"She teases you about Rainer too?" Barbie asked.
I threw my hands up in the air. "Why do you keep bringing up Rainer?" I asked.
"Why does it keep bothering you?" Barbie asked.
I stomped back to the front steps. "What, are we in junior high school again?"
Barbie looked down at her rounded belly. "Thank God we're not."
I plopped down on the front steps and glared up at her. "I'm sick of matchmakers," I said.
My sister put her fists where her waist used to be and laughed. "Tasha, when are you going to realize that you can't fool me? All of your so-called problems stem from the same thing, and it's time you admitted it."
"What problems?" I asked.
"The blank slate inside, the belief that you'll never be content; it all comes from the same place," Barbie said.
"Fine," I groaned. "Just tell me. What is the root of all my problems?"
My sister put both hands on my cheeks and raised my face up to her smile. "You're in love."
#
The gorgeous redhead looped her arm through mine, and I felt a rush of excitement as I escorted her down the front steps. We stood in my brick-paved driveway and looked up at the house.
"It wouldn't have been so cold and echoing if you'd actually furnished it," she said.
"You thought it was cold too? When I first saw it, I figured all the sunshine would warm it up," I said.
She shook her shiny hair. "No, warming it up is your job."
I chuckled at her purring voice and extricated myself from her grasp. "Now, don't start with that again. I know you're a married woman."
"Has that ever stopped you before?" she asked.
I sighed. "So, you need anything else from me?"
The redhead patted my arm and smiled. "No, dear. Just teasing you a little. I'm glad you decided to sell. This place just isn't the right fit for you."
"Yeah," I said, shoving my hands in my pockets, "but it sure did look good for a while."
"Well, if you'd stop beating around the bush about what you really want, I could find you a place that would fit you to a T," she said.
I kissed her cheek. "You're a great realtor, but I'm just not ready to buy again."
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She sighed. "Another bachelor resigned to hotel living. The bane of my profession."
My real estate agent cruised down the driveway and honked once before disappearing into the splendid curves of my soon-to-be old neighborhood. It felt good to be getting rid of something that had fit my image and not me.
My smile was short-lived as my brother drove in at break-neck speed. I refused to move, and he squealed to a stop just inches from my shins. "Good to see you, Evan," I called.
"So, it was just too respectable for you, huh?" Evan asked.
I gritted my teeth against his appraising look. "Yup. Too rich for my blood. Oh wait, that statement doesn't really fit, but you know what I mean," I said.
Evan sniffed. The only point of contention he had anymore was my choice of living space. Now that my charity work was starting to garner notice, he couldn't even mock me for my lack of a job.