Becca's Baby

“Have you had dinner?”

“Yeah, but I can eat again. I left lunch before we ate today.”

Instantly defensive on Sari’s behalf, Becca readied herself to say something scathing about whichever sister had been insensitive to Sari.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” Sari said. “Janice found some great stuff on Samuel Montford. But it was so sad I just needed to get out for a while.”

“I’m sorry, Sar.”

Sari shrugged. “It didn’t last long,” she said, then grinned. “And it gave me an excuse to cut out early on Mom. She wore that hideous flowered thing again. She was so busy telling Janice and Betty about some talk show she’d seen on TV I don’t think she even knew I left.”

Becca believed her. Their mother loved them all dearly, but she was more than a little absent most of the time.

“Are we going to eat that or just smell it to death?” Sari looked pointedly at the carton Becca still held.

“Guess we’d better eat it. Want to grab some plates and forks?”

Becca was glad to share her meal. Dinner was the hardest one to keep down, so the less she sent down in the first place, the better.

“So where were you today?” Sari asked, helping herself to one of the cabbage rolls.

“I had an appointment,” Becca said. It felt strange not confiding in Sari; they’d always told each other everything. But she knew Sari would anguish right along with her, and Sari didn’t need that. She was just starting to rejoin the world.

Sari chewed, swallowed. “Same place you had an appointment last week?” she asked.

Startled by the challenging tone in her sister’s voice, Becca stared at her, fork raised halfway to her mouth. It had been so long since she’d heard that tone she’d almost forgotten it.

“No,” she said slowly.

Sari took another bite. “Were both of your appointments in Phoenix?”

“No.”

“Where was the other one?”

“Tucson. Why?” Becca asked, exasperated by all the questions, especially since she already felt uncomfortable about keeping something so important from her sister. But she was just a bit thrilled, too, that Sari was taking such an int

erest. She’d missed that so much these past two years, Sari’s interest.

“Because I want to know what’s wrong.”

Sari had finished her cabbage roll. Becca had barely started hers. Her stomach was roiling.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Becca said, getting up to take their dishes to the sink.

Following her, Sari dropped her hand over Becca’s on the faucet. “You forget I know you, Bec. You were vague last week and you even missed lunch today. That means something’s wrong.”

Becca met Sari’s worried gaze and was tempted to spill it all right then and there. She’d needed Sari so desperately these past couple of weeks. Especially since Will had stopped talking to her.

How could she reach her husband if he never gave her a chance to speak?

And how long could this go on before permanent damage was done to their marriage?

But as she looked at her sister—and saw the residual sadness lurking in Sari’s big brown eyes—she knew she couldn’t ask for Sari’s help.

“I’m just busier than I expected with the city-council job,” she said, instead.