Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 67465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
They both wait anxiously on the other side. Remi goes another couple of shades whiter, and Kimmy bites on her bottom lip unmercifully. I wait too, my hand digging in my jeans pocket for my phone in case I’m the one who needs to call an ambulance. Kimmy might have made the damn thing, but I got all flustered and tongue-tied and didn’t warn Remi about it, and she passed it off, so this is kind of equally my fault.
“God, your Nanny has an iron stomach,” Remi remarks. She starts to pace the hallway. Kimmy stands in place, but she’s looking more worried than I’ve ever seen her. Considering my sister is a bit of a selfish diva, that’s saying a lot.
“How backed up was she?” Kimmy wonders.
They both go quiet as they wait.
Not more than five minutes after she went in, the bathroom door cracks open, and Nanny comes out, looking as laidback as ever. Remi and Kimmy both rush to her, their faces twisted up with anxiety. “Very satisfying,” Nanny announces, closing the bathroom door tightly behind her. “Although, you might want to give the bathroom a few minutes to air out. I opened the window, but you know…don’t go lighting a match anytime soon. Tee hee hee. Anyway, no doctor needed.”
I can’t just let this go. Not when Kimmy could have poisoned Nanny or whoever drank that shake with that much laxative. Also, there’s the whole defending my dignity thing. I’d way rather go out to the backyard and forget about all this, but if I don’t stand my ground now, how am I supposed to live here in peace?
I round the corner, my hands limply at my sides. I don’t really have to pretend very hard to be angry. The steel in my spine, the heavy breaths, and the ground together back teeth are all natural. Kimmy sees me coming before Remi does. She pokes an elbow hard into Remi’s side, and her head shoots up hard enough to nearly knock the happy little framed family photos off the wall behind her. She was so pale before, but a faint pink creeps up her neck and explodes into her cheeks, and fuck me if I don’t find myself needing to adjust myself ever so casually before I pop another very unwanted hard-on. I’m not sure what’s going on with the boner springing whenever Remi is near, and I wonder if it has to do with the subtle scent of cinnamon and vanilla that seem to cling to her, but anyway, focus.
Right. Kimmy. Company. Get in and get out. Get it done and salt the earth after. No, wait. That’s not right. I’m here to try and make amends with my family, not make things worse.
Kimmy’s nostrils flare the closer I get. She’s one big sassy ball of “can you please get the fuck out of my space?” She’s practically breathing fire, and no, that’s not fumes wafting from the bathroom. Even Nanny pauses and looks between us, eyeing us warily like all unholy hell is going to break loose.
“Van,” Kimmy spits. “So good to see you back.” She says that in the way I’d probably say I’d like a bottle of laxative after all.
“It’s not good,” I mutter. “But it was time. And I know what you’re thinking. That I’ve come for you and yours, but I haven’t. I came back because you and mom and Nanny, you’re all family. That’s what matters.”
Kimmy rolls her eyes. “Fucking, please. That’s a crock of hot shit if I’ve ever heard a crock before. You don’t need to ladle it out. We can all smell it.” Nanny’s eyes track to the bathroom. Yeah, they really do. “Where were we as your family two years ago when Dad died, and you didn’t even bother showing up for the funeral? Or for the past fourteen years when any of us needed you? Where were you then? You couldn’t even be bothered to send a Christmas card or let anyone know that you’re still alive.” Kimmy might be fuming, but there, behind the raging inferno of epic spice times a thousand rage in her eyes, I can see the hurt.
I abandoned my baby sister. I got married and left home and went to Europe. There were so many things she didn’t know. Things I never want her to know and also things our mom hasn’t told her yet. I always wanted to protect her. Always. And I did that by staying away.
I put up a hand as Remi slowly grasps Kimmy’s arm. I think it’s in solidarity, but it might be to hold her back. “I wanted to make amends,” I tell her. “I really did.” And then it was too late. I had my head up my ass crack for too long, but I’m home now.