Not Broken: The Happily Ever After(88)

She leaned forward to kiss me. “It has crap pay.”

I smiled against her lips. “But excellent benefits,” I replied before kissing her again.





Chapter 47


Calida





“Evening, sister dear,” Dorian greeted when she opened the door.

“Hello, Dorian.”

Shawn wiggled to get free. I sat him down and he took off in search of his grandparents.

“He never stops.”

“Not when he’s awake,” I affirmed.

Mom was setting the table when we entered the living room. “Hey, sweetie.”

I walked over and gave her a quick hug. “Hey. Smells good.”

Dad and Shawn were on the floor playing with his cars and trucks. Dad hoisted himself up to walk over and greet me.

“Collin, get the baby in his chair, it’s time to eat.”

Dad got Shawn settled while Mom cut up pieces of food for him. I grabbed his cup out of the diaper bag and headed into the kitchen to fill it.

“So, Calida, where were you last night?” Dorian asked as we sat down.

I shot her a death glare, which she ignored. “Out.”

“All night?”

“When do you move again?”

She laughed.

“Did you have a date? We would have babysat,” Mom commented. “How is Malcolm? Is he settling into his house all right?”

“Yes, Mom, he’s settling in. I’ve been helping him decorate.”

I shot Dorian another look. She simply smiled as she cut into her steak. What the hell was her problem? Couldn’t we spend time together without her trying to put me on the spot?

“You could have invited him. I wouldn’t have grilled him too hard about his intentions for my baby girl,” Dad said, smiling as he took a drink of sweet tea.

“He is having dinner with Macy, and I’m sure he’s facing interrogation over there all the same. Oh, but news, Macy’s pregnant again.”

The news was met with happiness, as expected. Unfortunately, it also led into the discussion of them wanting more grandkids. By the end of dinner, I had the pull to have something stronger than sweet tea, but refrained. They didn’t keep alcohol in the house anyway, other than the occasional six-pack of beer for Dad.

Dorian and I were on dish duty so Mom and Dad could spend some time with Shawn.

I started loading the dishes in the dishwasher while she put away the leftovers. “What was that all about?”

“What?”

“You questioning my whereabouts?”

She shrugged. “I was worried.”

“Bullshit. For one, you only vaguely show concern for me if it’s somehow tied to something about yourself. And two, if you were truly worried, you would have called or texted, but I got nothing.”

She leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms in front of her. “Will you be having another sleepover tonight?”

Defenses on high alert, I turned to face her. “I don’t know. And if I am, what business is it of yours?”

“Don’t get your panties in a wad. It was just a question.”

I didn’t bother to say anything more. Pushing my buttons was one of Dorian’s favorite pastimes. It was a safer option to not engage. We worked in silence until she brought the remaining pots over for me to load.

“Daniel called.”

I stopped and looked at her, again seeing the stress in her well-maintained features. “What did he want?”

She smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Me back of course. He knows what he’s missing.”

Moments like these shouldn’t be awkward, but they were. This whole experiment of being roommates had held pockets of these moments, and they continued to take me by surprise.

“So...you two going to try and work things out?”

“Ha. Hell no. He got his one shot, and he blew it. Plus, I know what he’s up to. His first alimony check is due.”

She tried to be nonchalant about it, but I saw that hint of sadness and regret. It was a look I was all too familiar with.

I closed the dishwasher. “I still have plenty of bottles of wine. Too bad you don’t have any of his stuff. Burning things is very therapeutic.”

She cocked her head to the side, frowning at me before breaking out in laughter. Before long, I joined in, and we were both lost in uncontrollable giggles.

“Never knew doing the dishes could be so much fun,” Mom said as she walked into the kitchen.

I wiped tears away as I composed myself. “Gotta find fun in the mundane right?”

“I guess living together has done you two some good.”

“Don’t go getting carried away, Mom,” Dorian said. Before walking out she gave a slight nod in my direction.

As strange as it seemed, living with her had done us some good. Either that or I was back to being my same old naive self, but I felt as if I was getting to know my sister for the first time.

After having to convince my parents it was okay for me to take home a sleeping Shawn, I climbed into my car. I thought about my brief conversation with Dorian; her asking about where I would be tonight. She was lonely, possibly, especially if Daniel called her last night. I’d probably regret this, but I decided to head home instead of back to Malcolm’s.