Lie, Lie Again(24)
“Hi, Mom! You know me. Once I’m up, I’m up.”
“I wish your sister would wake up earlier. I have to wait until four our time to reach her. Speaking of which, have you checked in with her lately? She said she hadn’t heard from you.”
Great. Even from Australia, Rowan was tattling on her. “I texted her a few days ago, but she never got back to me. It takes two to communicate.” She tried to keep the edge from her voice, but she couldn’t stand that Rowan always put a spin on things. If they hadn’t talked, it was Riki’s fault. If Riki was worried about something, she was just being dramatic. A problem had occurred? Must be Riki behind it. Everything was her fault.
“Well, she made it sound like you hadn’t tried. Maybe she’s just missing home. We all need to make the effort to show her how much we support her and miss her.”
“Mom, she’s doing fine. Look at her Instagram posts. She’s literally having a blast.”
“Well, I just worry. Australia is so far away. And with the time difference, it’s hard. Anyhoo, in other news, a tree fell onto Grandma’s car last night when lightning struck it. Is it still raining down your way? I saw on the news the rain was coming down hard in LA.”
“What? Is she okay? Was she in the car at the time?”
“Oh, she’s perfectly fine. She was in the house watching Wheel of Fortune when she heard the boom. It happened just as she’d figured out the bonus-round puzzle—before the contestant, I might add. I keep telling her she should audition for the show. She’d win, you know. Anyway, the tree fell smack on the hood of the car. Grandma said it was a blessing. Ever since the news stories about the acceleration problem with Toyotas came out, she’s sure it can happen with any foreign car. She said she wants me to look at Lincolns with her. She likes the one in the Matthew McConaughey commercial.”
“Of course she does. What does Grandpa think of that?”
“Oh, you know Grandpa. He’ll go along with whatever she says. Whoa, hang on, hon. Greg! Gregory! The oven mitt is on fire! Can you grab it before you burn down the house?”
“Mom! What’s going on? Do you need to go?”
“Hmm? Oh, we’re fine, dear. Your dad just left the oven mitt too close to the burner, and it caught fire. He’s making us southwestern omelets. I told him not to make mine spicy. You know how he is with the hot sauce. Between you and me, I think he’s destroyed his taste buds. Anyway, it’s the third or fourth oven mitt he’s burned in the last month. I’m happy he’s taken up cooking, but I’ll tell you what, I bought a little handheld fire extinguisher a week ago just in case.”
“Good call.”
“Yes. Come to think of it, I’ll order one for you. I’m sure they have them on Amazon. Most likely for less than I got mine.”
“Thanks, Mom. That sounds great. So back to Grandma, you’re sure she’s okay?”
“Perfectly fine. Like I said, she was inside. The city is sending someone out to haul away the tree. You should call her, though. I’m sure she’ll want to tell you all about it.”
“I will.”
“All right, dear. It was good talking to you. Your dad says hi. He’s waving me over so I can try the omelet.” She lowered her voice. “I’ll let you know how it is. Let’s hope it’s better than the chicken piccata he made.”
Riki laughed. Now that her dad was semiretired, it was like her parents had sipped from the fountain of youth. Or a fountain of fun. Even though her mom complained, Riki knew she was endlessly amused by her father’s antics. “Good luck. I love you.”
“Love you too. Daddy’s blowing kisses. Okay, bye!”
“Bye.”
She hung up and stared out the window, feeling more alone than ever. Was it because her parents sounded like they were having a ton of fun without her? It would be nice if they could at least act like they missed her. Like they couldn’t wait to see her, the same way they couldn’t wait for Rowan to come home. Her mom even had a calendar with big Xs on it, crossing off the days until her greatly awaited return.
And come to think of it, her mom hadn’t even bothered to ask how she was doing. It was becoming all too common, like she always just assumed everything was fine. It’s because I spend so much time faking that everything is fine, she thought. Well, no one liked a complainer. It was easier to plaster on a smile and pretend. She turned her lips up, trying for one, but she knew if she were to look in the mirror, she would look like a demented clown.
The rain was falling at a slant. It was too wet outside for Brandon to mow the lawn. Not that she would’ve watched today. She decided late last night that she was going to approach this Brandon thing the way someone would go about quitting smoking or cutting carbs. One small step at a time.
She forced herself to block him from her mind’s eye and instead pictured her mom and dad in the house she grew up in, enjoying Saturday-morning omelets, but strangely enough, she was at the table with them. A lump built in her throat. Maybe that was the real reason for her loneliness. It’d be nice to have someone to spend the rainy Saturday with. A family of her own. Maybe she would call Chris later and see if he wanted to come over tonight to make pasta with garlic bread. He was a good guy. Everyone liked him. And it would be a perfect night to stay in and enjoy dinner with a movie, especially since it hadn’t worked out last night.