Page 59 of If This Was a Movie

“That’s terrifying. But okay, one sister down. So, you make small moments special. Did you get that from your mom?” I ask, desperate to know more about Jules in any way I can. “My mom is like that, constantly celebrating everything. She threw Sophie a tooth-themed party when she lost her first tooth, and she sprayed a dollar with glitter spray for me to put under her pillow and everything.”

Jules smiles. “God, I love your mom. She’s the coolest.” Then she sighs and shakes her head. “No, my mom….she didn’t know how to do that. She didn’t know how to romanticize the littlethings and just enjoy where she was at. She was always looking for what was next, something more, something better. Maybe before my dad, she did, but I barely remember that. I think after he left, she wanted the opportunity for…more. To prove him wrong, maybe? I don’t know.” She laughs, brushing it off and lifting a pink pen with a big puffy pom-pom on top, throwing it in the cart.

“Don’t get me wrong, my mom was fine, she loved me and never made me feel like she didn’t, but…maybe my expectations are too high for what a mother-daughter relationship should be. I always wanted sisters—someone to do all the girly things with. I have Ava and Harper now, but when I was younger, I wanted that.”

I grumble, remembering the years when my sisters teamed up and tormented me, no matter that I was the oldest.

“You’re lucky, you know. What’s it like to have sisters?”

“A pain in the ass,” I say with a smile, and she elbows me in the side. I use it as another opportunity, hooking my arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close. For a split second, her body is tight before it goes lax.

“I always wanted sisters.” I don’t speak, waiting to see if she’ll elaborate, and I’m rewarded with my patience. “I guess, technically, I have a few half siblings, but they aren’t…we weren’t raised as siblings, so we’re not close. Not the way you are with your sisters. It’s great that Claire was so willing to nanny for you.”

I smile, a pang of guilt filling me I refuse to give light to.

“Yeah, she’s pretty great. When Sophie’s mother decided she didn’t want to do the whole mom thing, it was a shock. They all pitched in by making a schedule, and Claire moved in. It got a lot easier once Soph was in school full time.”

The memory hangs heavy between us as Jules continues to pick up trinkets, inspecting them then placing them back before she turns to me.

“Okay, enough with the heavy. We’re on a mission. Operation Knock Out Nate’s Christmas List is in action.” She makes a Charlie’s Angel type pose, and I laugh.

“God, you’re fucking cute,” I say, then put an arm on her shoulders once more, tugging her close as we head to the register to check out.

An hour later, we’re still wandering, a couple more shopping bags in hand, when Jules’s steps slow, looking up at the Swift Building, the tallest building in Evergreen Park. When it was being built with broad promises of a mix of new work spaces and luxury hotel rooms, there were two very clear factions at the town hall meeting: half of the town loved the idea of bringing in more business and more room for people to stay in town, while the other half thought it would take away from the small-town charm.

My dad was on team “this is going to ruin Evergreen Park,” and my mom was on team “it’s good for the economy,” making it an incredibly rough time in the Donovan household. Thankfully, once it was built (and his son got a good chunk of the contracting work), Dad agreed it didn’t absolutely destroy the town as he kept worrying.

“What’s your take on it?” I ask, watching her eyes go glazed as she looks.

“What?”

“What’s your take on it? Everyone in Evergreen Park has an opinion on the Swift Building.”

“I love it,” she says simply, surprising me.

“You do?” I ask, since she seems much more on the side of small-town charm than big city hustling.

She shrugs. “I don’t think it takes away from the town, just adds...something more. It’s not like it’s the goddamn Empire State Building, the way some of these people act. Plus, I hear you can see the entire town from up there, which is cool.”

I look at her aghast and in shock. “You’ve never been up there?”

She shakes her head, and I make a split-second decision, grabbing her hand and moving toward the front door.

“Hey, Henry, how’s it going?” I ask the doorman with a smile. A doorman isn’t exactly necessary here, but when kids started sneaking up to the top of the building regularly, the town decided it was best to have someone keeping track of who was going where.

“Can’t complain. Got a job in one of the suites?”

“No, I just found out Jules here has never been to the top,” I say with a smile.

His eyes go wide. “Really?”

Jules shrugs and smiles. “Never had an opportunity.”

“Well, you know sunset is the best time to go,” he says with a wink to me before stepping to the side.

“Thanks, man. I owe you.”

“Anytime,” Henry says as the elevator doors close.

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