I wondered idly what our little trio might look like from an outside perspective. Miranda’s life overflowed with travel and adventure. She was getting a degree, but also went whichever way the wind blew her. While Maureen’s life wasn’t entirely glamourous, it included some great parties and some very enviable outfits. Even today, for Thanksgiving in our little town, she wore a tailored pantsuit that looked straight out of a magazine. I had on my favorite “dressy” sweater I’d bought during my last trip to the Target outside Spokane.
Maybe some folks would see me as the sad sister. The boring one. But I’d tried leaving. I’d gone to college in Oregon and lived there until my mom got sick. And from the moment I’d put my suitcase back down in Coleman Creek, I’d known it was sprouting permanent roots. I belonged here.
After finishing our dinner, we sat in the dining room taking a digestion break before dessert. There was a lull in the conversation. The silence was pleasant at first, but as it stretched, I noticed my sisters trading some very strange glances across the table. Both looked as though they were daring the other to speak first.
“Alright, you two,” I said. “What’s up with the weird looks? I hope this isn’t more about James, because I’ve got to say I’m getting pretty irritated with—”
“It’s not about that,” Maureen interrupted, frowning slightly. “We have something to tell you, only we decided earlier to wait until after dinner. I’m not sure if it’s a big deal or not, but we didn’t want to risk upsetting you before we got through the meal.”
There had been a not-statistically insignificant chance this dinner could have gone sideways, or that we’d end up too sad to enjoy it. I could see the logic behind waiting. But since they both had to leave in an hour, they needed to get to the point.
“Alright,” I said. “I’m listening.”
Miranda straightened before jumping in. “So, when Maur and I drove in, I realized I’d forgotten the whipped cream. And obviously you can’t have chocolate mousse without that, so we stopped off to get some…” Her words trailed off as she chewed her bottom lip.
“And?” I prompted.
“And we ran into Kasen.”
I startled, before releasing a strangled sound. “My Kasen?”
“Is there another?” Maureen interjected, lips remaining downturned. “Yeah, it was your Kasen, just hanging out in the dairy aisle looking for sour cream. Don’t ask me why the hell you need sour cream on Thanksgiving.”
Obviously, he could have been buying it for anything. Lots of recipes called for sour cream. And while I appreciated my big sister thinking she needed to maintain a low-key grudge against my ex, it wasn’t necessary. It had certainly surprised me to hear his name, but I realized with some shock that I’d gone months without thinking about him. How had that happened? There had been a time when my thoughts had drifted to Kasen every day.
“It’s for mashed potatoes,” I said absently, thinking of the Thanksgivings I’d spent with his family. “His mom likes to whip them with sour cream.”
“Gross,” Maureen sneered, and I didn’t bother telling her it was delicious. I could tell her disdain was half-hearted. When Kasen and I had been together, he’d been a part of our family, close with both my sisters.
“Anyway,” Miranda cut in, “He saw us before we could hide in the cereal aisle. Came right over, chill as you please. We made small talk, because what else are we gonna do? It took him a few minutes to get there, but eventually it became clear he just wanted to ask about you, how you were doing and all that. He told us you stopped answering his texts when you broke up.”
“Yeah,” I intoned. “I blocked him. I guess I just…didn’t see the point.”
“Good.” Maureen hmphed. “After what he did to you—”
“Alright, alright,” Miranda chimed in, ever the peacemaker. “He wanted us to tell you he’s back in town through Christmas, staying with his parents, and he’d love to see you. Or just text with you. We almost weren’t going to say anything, but that didn’t seem right, so we compromised by deciding to do it after dinner.”
“It’s fine,” I assured her. “I have no idea why he’d want to see me, but it makes sense he’s in town for the holidays. Especially since he didn’t come back last summer for our high school reunion.”
“I wonder what he wants,” Miranda said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Maureen grumped. “After breaking my sister’s heart, he doesn’t get to ask for things.”
“Now wait a minute,” I said. “Let’s be real. He didn’t exactly do that. We had different priorities. I’ll admit it hurt when he stayed in Oregon, but in the end, I just wanted a clean break. He wanted to stay friends.”
“Is that so bad?” Miranda had such a soft heart.
“It’s not bad,” I conceded. “Staying friends with Kasen just wasn’t what I wanted. We were together for a long time. I didn’t think I could move past our relationship if we stayed in each other’s lives. Or at least, it would have made it harder.”
“Ugh. You’re always so pragmatic. Handling your business. Didn’t you ever just want to scream at Kasen or anything?” Miranda asked, leaning back in her chair. “When I broke up with my last boyfriend, I stayed in bed eating cookies and watching slasher movies for two days. And our relationship had only lasted four months!”
I reached out to steady my baby sister, who was a quarter inch away from tipping over backward. “We’re different. Besides, I told you I blocked his texts and stopped speaking to him. That honestly feels pretty harsh now that I think of it.”
“Harsh, maybe. But notmessy. Cutting off contact so you can move on and take care of yourself is, like, the literal definition of acleanbreak,” Miranda asserted.
“So, you and Kasen haven’t communicated in years. What do you think he wants now?” Maureen cut in.
“Probably nothing. Or maybe he just saw you two in the store and was trying to be polite.”
