thinking about going back to school? You don’t have much left on your degree, right?” I came around and opened her door, but she didn’t take the hand I offered. Instead, she levered herself out of the Jeep.
“Right. I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.” That was the truth, at least; the end of the summer was as far as I could see right now. The month of September may as well have been a sign that said Here Be Dragons. Right now it was easier to think in terms of what I could do for April or Caitlin than what I wanted to do for myself.
I closed the passenger door once she’d cleared it, and I caught up to her as she worked her way up the front walk. I offered my arm and she managed to take it without making it look like it was necessary. She didn’t need my help; my help just happened to be there, so she took it.
“Why don’t you order your transcript? We could see how many more credits you need.”
I considered it. “That’s not a bad idea. Maybe I should. You’re getting better every day, so you won’t need me much longer.”
April’s laugh was a little strained. “I wouldn’t say that.” She gripped the railing and pulled herself up the stairs, one slow step at a time. She was making progress; she couldn’t have done that two weeks before. Physical therapy was going to be good for her. “But let me know if you want any help. I started looking at college options for Caitlin when she was eight, so I have plenty of sites bookmarked.”
I grinned, because that sounded like something I would do. Maybe April and I were more alike than I’d realized. “I’ll do that. Thanks.” I was warming to the idea of having a plan again.
“Maybe not the fall semester, though. Since you’re spending the summer in a corset and all. That’s going to keep you pretty busy.”
I waved a hand. “Nah. Corset’ll be a piece of cake.”
I was wrong. I was so, so wrong.
Four
Costume day today!” Caitlin practically vibrated in the back seat of the Jeep on the way to rehearsal.
“I thought you already had your costume. Pink, right?” I could have sworn I’d seen her in a hoopskirt and elaborate overdress a couple weekends back, wandering the aisles of the auditorium.
“Yeah, I tried it on, but it was way too long. They had to hem it up.”
“Ah. Well, you can thank your grandma for that.” Mom was not a tall woman, and consequently neither was April nor I. And Caitlin seemed to be following in our footsteps: short Parker women.
She shrugged; her height didn’t matter to her at all. Good kid. I’d let that bother me for way too long. “But it’s supposed to be ready today for a final fitting, and Miss Chris is going to show me how to do my hair too.”
“That’s great.” I couldn’t help but notice she hadn’t taken her phone out once on the drive to rehearsal this morning. We were talking a lot more on these Saturday drives, and while I still felt a little roped into this whole thing, I liked that it was bringing Caitlin and me closer.
As we pulled into the parking lot, I noticed Stacey pulling shopping bags out of the back seat of her car. “Huh,” I said. “Looks like it’s costume day for me too.”
Caitlin followed where I was pointing and her eyes widened. “How many costumes are you wearing?”
“One, I hope.” Stacey had taken my measurements the weekend before, promising to pull some potential costume pieces for me from the collection the organizers had amassed over the years. “Those of us long-timers end up buying our own stuff,” she’d told me then. “But there’s no reason for you to do that yet. There’s plenty to borrow.” Thank God. I didn’t have a job and was mooching off my