Page 7 of Chasing Home

“How’s school treating her?”

“She’s grateful to be on her last year, that’s for sure.”

“Daisy’s never loved school much. I’ve never understood why she’d want to go into teaching.”

Kristen is one of my twin sister’s oldest friends, which means she knows her pretty damn well. Knows the both of us well. You’d have to to confidently draw that conclusion about Daisy. She hated school when we were growing up, but once she went off to university, she learned how to love it in her own way. That doesn’t mean she isn’t about ready to graduate.

“She says learning and teaching are two entirely different things,” I say.

“Do you believe her?”

“I have to. If she didn’t love it, she wouldn’t be doing it. You know that. Plus, Daisy’s always loved kids.”

Kristen nods, her thick blonde curls bobbing with the action before she tucks them behind her ears and glances at the diner door. Her parents own the joint now, but years ago, it belonged to her grandparents. Just like every other business in Cherry Peak, Rustic Ridge has been handed down from generation to generation since long before Kristen, Daisy, and I were born.

“Fair enough,” she agrees.

One of the perks of a window table is being able to see out on the street, and the moment I get a view of my sister rushing down the sidewalk toward the door, I’m grinning like a fool.

Bells chime, and then Daisy’s rushing to the table. Her cheeks are pink and decked out in light brown freckles that have popped from long summer days in the sun. We’ve both always had terrible freckles in the summer, but they fit her better than they do me. Mine are chunky and spread oddly, mainly centred on and around my nose, while hers are thin and scattered evenly.

Her deep cherry-red-coloured hair, which in the evening looks almost black, and blue eyes that border on grey make us look eerily similar. But luckily, I’m far taller than her. I’ll continue to poke fun at her for it until the day I croak.

Our moms are utter saints for putting up with our shit for the past twenty-two years. Not to mention our other two sisters on top of just us.

“I fucking missed you,” I say as I stand and tug my sister into a tight hug.

She returns the hug just as eagerly, even as she tells me, “I’ve only been gone two weeks.”

“Is that supposed to matter? It’s been four years of you being gone all damn year, and it ain’t any easier to let you go.”

“I’m only three hours away. You could come see me more often,” she scolds, stepping out of the hug, brow already arched as she stares up at me.

“Yeah, yeah. Sit and tell me how you’ve been. Did you just get back?”

Daisy ignores me as I sit back into my booth and turns to her friend instead. “Hey, Kiki.”

“Hi, Didi.”

Their hug is quick but just as warm as ours was. This might be the fourth year that Daisy’s gone up to Calgary for school, but she’s not someone you can just let go of, especially not with the bond we have. It should be a crime for twins to be separated so often.

Once they’ve broken apart, Kristen moves to take the order of the man sitting behind me while Daisy slides into the booth across from mine and reaches for my coffee. Daisy drinks from the opposite side of my mug before setting it back down. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she shivers.

“You’re still drinking sugar instead of coffee,” she states before I glance down at the mug, finding it empty.

“And you’re still stealing it, knowing that it’ll be ungodly sweet.”

“Bad habit.”

I meet her eyes across the table, a heady sense of calm filling me. “It’s nice to see you.”

“You too, Jonathon,” she replies with a smirk.

My grin flips into a scowl. “Don’t make me take it back.”

She leans back against the booth and crosses her arms. It’s only been two weeks since she left Cherry Peak to get set back up in her Calgary apartment, but the bags beneath her eyes are already back. The fall semester starts sooner than I’d like, and I worry like crazy about her being over there all on her own. Growing up in a house full of only women has turned me into a bit of a protective beast. I’m not ashamed of it, but I know it drives my sisters nuts.

“Tell me what I’ve missed in CP. Any news on your lady love?” she asks bluntly.

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