Page 12 of Came the Closest

Maybe it has to do with the little boy she ushers into Dad’s house and maybe it has to do with my sister herself. She’s always carried herself with a hint of defiance, but she seems more closed off and more vulnerable simultaneously.

Jolene, on the other hand, senses nothing. She’s just thrilled to have her aunt back. “C’mon, Aunt Indi,” she says, tugging on Indi’s free hand. “Everyone will be so excited that you’re back! But not as excited as me.” She pauses to gasp. “Do you think my dad will buy me lip liner for Uncle Graham’s wedding?”

I’m pretty sure Jordan will be thinking less about lip liner or upcoming nuptials and more about Indi’s reappearance—with a child—but I decide not to say that. Indi and I exchange a look that says she’s thinking it, though.

“Uh, we’ll have to see,” she says obligingly. “Hey, Jolene. Can you do something for me?”

My niece faces her aunt. “Of course, I can! Oh!” Her attention shifts to the Solo cups in her hand, then to me. “We gotta get the snacks and water ‘cause otherwise Grandpa won’t give me my five bucks!”

Indi looks at me questioningly.

“She’s earning money to get her ears pierced,” I explain. To Jolene, I say, “Grandpa won’t mind if it’s a little delayed.”

Jolene hesitates, but she turns back to Indi. “I guess I have three minutes to spare.”

I stifle a laugh and Indi does the same. Next to her, the boy eyes me with open curiosity. The teddy bear is clutched tighter to his chest than it was two minutes ago, but he seems like he trusts Indi wholly. I try not to think about how similarly he resembles her—or Jordan, at that age.

“Can you show Milo where Grandpa keeps his games in the living room, please?” Indi asks Jolene, setting a gentle hand on the boy’s head of curls. “I need to talk to the adults for a few minutes.”

Jolene looks at the boy like she’s just now registering his presence. She sticks her free hand out. “Hi! I’m Jolene. My grandpa says that a good handshake is the corner…” Her nose scrunches. “The corner…”

“Cornerstone,” I provide.

“Yeah, that! He says it’s the cornerstone of a good business deal.” She laughs and takes her hand back when he doesn’t shake it. “But this isn’t a business deal. C’mon. I’ll show you the games. Grandpa has a lot of them that we played over the winter ‘cause it gets so cold here. Did you know that it snowed a bunch? California never got snow. My dad was literally holding out on me.”

Milo doesn’t look like he knows what to make of Jolene. Which is fair—she’s like a little blonde hurricane. He looks up at Indi questioningly, and when she nods, he follows Jolene down the marble-floored entryway hall, only glancing back once.

I open my mouth to ask my sister what the heck is going on, but Jolene pops her head back around the archway. “By the way, Aunt Indi, it’s only eleven years till I’m an adult too!”

“Actually,” Indi counters with a grin, “you’re a resident of Nebraska now, kid. You’ve got twelve years.”

Jolene wrinkles her nose. “Eleven and a half.”

“Tell you what,” Indi says. “The day you turn nineteen, I’ll buy you lip liner.”

“Deal!” Jolene disappears back into the living room.

My shoulders relax slightly after the interaction.

“Hey, Indi?”

My sister glances up at me.

I open my arms. “Welcome home, Blue.”

She scowls, and it takes a moment for her to step into my embrace, but when she does, her body shudders. I hug her tightly and I take in the heaviness of her inhale, the relief in her long exhale. She seems to be carrying the weight of the world—or, at the very least, our world—on her young, slender shoulders. If I can ease her burden even slightly, I will.

“Probably don’t expect this from Jordan,” I tease softly.

Indi laughs quietly. “Yeah, I’m not. Is—”

“Indigo?”

We both look up to see Jordan himself standing a few paces down the hall from us, his expression a mix between relief and distrust. Sweat dampens his brows, and he lost his stained t-shirt sometime in the last ten minutes.

“Hey,” Indi says.

“You think you can just show back up out of the blue?” Jordan asks hotly. “Where the he—”

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