A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber Page 0,47
Holding on to Snowball, she swiveled her legs out and sat upright.
When it came to my sister’s welfare, “chilling” was a problem. My natural inclination was to worry about her. But I realized now that, having survived cancer, Harper wanted to live life to the fullest.
“Oh, before I forget, Chantelle sent a text,” she said as she set Snowball down on the floor. “She wants to do a fitting for our dresses.”
“Great. When?”
“This weekend. It should be on your phone, too.”
I collected my purse to retrieve my phone. I hadn’t looked at it in several hours. Sure enough, there was a text from my soon-to-be sister-in-law. “Saturday at noon.” The note said Lucas would be coming with her. I hesitated. My weekend was already busy.
“I can’t be here.”
“Did you let her know? We’ll need to find another date.”
“No way,” Harper protested. “We’re close enough to the same size. If the dress fits you it’ll fit me. I don’t want to hold up Chantelle.”
I didn’t feel good about trying on Harper’s dress, especially since the design was different from my own, shorter; besides, Harper had bigger boobs than I did. If it didn’t fit her at the wedding, I’d feel dreadful.
She must have read the hesitation in my eyes because she braced her hands against her hips and sighed heavily, as if I was being unreasonable. “Come on, Willa. You can do this one small thing, can’t you?”
“Let me think about it.” The timing wasn’t great. Friday night was the Relay for Life event. Both Harper and I were deeply involved in that. Then on Saturday, Harper intended to do this practice climb. Another weekend would work much better for us both. I was surprised Harper hadn’t suggested that.
With my phone in my hand, I sent Chantelle a text. Need to reschedule. Is that a problem?
No more than five minutes later her reply came. Nope. Connect later.
There. One simple note and it was all fixed. I told Harper, who frowned at me and headed into her bedroom. “I wish you’d talked to me first. You’re making a big deal over nothing. I ask you to do one small thing and you blow it out of proportion, change everyone’s plans. Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a control freak?”
Stunned, I stood with my phone in my hand, my mouth open. I didn’t know what had come over my sister. We rarely argued, especially over something this petty.
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked.
Whipping around, Harper glared at me with eyes that would cut through a steel rod. “Do you know how often you ask me that question? Would. You. Stop,” she all but shouted. She went into her bedroom and slammed the door.
At the sound of the door, Snowball leaped several inches off the ground and hid underneath the sofa.
I stood like a marble statue for several moments, unable to believe my sister had come unglued over something this trivial. I’d never thought of myself as a control freak. True, I worried about her health, but with good reason. My sister had nearly died. Even now I wondered if she realized how close to death she’d come.
Opening her bedroom door, she stood in the doorway, arms crossed. Her mouth was set in a thin line, and her eyes narrowed. “I’m moving out.”
“Moving out?” I repeated, too stunned to say anything more.
“I’ve been thinking about it for some time now. Leesa and I want to get an apartment together.”
My throat constricted and I swallowed hard. This had come out of the blue. “But…why?” We’d had differences of opinion before, but we’d always made up quickly. “I’m sorry if I—”
“It isn’t you,” she said, without a lot of conviction. “I need to find an apartment that allows pets. You’re right. It won’t take long for Snowball to become an adult cat, and we won’t be able to hide her. Why risk getting evicted?”
“We can move,” I said, feeling desperate now, unable to believe Harper had gotten this angry over something minor.
“Not we. Me. This apartment suits you perfectly. It’s close to the shop. You’re making enough to be able to afford the rent on your own now. If you’re worried about it, then get another roommate.”
I recognized the look in her eyes. Nothing I said would make a difference; her mind was made up. It hurt that my sister no longer wanted to live with me. Tears clouded my eyes and I blinked furiously.
“Okay,” I whispered, turned, and retreated into my own