Not So Far Away (Worlds Collide The Duets #1) - LL Meyer Page 0,9
is hectic with the caterer’s last minute preparations for the sit-down champagne brunch, but I spot Amelia in the center of it all, keeping an eye on what’s going on in her domain. She waves me over. “Mi amor!” Her enthusiasm is my homecoming. Amelia has worked for my dad for longer than he’s been married to my mother and she’s loved and cared for all five of his children. While I was growing up, she was my safe haven.
“Look at you,” she gushes. “You’re positively radiant.”
I laugh, absorbing the warmth of her greeting. “It’s a side-effect of being here with you.”
“You always were a charmer,” she says wryly. “Come, come, let’s sit over here.” I follow her diminutive frame over to the breakfast nook. The years have been kind to Amelia, but every time I see her, I notice more signs of her advancing age; the liberally gray-streaked hair that she refuses to dye, the deepening lines on her face, the swollen knuckles of her slightly arthritic hands.
“Have a seat, mi ni?a. Tell me everything. How is school?”
My smile is huge as I tell her, “I’m so close to being finished.” I hold up a single finger. “Only one more class to complete.”
“I’m so proud of you. Going back to get your degree was the right decision. And you’re staying sober?”
“Yes,” I assure her. “And I’m still keeping good company.” I don’t tell her good company basically means no company. Like my father, Amelia has worried about me enough to last three lifetimes. She deserves better and I want to give it to her. “How about you, how are things?”
She sighs, though with the din of voices and clanking dishes around us, it’s barely audible. “With Sophie gone, there’s not much keeping me here anymore.”
Sophie is the youngest of us kids. She moved to San Diego last September to start her master’s degree at UCSD and I know Amelia has felt at loose ends with her gone. She’s not the only one who misses Sophie; my sister is my best friend.
Reaching out, I cover her hand. “Are you finally going to retire?”
“Soon, mi amor, soon.”
A crash on the other side of the kitchen brings her to her feet. “Go,” I say, waving her off when she appears torn. “I’m fine.”
I pull out my phone but my attention is back to where it’s been all morning; the pros and cons of asking my dad for the money I’m short for my rent this month. After everything, I’m not sure I can go through with it. The look of disappointment that’s going to show up on his face as soon as the words leave my mouth will be excruciating.
My shoulders sag. I’m going to have to find another way . . . which means selling something online. There’s not much left though. I’ve sold off most of the designer handbags and jewellery that my ex, Gunnar, gave me during our two-year relationship. Really, the only things of value that are left are the Wii and the PS4, which don’t technically belong to me. But my apartment is not a storage facility and I’ve asked him to come get his stuff many times over the months.
A text comes in from my sister.
Sophie: How’s the party?
Ellie: You’d know if you were here. Traitor.
Sophie: Please. After all the events you’ve missed?
She may have a point. For years, I didn’t come to a single one.
Ellie: It’s the usual. Current score: me 1, mom 1.
Sophie: You’re so ridiculous. Did Matt show?
Matthew is our older brother. Well, all three of our brothers are older, but Matt is the only one of them who would come to an event like this since he’s our mother’s biological son. Christopher and Evan are dad’s sons from his first marriage. There’s a bit of an age gap between the two sets of kids. When I started kindergarten, Christopher was starting college.
Ellie: Haven’t seen him. I’d say chances are low.
Sophie: Poor mom.
I roll my eyes. Poor mom? But that’s my sister for you, she’s all heart. Thinking of others before herself is her thing, along with forgive and forget. I think it was Amelia who insisted that Sophie go away to San Diego to continue her schooling. If Sophie had her way, she would live at home forever so she could take care of the entire family from a central location.
The noise level rises and I realize brunch is about to be served.