“Yes. You’re all of those things. But you’re alsoyou. You’re back tobeing the Spencer who calls me a couple times a week and comes to family dinnerandstays. Iknow you’re sad, honey, but that’ll pass. And to me, it’s worth it just to havemy little sister back. I missed her.”
Spencer’s eyes welled.
“Therefore…”
“There’s more?” Spencer said, in a feigned horrified protest.
Mary Beth laughed. “Therefore, I think you should find out whereRebecca is.”
Spencer grimaced.
“Can’t hurt, can it? I mean, if she’s not interested or she’s gotsomebody now, you’re no worse for wear. Right?”
That was true. It was a reasonable idea. A super-intimidating andterrifying idea, but a reasonable one.
“Spencer, you didn’t finish your cookie.” Travis bounced into thekitchen like he bounced everywhere, a grown man who walked like a happytoddler. He held out the remaining half of Spencer’s cookie, but stopped whenhe saw her face. “Why are you crying?” he asked, his voice going soft, concernevident on his face.
“I’m not,” Spencer said, wiping her cheek and sniffing. “I’mokay.”
“You promise?” he asked, his innocent eyes wide. “I don’t want youto be sad anymore. It makes me sad when you’re sad.”
“It does?”
He nodded, his expression serious, and Spencer held her arms opento him.
As he stepped in and let her hug him, she said, “I promise to stopbeing sad very soon. Okay?” She felt him nod against her shoulder. Then hepulled back.
“Here.” He held the cookie out again. “Mom says you have to finishwhat you started.”
Spencer looked at the offering, reached her hand out to take thecookie as the words resonated.
You have tofinish what you started…
Chapter Twenty-Two
By the beginning of March, the snow was still piled higher thanmost people liked. Spencer, however, didn’t mind. She enjoyed winter. She likedcurling up in a big, bulky sweatshirt and reading a good book on the couch. Shehad also begun to really enjoy snowshoeing this year, something new that Lucyhad gotten her into. No, Spencer didn’t hate winter. What she did hate aboutMarch, though, was the brown. Everything went from sparkling clean and white tobrown and dirty and just kind of gross. The roads were wet. The cars in frontof you spat dirty road spray onto your windshield. The banks of snow leftlooked like they’d been draped with a light brown veil of sorts. Any spots thatwere free of snow were simply muddy.
March was dirty, and therefore, Spencer’s least favorite month ofthe year.
Except for this year.
This year, the beginning of March marked a change for Spencer. Alot of changes, actually. It marked the start of her new life. That was how sheliked to look at it. She’d needed time, and she’d taken it. After she and Martihad split last November, Spencer had been reeling, that was true. Reeling forwhat felt like a lot longer than it was. But Mary Beth had been right. She wasready.
Spring meant new beginnings, and this was definitely a newbeginning for her. She pulled the door to BodyFit open and walked in for thefirst time in more than three months.
The young man behind the counter was new to Spencer, his sandyhair shaved on the sides and styled into a fun swoop at the top, as perfectlyplaced as the hair on a cartoon character. Absently, she wondered how muchproduct he had to use to keep it from moving. Below the swoop, he had a silverhoop piercing his eyebrow, and his smile was friendly and welcoming.
“Hi there. What can I do for you?”
“I have my first appointment with my trainer.” She gave him thename and he punched some keys on the computer.
“Terrific. Why don’t you go get changed and I’ll have her meet youin the cardio area?”
With a nod of thanks, Spencer headed to the locker room. She sether bag in a locker and pulled out her phone to silence it just as it pinged ather. A text message from Lucy.
You doingokay?
A small smile tugged at the corners of Spencer’s mouth as shetyped back.So far.
