Wild Swans - Jessica Spotswood Page 0,81
over the last week. “It was hard sometimes. Luisa took me bra shopping and to the gynecologist for the first time, and Claire gave me the sex talk before anybody else.” That earns a smile from Iz. “Mother’s Days were the worst. I was so jealous of my friends. I used to give Luisa presents, but it wasn’t the same. When I was little, like Gracie’s age, I used to wish Erica would come back. I wished on shooting stars and four-leaf clovers and pennies in fountains. And then she came back and she—”
“She pretended she wasn’t even your mama.” Isobel winces.
“Yep. And it really sucked. But I got through it, more or less. And you will too.”
“How?” Iz asks. “What if Mama’s right and Dad doesn’t want me? What if Gracie goes home today and I have to stay here by myself and go to that stupid theater camp?”
“You won’t be by yourself. You’ll have me. And you don’t have to go back to theater camp.” My voice is firm. “I’ll talk to Granddad for you if you want. You’ve inspired me, Iz. I want to be more like you.”
Iz looks down at the silver nail polish peeling off her bitten-down fingernails. “Like me?”
I nod. “You tell the truth even when it’s hard. You tell people what you want. I’m going to start doing that more too and make Granddad listen. He’s not in the habit of it, so it might be hard at first. I’m going to start off by telling him about Connor.”
“He already knows about that. I kind of told him this weekend. I didn’t know it was a secret.” Iz grins, twirling a curl around her finger.
Wait, Granddad knew and he still left Connor and me alone yesterday morning? With no one but Erica in the house, and no lecture? Maybe he does trust me. “Oh. Well, thanks. When do I get to see a picture of Kyle?”
Iz tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Never. I broke up with him yesterday. He was such a douche bag. All he wanted to do was have sexy video chats, and he got all mad when I wouldn’t take my shirt off or talk dirty. It was gross.”
“Good for you. You deserve better.”
“I think I do.” She blushes. “Thanks.”
Quiet stretches out between us, but for the first time it’s a comfortable quiet. Then:
“Ivy?” Iz says, her voice soft.
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I was a bitch before. I didn’t ever think… I was so mad at you for lying that I didn’t think about how much this sucked for you too,” she confesses.
“You don’t ever have to apologize for your feelings,” I tell her. “I would have been mad too if I were you.”
“But I didn’t ever tell you I’m glad you’re my sister,” she says. “And I am.”
I look at her—my brave-as-hell little sister—and grin. “I am too.”
• • •
It takes a while to get everything settled. Gracie wakes up to the news that her mama is gone, but we all assure her—hopefully, truthfully—that Erica’s gone away to get better and will be back soon. That she’s doing it because she loves Gracie and Iz and wants to be a better mama.
Rick arrives midafternoon. There is never any question of whether he’ll take Isobel too. “She’s my daughter in every way that counts,” he says. He’s tall and lanky and kind. He helps the girls finish packing and promises to bring them back the following weekend with a truck to get the rest of their things and to visit us. He apologizes profusely for Erica. If he’s mad that we kept quiet about how bad things were, he doesn’t say so in front of the girls.
Luisa bakes chocolate-chip cookies for them to take home. Gracie and Iz help, bickering over who gets to lick the batter from the spoon. Luisa watches them and wraps an arm around my waist. I lean into her, comforting myself with her steady presence.
Alex even pops in at one point. “Hey, I heard you two were going back to DC,” he says. “I wanted to say bye.”
“You just want our cookies!” Gracie accuses him, while Iz blushes. Unless I am mistaken, I think somebody’s got a crush.
Alex grins and grabs a cookie from the counter. “That too.” He dances around the kitchen like a goofball and the girls giggle. He looks over and meets my eyes. “You have a minute?”
I nod and slip out of the kitchen into the backyard. He stands next to me