Amy led Oliver back into the room and went right to Sierra and hugged her. “Look how skinny you are.” Amy squeezed Sierra’s middle. “Two kids and I still haven’t lost the baby weight.” She stepped back and rubbed her hand over the barely there belly pooch.
Sierra had a matching one, even if her sister was kind enough not to point it out.
Dede saw it as a badge of honor. A sign your body had done something amazing. And it had. Her daughters had created life and given her beautiful grandchildren.
Amy rolled her eyes. “The last ten pounds are the worst.”
Fit. Toned. Amy worked out and ran after her kids nonstop. But Amy always found fault in something about herself. Dede worried that sometimes Amy put too much pressure on herself for no reason, battling her insecurities by trying to be perfect all the time.
Sierra looked her sister up and down with a frown. “You’re right. You’re fat. More cupcakes for me.”
Amy pursed her lips. “I’m sure you’re ready for something better than sweets and takeout by now.”
“You have no idea. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss cooking.”
Amy shrugged. “It’s all I can do to get a decent meal on the table some nights. The kids’ schedules are so packed. Dancing. Baseball. Swimming. Music lessons.”
“Stop signing them up for everything under the sun,” Dede remarked. She didn’t understand why Amy thought the kids needed to be occupied every second of the day. It left no time for them to be creative and use their imaginations without it being a planned activity.
“They enjoy it. And it makes them well-rounded kids.”
“So does riding their bikes with their friends on the street and playing in the backyard.” Dede wrapped her arm around Oliver. “Head up the stairs and find your brother. There’s a present up there for you.”
Oliver carried his bundle of things and ran up the stairs.
Amy sighed. “I wish I had his energy.” She turned to Sierra. “How are they doing after the fire and everything?”
“They miss the house and are sad we moved away from their friends. They’re heartbroken that all of David’s things are gone. It’s like they lost him all over again.” Sierra took a second to compose herself. “They seem to have an easier time getting through the day and accepting whatever we have to do in the moment. To be honest, they were getting bored and restless. Living in a motel room lost its shine about four days in. They just wanted to go home, but they knew there was no home to go back to and that made it even harder. The uncertainty about what we were going to do got to them. And me.” Sierra shifted from one foot to the other. “I had to make up my mind and get them settled either up there or here. Long term, this seemed like the best choice with you all here.” She let out a huge sigh. “No more moving around every couple days.”
“I’m happy you’re back.” Amy brushed her hand down Sierra’s arm. “It’ll be nice for the kids to spend time together. And Mom won’t be rattling around this house all alone.”
Dede took exception to that. She had a very full life. “I’m not alone. I have my clubs and friends. There’s something to be said about being solely responsible for only yourself.” She’d finally learned after four marriages how to be alone and be okay with it.
Oliver’s little feet pounded on the hardwood upstairs seconds before he shouted down to them. “Mom! Look!” He held up his new tablet.
Sierra smiled for the first time since they’d arrived. “Awesome!”
Oliver ran back to his brother and Sierra turned that smile on Dede. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
“Mom took care of keeping the kids occupied. I took care of the basics.” Amy pointed to the bags of clothes sitting one after the next going up the first four steps. “I got three outfits for each of you, plus a couple basics. Socks. Underwear. I know you’ll do a big school spree soon, but I thought you’d like something to tide you over.”
“Amy, you didn’t have to do that.” Sierra’s eyes glassed over at her sister’s generosity.
Amy took it in stride. “Of course I did. I just hope I got all the sizes right. I can’t have you wearing a Tweety Bird sweatshirt to school drop-off.” Amy wrinkled her nose, hip cocked; she wore her designer yoga pants and workout top that made her look chic and casual.
Sierra looked like she’d just stepped off an eight-hour bus ride with no air conditioning and a dozen screaming kids from Disneyland.
Someone knocked three times, then opened the front door. Heather walked in with Hallee. The eighteen-month-old toddled next to her mother in a pair of purple tennis shoes that lit up around the bottom with every step.
Emma scrambled over the back of the sofa.
“Hey, we don’t do that,” Amy scolded.
That didn’t stop Emma one bit. She ran for Hallee, took both her hands, and helped her walk into the living room area. Hallee smiled up at her older cousin and babbled some nonsense.
Heather sidestepped the laundry basket Sierra had left in the entry and stopped short of hugging Sierra. “Hey, sis. How are you?”
Dede wondered why Heather didn’t embrace her sister, but she didn’t say anything.
Sierra glanced at Hallee. “Look at her, Heather. She’s walking.”
“You were right. It goes by way too fast. Before I know it, she’ll be dating bad boys with rock T-shirts and leather boots.”
“So she’ll take after you,” Amy teased. “I’m guessing that’s the description of the father-who-shall-not-be-named.”
Of course Amy was teasing, but the menacing tone and mocking grin only made Heather glare at her older sister.
Heather dismissed Amy and turned to Sierra. “Where are the boys?”
“Upstairs glued to the new tablets Mom got them.”
“How are they doing?”
“It’s been hard, but they’re resilient. Once they’re in school making new friends, I think they’ll be happy here.”
“This isn’t just a visit to figure out what to do next? You’re staying for good?” Heather’s surprise and disbelief mixed with a hint of disapproval didn’t set off anything obvious in Sierra, but Dede wondered why Heather might not want her sister moving home.
What was with her odd behavior?
A bad day? Feeling that Sierra would get all the attention instead of her for a while?
Dede hated to admit that as a romantic at heart she’d sometimes gotten caught up in finding love and spending time with the men in her life, leaving the girls to jockey for her attention. She’d sometimes been selfish and distracted.
Sierra became self-sufficient early on. She reasoned things out and solved her own problems. She knew what needed to be done and got to it.
Amy turned into a perfectionist, hoping Dede would notice how excellent she was at everything. She craved acknowledgment and accolades for making things pretty, or getting the best grades, or having the perfect family.
Admittedly, because Heather was the youngest, Dede always found time for her. Sierra and Amy picked up the slack when Dede wasn’t around. Basically, Heather thought anything and everything she wanted would be handed to her.