After her second pastry, both the caffeine and the sugar seemed to be having the desired effect.
“It looks good in here,” Gretchen said as she glanced around.
“Thanks,” Sarah replied. She was sure Gretchen was referring to the lack of grime.
“What are you going to work on today?” Gretchen asked as she pulled her pastry apart.
“I’m hoping to get the last of the wallpaper scraped off in my bedroom. The walls need to be scrubbed down after that. Then I need to prime the walls tomorrow so that I can paint them.”
“Sounds fun,” Gretchen said sarcastically.
While Sarah appreciated Gretchen’s help, she had known it wouldn’t last. She typically tired easily of any type of manual labor. Though she hadn’t flat-out said it yet, Sarah was sure that Gretchen’s days of helping were over. Sarah didn’t mind in the least. She was happy to do all of the work herself. Keeping busy had its advantages.
Gretchen noticed the color strips that rested near a pile of mail in the center of the table. She licked her sticky fingers and then she reached for them.
“Have you decided on colors yet?” she wondered.
Sarah shook her head. “I haven’t really had time to look.”
Her sister nodded as she began thumbing through the samples. “How about this one?” she asked. “This one is pretty. It would be perfect for the kitchen. It would liven the place up a bit.” She held up the color strip, showing Sarah five different samples of a cheery yellow. She pointed to the one on the bottom, the brightest of rahrightesthe choices.
Sarah shook her head as she plucked up a sample that Gretchen had ignored. It boasted five different shades of beige. “I was thinking something like this. That,” she said as she pointed at Gretchen’s strip, “is a little too wild.”
“‘Sunshine yellow’ is too wild? Oh, Sarah,” she said with an exaggerated sigh, “if that’s really your idea of wild, I need to work a little harder at making sure you get out more often.”
“I suppose a soft, subtle blue wouldn’t be so bad,” Sarah compromised as she ignored the teasing remark.
Gretchen acted as though Sarah hadn’t spoken at all. “Speaking of getting out…”
Sarah, hearing the tone of Gretchen’s voice, glanced up.
“Maybe you and Cole—”
“No.”
“ Sarah ,” Gretchen said imploringly.
Sarah’s jaw clenched and she blinked back the burning prickle behind her eyes. Her chest tightened, instantly making each breath ache. Reflexively, her thumb went to her ring finger. It was still bare. She immediately slid her hand away but it was too late. Gretchen had seen the motion.
For some reason, she was more emotional than usual this morning. She decided to blame it on a sleepless night.
“Is it just too soon?” she asked quietly.
“For Cole? The end of time would be too soon for me to be with Cole,” Sarah said as she struggled to keep her voice even.
She flipped through a few more color strips, trying to scan over them but not really seeing them.
Gretchen sighed. “What happened with you two? You never told me. All I remember is that your junior year you were always together. Always happy. Then out of the blue you were crying all the time and no one could even mention his name. It got better and then it got worse again a few weeks later when he graduated.”
Sarah shrugged as she fidgeted with the coffee cup. Back then, with Gretchen so much younger, they weren’t nearly as close as they were now. She hadn’t even considered confiding in her preteen sister. And later? Well, time moved forward and she had managed to leave Cole in the past, where he belonged.
“Come on, Sarah. You still had a box full of pictures of him under your bed,” Gretchen cajoled.
“You went through the junk under my bed?” she asked with raised eyebrows.
“I was looking for the paperwork you asked for. I had to sort through a lot of stuff to find it. So yes, I went through the pictures. I was surprised you
“It looks good in here,” Gretchen said as she glanced around.
“Thanks,” Sarah replied. She was sure Gretchen was referring to the lack of grime.
“What are you going to work on today?” Gretchen asked as she pulled her pastry apart.
“I’m hoping to get the last of the wallpaper scraped off in my bedroom. The walls need to be scrubbed down after that. Then I need to prime the walls tomorrow so that I can paint them.”
“Sounds fun,” Gretchen said sarcastically.
While Sarah appreciated Gretchen’s help, she had known it wouldn’t last. She typically tired easily of any type of manual labor. Though she hadn’t flat-out said it yet, Sarah was sure that Gretchen’s days of helping were over. Sarah didn’t mind in the least. She was happy to do all of the work herself. Keeping busy had its advantages.
Gretchen noticed the color strips that rested near a pile of mail in the center of the table. She licked her sticky fingers and then she reached for them.
“Have you decided on colors yet?” she wondered.
Sarah shook her head. “I haven’t really had time to look.”
Her sister nodded as she began thumbing through the samples. “How about this one?” she asked. “This one is pretty. It would be perfect for the kitchen. It would liven the place up a bit.” She held up the color strip, showing Sarah five different samples of a cheery yellow. She pointed to the one on the bottom, the brightest of rahrightesthe choices.
Sarah shook her head as she plucked up a sample that Gretchen had ignored. It boasted five different shades of beige. “I was thinking something like this. That,” she said as she pointed at Gretchen’s strip, “is a little too wild.”
“‘Sunshine yellow’ is too wild? Oh, Sarah,” she said with an exaggerated sigh, “if that’s really your idea of wild, I need to work a little harder at making sure you get out more often.”
“I suppose a soft, subtle blue wouldn’t be so bad,” Sarah compromised as she ignored the teasing remark.
Gretchen acted as though Sarah hadn’t spoken at all. “Speaking of getting out…”
Sarah, hearing the tone of Gretchen’s voice, glanced up.
“Maybe you and Cole—”
“No.”
“ Sarah ,” Gretchen said imploringly.
Sarah’s jaw clenched and she blinked back the burning prickle behind her eyes. Her chest tightened, instantly making each breath ache. Reflexively, her thumb went to her ring finger. It was still bare. She immediately slid her hand away but it was too late. Gretchen had seen the motion.
For some reason, she was more emotional than usual this morning. She decided to blame it on a sleepless night.
“Is it just too soon?” she asked quietly.
“For Cole? The end of time would be too soon for me to be with Cole,” Sarah said as she struggled to keep her voice even.
She flipped through a few more color strips, trying to scan over them but not really seeing them.
Gretchen sighed. “What happened with you two? You never told me. All I remember is that your junior year you were always together. Always happy. Then out of the blue you were crying all the time and no one could even mention his name. It got better and then it got worse again a few weeks later when he graduated.”
Sarah shrugged as she fidgeted with the coffee cup. Back then, with Gretchen so much younger, they weren’t nearly as close as they were now. She hadn’t even considered confiding in her preteen sister. And later? Well, time moved forward and she had managed to leave Cole in the past, where he belonged.
“Come on, Sarah. You still had a box full of pictures of him under your bed,” Gretchen cajoled.
“You went through the junk under my bed?” she asked with raised eyebrows.
“I was looking for the paperwork you asked for. I had to sort through a lot of stuff to find it. So yes, I went through the pictures. I was surprised you
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