“What?”
“She has to like you too. No one goes through this much effort for someone they don’t like.”
“What about for someone they loathe?”
Tess shakes her head. “You said you talked stuff through at the dinner and how she had the newspaper retract the ad.”
“I guess you’re right.” I mull over the idea of Kelsey potentially liking me. “She also brought me lunch at work this week because she felt awful about it all.”
“See? It’s a thing. I know it.” She grins.
“Do you have any prank ideas? I’m not sure what to do next.”
“Remember that annoying little cricket-chirping thing you hid in my house a few years ago? That’s good if you want to make her dig through her entire house or car for a day trying to find a non-existent cricket.”
“Have I ever told you that you’re my favorite sister?”
She presses her cheek to her shoulder and looks up, fluttering her eyelashes. “Please, tell me more.”
“You’re so weird.”
“No. I’m yourfavorite.” Tess grins.
It does my heart good to see her so happy. I know she misses Evie—and maybe even me—something fierce, but she’s also great at what she does. I know she must be thriving in an environment where she gets to shine all day long, doing what she loves.
At least, I think she loves her job. She doesn’t talk about it much. Tess teases me about everything, but when it comes to trying to ask her questions about her own life, she gives me vague answers, deflects questions, or brings up Evie as her excuse. I make a mental note to get her to open up more when she’s back home. There’s little point trying to do it now when we have limited time and she could easily hang up on me.
“Don’t make me change my mind,” I say.
“How could you after I just gave you the best prank?”
“Did I mention how humble you are, too?”
She sticks her tongue out at me, then glances at her watch. “I should get back to work.”
“I know you already talked to Evie, but do you want me to grab her so you can say goodbye again?”
My sister dabs at her eyes with the sleeve of her t-shirt. “No, it’s hard enough to say goodbye once. I’m not sure I can do it again right now.”
I shoot her a pitying look. “You only have a little under two months to go. You’ve got this, sis.”
“Give Evie a big hug for me?” Her voice is shaky, riddled with emotion.
“I’ll squeeze her extra tight. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
When we hang up, my heart physically hurts for my sister. I wish I could do more for her, but that’s a little hard with her on the other side of the globe. I make another mental note to be more intentional when she’s back home. With our parents away and her single parenting, I feel like it’s my responsibility to make sure she and Evie have everything they need.
I get up from the kitchen table and dig through my junk drawer until I find what I’m looking for—the small sound device that makes annoying cricket sounds at random intervals. When I bought it, some of the reviews said the battery life could last for up to three years.
With help from my little sidekick, this is the perfect prank to pull on Kelsey.
“Hey, Eves?”
Her footsteps come bounding down the stairs. She skids to a stop in the entryway to the kitchen. “Yeah?”
“This is from your mom.” I bend down, picking her up and squeezing her tight.
