I sigh. “So, neither of us is getting any.”
“I didn’t say that.” She winks.
Maybe I should invest in some red underwear…
Keva grabs the handle of her suitcase and swats my ass before heading to the door. “Put on Big Bang, finish your masterpiece, and then do the big bang, even if it’s virtually. That’s an order.”
She blows me a kiss and closes the door. Shaking my head, I sip my wine and decide to do two out of the three.
To Sir, with frustration,
Do you ever feel like the people closest to you are the ones who get you the least?
Lady
* * *
My dear Lady,
Quite often.
Yours in mutual frustration,
Sir
* * *
To Sir, in follow-up,
Do you ever find that the person who gets you the most is a person you’ve never met?
* * *
My dear Lady,
Yes.
Seven
“Oh my God.” I lean closer and peer at my laptop screen. “Is that a goatee?”
My brother laughs and rubs a palm over the scruffy hair on his chin. “Yeah. What do you think?”
“I love it,” I say at the exact same time Lily announces from the left side of my screen that she hates it.
It’s a little after eight on Sunday, and we Coopers plus May are finally getting around to our family video chat. Lily from her apartment, Caleb from his house in New Hampshire, and May and me from the shop.
“It’s really good to see your face,” I interject quickly before Caleb and Lily can start squabbling. “Facial hair and all. Though I’m shocked. They have Internet where you are?”
My brother grins, taking a quick sip of his beer. “I rigged something together with two sticks and some fishing wire.” His eyes flick away from me, presumably looking at Lily’s head on his screen. “Where’s Alec?”
My sister shrugs. “Work thing.”
On a Sunday night?
Having poured us each a glass of sparkling brut from Sonoma, May nudges me aside and takes her place in front of the laptop’s camera, scowling at Lily. “You know, I can’t think of the last time I saw that boy.”
I smile a little at überserious forty-one-year-old Alec being described as a boy.
Another shrug from Lily. “You know how busy his job keeps him.”
May has never tried to insert herself into our lives as a maternal figure, even after she and my dad started seeing each other. She let us come to her, and we all eventually had. Even Alec. And as far as May was concerned, once you wandered into her nest, you were hers for life, to peck at and to protect.
“Wednesday night,” she announces. “You and Alec will come to my place for vegetarian lasagna. You too, Gracie. Caleb’s off the hook, not because he’s in a different state, but because I won’t be able to enjoy my eggplant lasagna while looking at that thing growing on his chin.”
“Nooooooo,” Caleb says in faux despair. “Don’t make eggplant without me!”
Lily hesitates. “May, I appreciate the offer, but I really don’t know if—”
“Wednesday night,” May repeats with finality.
My sister sighs a little, then nods before changing the subject. “Baby brother, did Gracie tell you that some big corporation is trying to buy the store. She certainly didn’t tell me.”
“Seriously?” he asks, looking stunned.
“It’s not a big deal,” I say, nibbling a piece of cheese. “Think of it more as a newly discovered virus that goes by the name of Sebastian Andrews. Symptoms include nausea, extreme annoyance, and random surges of anger.”
“Sis!” Caleb sounds delighted. “Is this ire I’m hearing from Snow White? Did you finally encounter someone who doesn’t fit into the fairy tale?”
Yeah. I haven’t exactly hidden my fairy tale–junkie status from… anyone.
“No, no,” I say, popping the rest of the cheese into my mouth. “He actually has a starring role. As the villain.”
“A villain with a great butt,” May adds.
I pivot to look at her. “You’ve never even met him.”
“I googled him,” May says pragmatically. She tips her head back to take a sip from her flute, her neon-blue guitar earrings swaying.
“And you searched for ‘Sebastian Andrews’s butt’?” I ask.
What results came up? I don’t ask. But I want to.
“I don’t care if his ass rivals J.Lo’s,” my brother interjects. “I hope you told him to go to hell, Gracie.”
“I actually did tell him exactly that!” I say, feeling rather proud.
“Good,” Lily says firmly. “I’m glad we’re all on the same page about keeping Bubbles in the family.”
My brother nods, but I feel May’s gaze on me. “Gracie?”
“What?” I pick up another cheese, mostly to avoid meeting anyone’s eyes, even via a screen.
“Are you all on the same page?” May persists.
“Of course we are,” Lily says indignantly. “The store’s more important to Gracie than any of us. She’s the one there all the time.”
“What choice did I have?” The words pop out before I can stop them, and both my siblings look bewildered.
I take a deep breath. “I didn’t mean it like that,” I say. “Bubbles is important to me, of course. It’s just sometimes I feel like I’m doing all of the hard stuff, all alone.”
May squeezes my hand. Go on. I squeeze back and smile, grateful to have an ally. I take a deep breath. “I’m not saying we should sell. I’m just saying I could use some help.”
“Crap.” Caleb drags a hand over his face. “I feel like a jerk.”
“Well, yeah,” Lily says. “How many times has she asked you to fix the website?”
“Oh, and I’m sure you’ve been falling all over yourself to stop by and help her restock inventory in between your weekly manicures,” he shoots back.
“Guys,” I say in my gentle but stern middle-child voice.
“Okay,” Lily exhales. “Okay. What do you need, Gracie?”
I need to double the numbers.
I decide to start with something less intimidating. “Well, I know neither of you were thrilled when I changed things up. You hated the new bags, protested the addition of & More.”
“Only because Dad wouldn’t have wanted it,” Lily says, and Caleb nods in agreement.
Oh sure. On that they see eye to eye.
“I get that,” I say softly. “But as the one who does the books, I can tell you that that’s when things started to turn around. And we need to turn them around even further. The mom-and-pop model our mom and pop subscribed to just doesn’t cut it anymore. I’m open to ideas—”
“A new logo,” Caleb cuts in, ever the graphic designer. “I know I protested that last time you suggested it, but you’re right. The one we have now looks tired, and you can never underestimate the power of a good rebrand. I’ll get to work on some mockups for that and the new website.”