“I’m so sorry, Mr. Orso!” She wipes her hand across her reddened face. “He just came to help me move the desk so I could vacuum under it, and it was just an accident, and—”
“Andrea!”
“Yes, sir?” she mumbles sheepishly.
“Clean the fucking desk again.”
“Yes, sir! Right away, sir!”
I stomp off to my bathroom to take a shower. No matter how much soap I use, I can’t seem to scrub off the creepy-crawly sensation all over my skin.
My sister.
I swallow back bile, rinse off, and head out of the bathroom with a towel around my waist, nearly slipping on a puddle just outside the shower. Clearly, I hadn’t shut the door all the way. After driving all night and not taking the medication I’m supposed to take before I go to bed, I feel like I could fall over at any second, wet floor or not. I keep checking the corners for visions of Pops.
I dress and head back downstairs to my office, still trying to figure out what I’m going to say to everyone. Before I can get there, Nora stops me.
“Oh good, you’re back!” Nora rushes up and hands me a folder full of brochures. “I know you want to move quickly on this, so I’ve gotten things started for you. I assume you don’t really care about flowers, and you’re not allowed to see the dress, so I set up appointments to get those picked out, and I’ll take Cherry with me, of course. I was thinking we’d go for the first week of May. Does that sound good to you? I’m not sure we’ll have time to make all the arrangements otherwise. May gives us time, and the spring flowers should be coming up. If you’re thinking of an outside ceremony, we’ll have to make preparations for rain.”
“Nora, stop.”
“Oh, don’t get all excited!” Nora places her hand on my chest. “You’ll get to make some decisions, of course. I figured you’d like to do the music and help pick out the cake.”
“Nora, please—”
“Oh! Photographers! I think that place near the lodge would work out. They did a nice job with my pictures though I did end up burning them all. We’ll need—”
“Shut up, Nora!” I scream. “The wedding is off! Just fucking stop already!”
“Off?” Nora takes a step back, and I watch her face fall. “What happened, Nate? What did you do?”
“What did I do? Geez, thanks a lot. Great support there, sis.”
“Well, what happened then? Where is Cherry?”
“I dropped her off at her apartment. She’s only staying long enough to make sure the Ramsays won’t bother her anymore.”
“Did they come back again?”
“Someone shot at us,” I say in monotone. “I can’t imagine who else it would be.”
“Is she all right?” Nora looks me up and down. “Are you all right?”
“Am I all right?” I turn on her, yelling. “No, I’m not fucking all right! I might never be all right again, assuming I ever was in the first place!”
“Nataniele! What’s gotten into you?”
“The wedding is off!”
“What?” Nora glares at me. “What did you do?”
“Again with the accusations?” I grit my teeth and clench my fists.
“Well, you do have a track record, dear brother.”
Brother.
I don’t look back at Nora. I can’t. If I do, the pressure in the back of my eyes is going to erupt in tears, and I can’t do that now.