Once in a Lifetime(30)

“How will that sell books?” she asked.

“Because it’s going to be a place where people want to come and hang out. And buy their reading material,” Aubrey said, trying to sound more positive than hopeful. “Don’t you and your fellow surgical residents have a bunch of reading and studying to do? I could give you guys a place to meet and get together, and give you a discount on your materials.”

“A discount,” Tammy said. She loved a good bargain. “Well, isn’t that nice?”

A few minutes later, Carla’s cell phone buzzed. She read a text and stood. “Sorry, I have to get back.” She looked at Aubrey. “I’ll let people know about your store and the discount. We get together on Sunday nights and Wednesday mornings at the ass crack of dawn.”

“My store is closed during those times, so you’d have the store exclusively.”

Carla hesitated. “We meet in the cafeteria now, and it’s not ideal. Their tea sucks.”

“My tea never sucks, and I’ll bring in goodies for you guys from the bakery next door,” Aubrey said.

Carla nodded, and then was gone a few minutes later.

“That was really sweet of you, looking out for your sister like that,” Tammy said. “You have such a big heart, honey.”

Aubrey looked at her as if to say Yeah, right.

“No, it’s true,” Tammy insisted. “Carla may have gotten the brains, but you got all the heart.”

Aubrey laughed. Okay, that she’d heard before, but there was no use in being insulted. Not when her mom meant it as the highest of compliments. Her gaze snagged on a stack of bills in the mess on the table. “How are you doing, Mom? Really?”

“I’m great, honey.”

Aubrey tapped the stack of bills.

Tammy shrugged. “Oh, those,” she said. “Don’t you worry about those. They’ll get paid in good time.”

“I’ve got a little savings left,” Aubrey said. Emphasis on little. “Let me—”

“No, no. I’ve got it, though you’ve proven my point about heart.” Tammy stroked Aubrey’s hair. “You’re still using that stuff I gave you from the salon, right? It’s a miracle worker, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Mom—”



“But you’re not wearing any lipstick.”

“I’m wearing gloss. And I was working.”

“You should always have lipstick on beneath,” Tammy said. “Especially when you’re working. It gives you color and pizzazz.”

“Carla wasn’t wearing any,” Aubrey said, “and you didn’t bug her about it.”

“Yes, well, I’m a little afraid of Carla, to be honest.”

Aubrey laughed.

“Are you telling me she doesn’t scare you?” Tammy asked, smiling.

“She scares the crap out of me,” Aubrey admitted, and they both laughed. And then her mom went back to her favorite topic. “There’s really no reason to slack off on how you look, you know. Even if you’re working your tush off. How many times have I told you: If you look good, then life is good.”

Aubrey suppressed her sigh. “I look fine.”

Tammy looked pained at this. “You know how I feel about that word.”

Fine was reserved for bad hair days. “I’m not on a modeling job, Mom.”

“Well you should be,” Tammy said. “You’d make a fortune. Goodness, you were on such a roll with the beauty contests. You could’ve gone all the way, honey. You could have become a model.”

“I love what I’m doing now,” Aubrey said, shuddering at the memory of her modeling days.

“That’s wonderful,” Tammy told her. “But I’m just saying. You’re so pretty, baby. And your figure! You could have done catalogs. You could have been one of those angels for Victoria’s Secret.”

Aubrey laughed.

“I’m serious!”

Sad thing was, Tammy was serious. And she could have no idea, but Aubrey had given modeling a try. There’d been some lowbrow modeling, which had led to some lowerbrow modeling, which had led to some things that Aubrey tried very hard not to think about, though she had managed to pay for most of her college tuition that way. “Modeling isn’t for me,” she said firmly.

Tammy sighed. “If you say so.”

“I do.”

“I just want you to be taken care of,” Tammy said.

“I’m perfectly taken care of, Mom. By myself.”

Tammy smiled. “Oh, I know. You’re so strong, Aubrey. So independent. I know you’ve had to be. Sometimes I worry we did the wrong thing, your dad and I, splitting you two up like we did the furniture and silver.”

“You did what you had to,” Aubrey said.

“For me,” Tammy agreed. “I loved you both so much, but your father and I…we were on track to kill each other. I just figured the best thing was to split everything up, including you girls. And when it worked out so well, your sister with your daddy and you with me, it just got easy to not switch around so often.”

“Or at all,” Aubrey said mildly.

Tammy sighed. “Or at all.”

“Dad wasn’t much for following the rules.”