it down to a science by now,” Londyn responds, her tone even. I glance at her, wishing I could read her thoughts, see what’s going through her mind after our latest “moment”. At the very least, I can sense she’s torn.
I struggle with this, too, unsure if I want to put myself through the inevitable heartache like I suffered with Brooklyn. But for Londyn, I don’t think that’s the only thing holding her back. I imagine it’s something bigger. Is it related to the story she told me about her father? How he turned his back on her when she needed him the most? To say I’ve been curious about what exactly their disagreement entailed is an understatement. Still, I haven’t pressed.
“I imagine,” Julia replies. “I can’t wait to see the final product. I know it’ll be worth all the effort y’all have put in.”
“I hope so.”
“So what brings you and Imogene here?” I ask. “I thought you two were going to spend the day doing some fun things in the city, since you’ll be heading back to Charleston in a few weeks.”
“That was the plan. I told her she could decide what we’d do. Anything she wanted. I assumed we’d go to the puppet museum or Legoland. Something like that. Do you want to know what she asked to do?”
“What’s that?”
“Come here.”
“That’s really sweet,” Londyn sighs, nudging me. “Wanting to come out here to see you.”
“Well, that’s only half of it,” Julia interrupts. “When we were in the downtown area last weekend, she noticed the signs for the county fair starting today. So that’s why she wanted to come. To go to the fair. More specifically, to go on all the carnival rides.” She grits a smile. “I’d rather get a Brazilian wax than suffer through that.”
“Jesus, Julia,” I groan. “Not the mental picture I need right now.”
“But it’s true. Remember all those kids we used to play with when we came here for the summer?”
“We got along with some of them.”
“True. But there were quite a few we didn’t get along with, weren’t there?” She gives me a knowing look. “Quite a few Gampy and Meemaw didn’t get along with, either.”
I blink, my shoulders falling. “Oh.” I hadn’t thought much about what spending time back here would mean. Hadn’t really thought twice about running into any of the people from our past.
“Exactly. But it’s what Imogene wants.”
“What do I want, Mama?” she interrupts, sidling up next to Julia, the resemblance between them uncanny.
“To go to the fair!” Julia switches to mom mode in the blink of an eye, not letting on that it’s the last thing she wants to do on a Saturday evening. “So let’s get going and leave Uncle Wes and Londyn to finish up.”
“Can’t they come with us?” Imogene asks, her expression pleading.
“Oh, sweetie. They’re busy working on the house right now. But maybe—”
“We can go,” Londyn interjects.
Julia and I both fling our eyes to her. I’m not sure who’s more surprised. My sister or me.
“If you don’t mind, that is,” she continues. “We did finish several hours ahead of schedule.”
“Thanks to your expertise,” I remind her. “If I had to do this on my own, I’d probably still be Googling the proper way to apply wallpaper. Hell, I undoubtedly would have ditched the idea and went with paint instead.”
“And you would have chosen the worst color for this room,” she retorts with a smile.
“Most definitely,” Julia agrees, the two of them having a laugh at my expense. I won’t complain, though. Not when I finally see the spark back in Londyn’s eyes.
“What do you say, boss?” Londyn asks.
I inwardly cringe at the term. She’s referred to me as “boss” a few times, always immediately following a more…personal moment between us, as if it’s a reminder of who I’m supposed to be to her.
“Think we can cut off work early tonight and spend some time with your sister and niece?” She lowers her voice. “Julia might like the company.”
She doesn’t have to say another word for me to understand. I should have been the first to offer to go with Julia. Even if the likelihood of running into anyone who will recognize us is probably low, I wouldn’t want her to go and something to happen.
“You know what? I think that’s a great idea. We’ll all go.”
Imogene cheers, jumping up and down, as Julia mouths, Thank you.
“Do you mind if I take a few minutes to freshen up?” Londyn asks. “Maybe shower this awful humidity