Page 41 of The Winning Ticket

“I’m sorry, no doorknockers, thank you,” I say with a grin, and Morgan scowls at the screen.

“Ha-de-ha. Let us in, we have coffee.”

“Well, in that case.” I hit the button for the front door and let them up.

Minutes later, I open the door and gratefully accept the coffee from Mum.

“Did we have plans I’ve forgotten about?” I ask, sipping my latte and savouring it.

“No, we were in the neighbourhood, so we decided to drop by.”

“What were you doing in the neighbourhood?” I ask, squinting at her.

Morgan sighs. “Wedding dress shopping.”

“I knew it. You were supposed to wait for us!” I glare at my sister, and she shoots me a guilty look before glancing at Mum.

“Well, I thought it should be something Morgan and I did together. I mean, your father and I are paying for the dress, after all,” Mum says.

I roll my eyes but don’t say anything. This is typical Mum behaviour: making one or both of us feel guilty for wanting to do something different from how she thinks it should be done and then reminding us that she’s spending money that we didn’t ask her to spend.

“Did you find anything you liked?” I ask Morgan, ignoring Mum.

She shakes her head. “No, I have this vision in my head but can’t find anything that matches it.”

“Why don’t you look at getting it made then?”

“I’m starting to think that’s how I will have to go. But it’s only a few months away now…”

“Well, at least you got the dress trying-on experience you needed then,” I say to Mum, keeping my tone light.

I don’t want to cause any arguments today. Or any day, really. I tend just to let Morgan and Mum fight their own battles. Regardless of what Morgan says, she is so similar to Mum and rarely backs down. I prefer to keep the peace.

“True. At least we’ll be able to find the bridesmaids’ dresses in a store,” Mum says, and Morgan grimaces behind her.

“Oh, are you coming along for that as well?” I ask, a sense of dread creeping over me.

“Oh yes, I don’t want to miss any of the excitement, and Morgan values my opinion.”

I can tell from Morgan’s expression that this statement is a bit of a stretch.

“So, we’re still going with the ice blue colour?” I ask Morgan.

“Yeah, I think it’s the best colour of the ones I’ve considered that will look good on both you and Lis. It’s hard because your colouring is so different, but the ice blue suits blondes and redheads. I think I’m leaning towards you both having different styles, though,” Morgan says, but Mum shakes her head.

“Oh no, they have to be matching.”

They begin arguing, but I tune them out, knowing that this is just a preview of what bridesmaid dress shopping is going to be like. At least if it was just Morgan and Annelisa, I might stand some chance of getting to decide anything, but if Mum is there, there will be no point in opening my mouth.

“So, what are you up to this weekend?” Morgan asks, looking around the apartment.

Her eyes stop on the two cups and bowls sitting on the bench that I haven’t put in the dishwasher yet from breakfast after Jake left.

“Nothing much. Yesterday, I wandered around the city taking photos and hung out in the spa, and today, I’m going to edit the photos.”

“Alone?” Her eyes are still on the bench.

I sigh, knowing that I shouldn’t have to consider lying, but I don’t want to deal with any questions about why Jake was in town but didn’t see any of them. “Jake was here, too.”

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