Uninvolved (40 page)

There was something about a sister that made it possible to pick up like time had never
passed
from their last meeting. As sisters
,
they knew things about each other no one else would know. Like her mother
,
Lilly only wanted what was best for Becka
.
The
difference was Lilly was less concerned about what it was. Where her mother would not be happy until Becka was married and had a baby
,
Lilly knew that Becka could still be happy until or if that happened at all. For that
,
Becka would be eternally grateful
.
It
wouldn’t hurt
, though,
if Lilly got knocked up again in the mean time to take a bit of pressure off.
After collecting her suitcase from baggage claim
,
Becka followed Lilly out of the airport towards the parking deck.

"Holy crap
,
it
’
s cold. Where's
y
our car?"

"
Not far. But let me just say
,
Becka
,
that
I know you are happy to see me
,
but something is up
.
Spill
,
babe."

"You will not even flipping believe it
.
I almost don’t want to talk about it
.
I'm terrified that it didn’t really happen or I'll jinx it."

"Alright
.
Now
you're killing me. Tell me!"

"Okay, so I'm standing in line waiting to check in
,
and my phone goes o
ff
.
Well,
I couldn’t answer it then
,
and
I didn’t check my message until I was at the gate
,
and you'll never believe who it was
.
" Becka kept right
on going
.
"It was
Nate
.
He
wanted
to talk because he
wants to
try dating."

"Becka
,
that's great. I know how much you like him. You just let him know if he hurts you
,
he'll have to deal with me."

"Sure
,
Lilly
.
I'll definitely threaten Mr.
Ski
tt
ish on your behalf."

"Fine, fine
.
D
on’t tell him, but you know it
.
Okay,
baby
doll?"

"
Best big sister ever!"

As Lilly put Becka's suitcase in her trunk
,
she grinned
.
"Can't argue with you there."

On the way to Becka's parent
s’
house
,
Lilly gushed about Mason and how he was doing. Becka could not wait to see him. He was almost two
.
Becka hoped he wouldn’t be scared of her.
She met him once when he was first born and was pretty sure he had forgotten her by now.

"Hey
,
is it cool if I call
Nate
and let him know I'm here?"

"Only if I can shout random embarrassing things in the background."

"I'll risk it
,
" Becka said
,
hitting the call button.

It rang once before he answered.

"Hey
,
kid
.
"

"Hey
,
you
.
"

"BECKA DIDN'T GET BOOBS UNTIL ELEVENTH GRADE!"

“
Lilly
,
shut up!
Nate
,
my sister is being a troll
.
Please
ignore anything she says."

"Did she say something about boobs?"

"Yep
.
I was a late bloomer. Well
,
this is fun."

"BECKA EATS MORE IN ONE SITTING THEN ANYONE I EVER MET!"

"Lilly, seriously
,
shut the fuck up."

"Tell your sister I already know about your freakish appetite."

"I will
,
but let me call you later when I'm not trapped in a car with her."

"Sounds good
.
I'll talk to you later."

"
Bye."

Becka ended the call and glared at Lilly. Lilly just shrugged and stuck her tongue out.

"I can not believe you just did that."

"Oh
,
you and I both know I could have said much worse."

"But why did you have to embarrass me like that?"

"
It's what I do."

Becka could not do anything else but laugh and plot revenge
.
And
text
.
Texting
would be a safer form of communication for the time being. Becka sent
Nate
a quick text apologizing for her crazy sister. He replied that he was game to talk about her boo
bs and
/
or eating habits anytime
, preferably boobs though.
Becka
replied that all boob conversations could wait
until
she was back in
Arizona
.
They texted back and forth the rest of her ride
.
Becka let him know when they pulled up to her parent
s’
house.

There was something about coming home that made Becka
feel like a little kid again. Becka's parent
s’
house was decorated for the holiday
s
, with wreaths a
,
lit candle in each of the front windows, and white lights coiled around the front porch railings.
Becka was torn between wanting to stare at the house and being so cold she wanted to race inside. She split the difference by slowly walking to the door, which was open
.
Her
mother
stood
in the doorway

"Mom!"

"Hi
,
sweetie
.
Hurry
inside and let me hug and kiss you."

Becka hurried the rest of the way and into her mother's arms. Chris, Lilly's husband
,
came out to help Lilly with Becka's bags, giving her a kiss on the check on his way past her. Her mother led her into the living room
,
where her dad was watching a college football bowl game.

"Hey
,
dad!"

Keeping one eye on the game
,
her dad got up to give her a hug and a kiss.

"Where's Mason?"

"He's asleep
,
sweetie
.
In
Lilly's old room
.
You
want to take a peek at him?" her mother asked.

"Ya'll better not wake him. He is impossible to get back to sleep
,
" Lilly said
,
walking into the room.

"Awww
.
Come
on
.
Do
you think it's safe for me just to sneak a peek?"

"Be quiet
,
" Lilly warned.

Becka and her mother tip
-
toed upstairs to peek on Mason. He looked so sweet
.
Becka had to fight the urge to kiss his little chubby cheeks. When he rustled
,
Becka and her mom dashed out of the room and back downstairs as quietly as possible. Becka's dad was still watching the game
.
Lilly and Chris had gone into the kitchen to hang out. Their parent
s’
kitchen had a center island with three stools. Becka's mom laughed seeing Becka, Lilly
,
and Chris sitting on them.

"Reminds me of when you girls were in
h
igh
s
chool. It is so good to have you home
,
Becka. When are you moving back? Have you met anyone? How's Dave?"

Her mother's
questions
seemed endless. Begging exhaustion after talking for a couple of hours
,
Becka went up to her room. Lilly and Chris went back to their house
.
Lilly would be back in the morning to collect Mason
,
and this gave them a night off. Becka felt the time warp of stepping into her old room. Lilly's room had somewhat been updated into a grandbaby room for Mason while Becka's room seemed unch
anged. The artwork had changed, but that was about it.
Becka shook her head
,
thinking of the posters she used to have up.

Otherwise
,
the furnitur
e was the same, even though the bedding had changed. Becka plugged her phone into its charger as she unpacked her bags. After hanging up her clothes and getting set for bed
,
she called
Nate
.

"Are we communicating too much?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Come on
,
Nate
.
The
bulk of our phone calls or texts before today were pretty
much ‘
can I come over
’
and
‘
okay
.
’
Today has been a whole lotta phone talking for us."

"We're good, I just would prefer it if you were here."

"Me too."

"Well I just wanted to call and say I was thinking of you, but I should probably go to bed so the time difference tomorrow is less painful."

"Sweet dreams
,
kid."

The next morning
,
Becka woke to the happy babbling of Mason. Becka was so excited to see him she almost raced down the stairs. Mason was sitting in a highchair eating some bits of a waffle and sliced up banana.
Becka introduced herself to Mason and hung out with him while he ate, even letting him feed her a couple of very mushy bites of waffle. Part of Becka had been scared he would not like her, but he seemed happy to have her company.

When Lilly came to collect him
,
they had moved
him
from the highchair to the den
,
w
h
ere
Mason began
playing with blocks. Becka had mastered making him laugh with silly faces. Lilly came and sat with them, scooping Mason into her lap and kissing him. Becka went up to take a shower and get dressed so she could ride back with Lilly to their house. Becka was going to spend the day with her and then go out that evening with some friends from
h
igh
s
chool.

Ashley
, one of her best girlfriends
,
swung by to pick her up. She
took her into Old Town
Alexandria to a local bar. When they walked in
,
it seemed somewhat like a
h
igh
s
chool reunion
.
S
he recognized so many faces. Becka had fun having a beer and catching up.
When the topic came to boyfriends
,
she blushed and admitted there was a guy back in
Phoenix. Another hot topic was Dave
.
Some
of her friends were not convinced there was anything more going on with them because they lived together. Becka had to laugh out loud at that thought
.
Um,
no, she stressed. She was nothing more than friends with Dave.

Becka had gotten up to go to the bathroom when she was pulled into a tight hug.

"Chad!"

"Hey
,
hotness! How long are you in town?"

"All week
.
We
should hang out."

"Man
,
Becka
.
You
look really good
,
" Chad whispered huskily in her ear.