a few things.” She thought about how a little bit of information could change her perspective. “I know you didn’t blurt it out on purpose. It was unfortunate timing.”
“It was.”
“I’m sorry about what I said before. About us never being friends. It sounded way meaner than I intended.”
“I get why you said it.” Sage shrugged. “While we’re on our apology tour, I’m sorry I was so horrible to you back when we were kids. I can’t possibly list all the things I did, so this is to serve as a general apology for all of them.” She paused. “I’m not being flip. I genuinely regret how I behaved.”
They looked at each other, then away. Tension filled the room, but not the usual kind. Daisy sensed they were in one of those moments when a single action could change the course of their lives, which sounded dramatic but felt true.
Daisy sucked in a breath. “Okay, so I’m going to go start dinner. I’m making carnitas in the pressure cooker and they take a lot of prep work.”
“I’ll help,” Sage said.
Daisy stared at her. “Why?”
“Because I want to and you’re too nice to throw me out after I offered to help with dinner.”
“But it’s cooking.”
“I’m clear on the concept.”
“You two are weird,” Cassidy said, pushing the joystick on her wheelchair and rolling out of the room.
Daisy didn’t understand what was happening with Sage, but felt compelled to ask, “Did you want to stay for dinner, as well?”
“Sure. That would be nice.”
“Now you’re just trying to freak me out.”
Sage smiled. “That is very much a possibility. I guess you’ll just have to wait and find out if it’s true or not.”
* * *
Sage made good on her word. She helped with dinner, then stayed to enjoy it. Once Daisy had started prepping for dinner, everyone had migrated to the kitchen, even the dogs and cats. It was loud and despite the size of the room, everyone kept getting in the way of everyone else, but it was still fun.
Ben showed Sage how he fed the pets with only minor supervision. Sheba and Lucky were exceptionally well-behaved, waiting patiently for their meals to be placed down on mats in the pantry before devouring every morsel in seconds.
The cats ate in the laundry room. Their dinner—some raw concoction that smelled like liver and blood—had to be measured and then placed onto flat dishes.
“You have to be careful,” Ben told Sage. “It’s uncooked meat, so there are germs that could make us sick.”
They left the cats, then returned to the kitchen, where Ben reported on who had been fed what.
Dinner was just as chaotic as the prep. The five of them sat at the table in the kitchen, the two dogs stretched out under the table and the cats each claiming an empty chair. Conversation flowed easily, allowing Sage to simply enjoy herself. She and Daisy seemed to have called a truce and she was going to enjoy that while it lasted.
After dinner, the kids went upstairs to watch a movie, while Daisy poured Cassidy and Sage more wine. Sage was pretty sure they were on their second bottle, which might mean she was Ubering home.
“How can you not remember Mrs. Pickle?” Daisy asked with a laugh. “I loved math, but I swear she went out of her way to make it as boring as possible. I’d been so excited to take geometry, but when I found out she was going to be my instructor, I actually started crying, I was so disappointed.”
“I’m eight years younger than you,” Cassidy pointed out. “How would I remember your high school math teacher?”
“I remember her,” Sage said as she shuddered. “She was a mean old bat. If I had a nickel for every time she compared me to Daisy, I wouldn’t need to work.” She looked at her stepsister. “You were so annoying.”
“Me?” Daisy asked with a laugh. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You were smart. Like scary smart. All I heard, all the time, is ‘Daisy’s so successful at school. Maybe you could learn from her.’ If I made the mistake of pointing out we weren’t related, I got the pitying looks.”
“So my intellect intimidates you,” Daisy asked, her voice teasing.
“Oh, please. You were an annoying person to have around in high school. I wasn’t ever intimidated.”
“You were a little,” Cassidy said cheerfully. “I remember that. I wasn’t scared of Daisy, but I was scared of this house.”
Daisy stared at her in surprise. “Why? It’s a great house.”
“For you. For