Charlotte pursed her lips. “No, I guess not.”
Since she was ahead with her work, an hour to review an assignment for her sister couldn’t hurt. Even if she could think of better things to do on a Friday night, especially with things still a little tense between them. Charlotte had done her best to scale back the criticism and tough love, but she wasn’t sure Savannah saw it the same way.
Knowing her sister, Savannah was probably still sulking.
She knew how to sulk for days.
“Why don’t you go into my room? I’m going to heat up something to eat and make some tea. Do you want something?”
Savannah’s gaze lingered on the pile of laundry. “Someone really should take care of that.”
“That’s Heather’s pile. She promised to move it. Just don’t look directly at it, and you’ll be fine.” She motioned to the room and offered her sister a pointed look. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Savannah rolled her eyes and stomped into the room.
Charlotte scooped up a handful of leftover Chinese noodles and chicken. She was wrestling with the lid for the salad when Savannah came back into the kitchen, having lost some of the color in her cheeks. With a frown, Charlotte left the container and started the microwave.
“What’s up with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Savannah snatched her hands from behind her back and waved something around. “What’s this?”
Charlotte glanced from her sister to the paper she was still brandishing. “I’m guessing by your reaction that it isn’t your assignment.”
Savannah’s eyes tightened. “I found this in your desk drawer.”
Charlotte stopped breathing when she recognized one of the brochures. “You went through my stuff?”
“I was looking for some printer paper and a highlighter,” Savannah replied with a stiff set of her shoulders. “Anyway, you don’t get to be mad here.Ido.”
Charlotte’s mouth fell open. “You go through my stuff, andyou’rethe one who gets to be mad?”
Savannah slapped the brochure on the counter and shook her head. “You can’t become a surrogate. You haven’t even been in a serious relationship.”
Charlotte’s hands curled into fists at her side. “That has nothing to do with it.”
“You’ve never even talked about wanting to be a mom,” Savannah continued as if she hadn’t heard her. Her voice was climbing higher and higher. “And this isn’t some play you can direct and be done with. It’s a human being.”
Did Savannah really think she didn’t know that?
That she hadn’t spent the past few weeks going over it in her head?
She’d done her research and read every brochure there was to read. She’d even scoured blogs on the internet, all in an effort to better understand what she was getting herself into.
Savannah had no right to just show up and act like she knew better.
How could she?
Charlotte hadn’t made this decision lightly, and the longer she stood there, facing her sister, the person who was supposed to know her better than anyone, the worse she felt. Half of her was tempted to kick Savannah out just because she didn’t want the headache of having to explain herself over and over, but the other half knew it wasn’t going to do any good.
Savannah wasn’t the only person who was going to disapprove, and the sooner Charlotte learned how to deal with the naysayers, the better it was going to be for everyone involved.
She had to stand her ground.
Charlotte pressed her mouth into a thin, white line. “I’m aware of that.”
What had gotten into Savannah, and where did she get off judging her?
“You can’t give up nine months of your life for someone else. I know you’ve been in a funk, but this…this isn’t like you.”
