Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Have you told Mom?” I ask her. Mom and my sisters had to move to another when Frank sold their trailer. Apparently it’s the exact same size, and on the adjacent lot. Life changes, but everything has stayed the same for them.
“You’re my first call,” she replies. “What am I going to say to her?”
“You have to have a plan before you tell her. She might throw you out on the spot.” I don’t say it, but she needs to be ready to never see Mom again after she tells her the news. “You could leave it until the semester is about to start.”
Silence echoes at the end of the phone.
“I’m impatient. I’ve been just trying to get to this day and now… now I want the rest of my life to start. I don’t want to be stuck in this trailer anymore.”
My heart lifts in my chest like it’s had a dose of helium. I’m so thankful that she wants more from her life. I’ve been preparing for this moment. When we bought the New York house, Byron insisted on getting a place large enough that all my sisters could move in, if that’s what they wanted. I hadn’t told Marion before because I want it all to be her decision.
“Come to New York early, or go to Colorado.” She can keep a close eye on Athena if she goes to Colorado. She knows most things about our life, how Byron and I travel between the two states. “I’m sure the Colorado Club is recruiting this time of year. I can put you in touch with the manager there.”
“You love Star Falls, right?”
Of course I love Star Falls. It’s the place I found my freedom. And my husband. Who, as ever, has great timing. He appears in the doorway.
“It’s the best place in the world,” I say through a massive grin, as Byron stands bare-chested, fresh from the shower, looking at me like I’m ice cream. “Wanna tell Byron your news?”
Marion agrees, and I put her on speaker.
“I got into Columbia,” she squeals. “Full academic scholarship.”
Byron’s gaze flits from me to the cell and back again. “Whoa, that’s amazing. So you’ll stay with us.” It’s not a question. Byron has the room allocated already.
Every day I fall a little more in love with him, but today, the way he says that to my sister like it’s a foregone conclusion—I don’t know if it’s possible for me to love him more than I already do. He’s such a good man. He understands what we’ve all been put through and he wants to make it right. He’s offered to helicopter all my sisters out of the trailer park on some kind of pseudo-CIA mission, but I’ve told him kidnapping them is not the answer. They need to leave on their own terms. Hopefully, Marion is just the first of three to find her way back to me.
“You think there might be a job at the Colorado Club for her between now and September?” I ask.
Byron looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “Just tell me when she’s arriving and I’ll make it happen.” Towel or no towel, glistening skin or not, he’s never looked so hot.
“Marion, I’ll talk to you later,” I say, and hang up the phone. We don’t have to decide when Marion’s going to move out and where she’s going to go right this moment. My husband’s standing in front of me half naked, saying things that make him a total god. I have things to do. To him.
“Did I ever tell you how much I want to have your baby?” I ask.
One corner of Byron’s mouth turns up in a shy smile. “You do?”
In answer, I unbutton my blouse and pull his towel from his waist.