Chuckling as I draw closer, my sarcastic greeting dies on my tongue when I see her frame shaking and realize she’s silently sobbing. Rushing over, I cover as much of her as I can as I place a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Serena? Honey, what’s wrong?”
I glance around, thankful we’re alone for the moment as she reaches for me just as I pull her into my arms. “Sis? What’s wrong?”
She clings to me, her cries stealing her ability to speak as I glide my palms down her back the same way Eli did for me. I ignore the sting that accompanies the thought. “Talk to me.”
“I was j-just…s-shopping…and I started listening to this song. H-have you heard it?”
Tuning into the music drifting from the store speakers, it takes me only a second to identify it—“Coming Around Again” by Carly Simon.
“Yeah, I love this song.”
“Have you ever listened to the w-words? I-it’s about m-marriage f-falling apart, and it’s true. It’s so fucking true,” she says, sniffling.
“That’s it,” I move to grab my cell. “Enough of this shit. I’m calling Thatch. You two have got to talk this out.”
“No!” She nearly knocks my phone out of my hand, and I pocket it and raise my palms in surrender. “Okay, okay, tell me what to do.”
“Nothing,” she sniffs as I do my best to wipe her tears while her eyes continually water.
“What happened before we left the house?”
“I t-tried to t-ake your advice. When I got out of the shower, I pulled on my sex p-panties and caught him alone while he was getting dressed,” she shakes her head, more tears gliding down her cheeks. “When I cornered him, he totally misread me and was all like, ‘What? Serena, Jesus, what now?’ L-like he dreads every word that’s coming out of my mouth. The saddest part is, he doesn’t even k-know he rejected me.” Her sobs come out harder as I cradle her tightly to me.
“Sis, you’re starting to scare me.”
“I’m so scared,” she sniffs. “Did you see the way he looked at me in the car? It was like I disgust him.”
“You took a nasty swing at him.”
“I know. It was petty, but you should have seen the way he looked at me after he blew up on Gracie, like it’s my fault she’s acting this way.” She shakes her head, “I don’t even think he likes me anymore.”
“Not true at all.”
“Am I that bad?”
“No. You aren’t. You have moments, but for the most part, you’re fun-loving and awesome to be around. Thatch gets to see the good, the bad, and the ugly, and right now, he’s focusing on the ugly.”
“I miss me. I mean, I miss the me I used to be before I was a wife and mother. I miss being an individual, you know? I wouldn’t even know what to do with myself if I had any freedom.”
“Maybe you miss parts of who you were, but that girl evolved. I have that freedom, and I’m telling you I don’t do much with it. It’s not exactly a luxury to be alone in life, Serena.”
“I can’t even get close enough to him right now to fight for him. I would give anything to have him look at me the way Eli is looking at you. He’s crazy about you, Whitney.”
I belt out a laugh. “Yeah, so crazy I drove him to drink last night, and right now, he’s stuffing his face with complex carbohydrates.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, he just assaulted me with a pack of Pampers and told me he’s running for his life as soon as the holiday is over.” I shake my head. “It’s not important right now.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” she rolls her eyes.
“We’re not talking about me. I just found my sister sobbing into her shopping cart.”
“What am I going to do? I don’t want Gracie and Peyton feeling the animosity between us. I know they can sense it.” She blows out a teary breath. “This Christmas is going to shit.”
“No, it’s not. And you know what? We’re turning it around right fucking now. We’re going to finish this list, deliver the goods to Mom and cut ourselves off from anyone with a penis. Girl’s night starts the minute the dinner dishes are dry. We’ll drag Erin to the dark side if we have to. The boys can watch the kids so we can get some much-needed sister time.”
“God, that sounds good.”
“It’s so fucking on,” I declare as I usher us both down the aisle. “We just need a little purge and bitching session.”