Page 50 of Before the Storm

“Fine,” Josie groaned. “Vegetables, too. But I’m going to throw them away when you’re not looking.”

Tara raised her eyebrows and gave her a look that reminded Josie of their mother so many years ago, watching over Tara and Josie, demanding things of them, things that, to her, kept them safe.

It remained a mystery why Cindy and Bob had left.

But maybe there were answers at the end of this plane ride. Perhaps there was closure somewhere on the West Coast.

Chapter Fifteen

January 2025

Seattle

It was obvious to Tara that everyone on the airplane knew the intricacies of her broken heart. They’d heard her entire conversation with Josie, after all. She hadn’t been able to keep quiet. As they milled from the aircraft, several of the other passengers gave her worried smiles or furrowed their brows at her, and as a result, she kept her eyes on the floor and nearly ran into the stewardess at the top of the aisle. “Thanks for flying with United!” the stewardess said. She’d probably heard Tara blubbering, too. Tara had half a mind to pull the stewardess to the side and ask her opinion on everything.What do you think? Should I go see my grieving mother? Should I contact the daughter who ran away from me? Is it true that everyone I love will always ultimately abandon me? Do they leave me because of who I am?

Am I cursed or just unlovable?

But instead, Tara exited the plane as she was supposed to. She told herself she’d never see any of the people who’d overheard her again. Maybe they’d think of her down the line in their own lives. Perhaps they’d make different decisions—better decisions—because they didn’t want to end up like her.

That was a dark thought.

Josie was clearly exhausted from the flight. She ducked into a bathroom, and Tara followed her. After using it, she scrubbed her hands in scalding water for as long as the tap would allow.

Josie was taking a long time. Tara was suddenly frantic. What if their conversation had worn Josie out so much that her illness very suddenly got the better of her? She stared at the stall into which Josie had disappeared and couldn’t breathe. Should she call Josie’s name?

But then, the door opened, and Josie appeared. She had her wig off, and her bald head was covered in only downy hair, which was what she’d been able to grow back since she quit chemo.

“Everything’s itchy,” Josie said. “I can’t care about the wig anymore. I can’t care about any of it.”

A few women milled by and assessed Josie’s bald head and the wig swinging in her right hand. From Josie’s slender and weak look, it was clear to anyone she was suffering from cancer.

Cancer isn’t contagious, Tara wanted to scream at the woman who looked terrified. But she knew why they were scared. Nobody wanted anything to do with cancer. It happened to other people in other families until it suddenly happened to somebody in yours.

“Should we stop somewhere and get my head shaved, too?” Tara asked.

Josie rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a Lifetime movie. Nobody needs to shave their head. What would it do? It wouldn’t take the cancer away. It wouldn’t grow my hair back any faster.”

Tara laughed nervously. Josie was always right.

“Besides, who knows what your head looks like under there?” Josie joked.

“It’s true.” Tara blinked back tears. “I might have a weird skull.”

“It’s a risk you shouldn’t take.”

Tara suppressed her urge to throw her arms around her sister and sob.

“Let’s go get our bags and get out of here,” Josie said.

“Fine by me.”

Theirs were the first suitcases to come down the luggage ramp. Tara leaped on them and hauled them out, then led Josie to the nearby car rental counter. Because it was a random Thursday in January, just an ordinary day for almost everyone else, only a few people were waiting for a rental in front of them. They were in line for no more than seven minutes.

“Let’s get something fancy,” Josie begged. “A Porsche or a convertible.”

“A convertible? You know it rains all the time in Seattle, right?” Tara teased. “And it’s winter?”

Josie pointed out the big window behind them at a sky that was as clear and blue as any they had back in Nantucket. “Think again.”

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