Page 11 of Only This Once
Rachel hesitated, then settled in her seat.
Maria had been the one to suggest they get together for dinner the last Friday of the month. They met up for lunch at their parents’ house the second Sunday already, but there were some things they couldn’t talk about among their parents and their big brother.
Julia enjoyed it more than she thought she would. There was something different about being together like this, more than texting in their group chat could ever give.
Heather begged off the most, both on lunch and dinner. She’d had three teenage boys in multiple sports, and it seemed like all they did was run from practice to games. That was finally slowing down now that two of her sons were in college, though she still went to their games to support them as often as she could.
Julia took the bread to the table, catching the tail end of the sports schedule.
Rachel usually talked the least. She’d once been the most spontaneous of them all, but that had slowly changed over the years. Julia had thought it would get better after the divorce, but often it seemed like Rachel was wound even tighter than before.
It wasn’t until after they’d finished eating that Maria reminded them of the monthly tradition she’d insisted on ever since the first one. “So, what’s your something good?” she asked while cutting the cake.
Julia bit back a groan. Last month, it’d been so much harder to come up with something good. She’d gone with the fact that Charles had hired her. That really had been good. Maybe she could use something about work again.
She was more of a realist than anything, but she tried to not let her optimistic sister down.
“I bet I know yours,” Julia said, hoping for a delay. “It’s the new teaching job, isn’t it?”
Maria’s lips twitched before the edges of her mouth pushed higher. “Of course!”
Julia wasn’t fooled. Her sister hadn’t mentioned anything about the new job all night. Her hand came down on the table, bouncing the fork she’d set aside. “All right, spill it. What happened with the job?”
Maria continued smiling, raising her hands in surrender. “No, no, it really has been great. The students seem to like me, and teaching is as rewarding as I always thought it would be. It’s definitely my something good today.”
Heather put her napkin down as she pushed away her plate. “But?”
Maria laughed, shaking her head. “There’s no but. It’s been great, and there are some faculty members I have the opportunity to get to know better.”
Julia winced. “He followed you there, didn’t he?”
Maria gripped the edge of the table. “I don’t know who you mean.”
“Don’t start with me. That guy, the one who you turned down already. Twice!”
“I didn’t turn him down,” Maria protested. “He didn’t even really ask me out.”
Even though Maria was older than her, Julia had always felt older where it counted. She had with all of her sisters, despite being the baby. “He hinted enough that you told him you weren’t in a place to date before he asked,” Julia reminded her.
Rachel reached toward Maria, her hand covering hers in a squeeze. “Is Brad really teaching there?”
Maria hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. It’s not a problem, though. He’s agreed that we’re just friends. It’s always good to have a friend around.”
“So he asked you out again?” Julia asked, waiting for her sister’s slight nod. That was the third time. She needed to find a way to make sure the guy knew no meant no.
“This actually makes it easier, in a way. The school has policies that discourage dating between faculty members. So, honestly, this is my something good. Brad is working at the school, and I think it’ll end up improving our friendship. He’s a nice guy, and he’s good with the students. They respect him already.”
Julia wasn’t buying it, but she let her sister babble. Maria always had trouble telling guys no, and Brad had been her first attempt, which had made it come out softer than a true rejection. In Julia’s experience, you had to tell them straight-out when you weren’t interested. Pussyfooting around their feelings made it worse for everyone involved.
“I’ll go next,” Heather offered. Her smile widened when they looked at her. “Robby got accepted at his first choice school.”
They all congratulated her youngest son, but Julia had to swallow a protest. She’d been outvoted when she’d argued that the something good should be about each sister themselves, not their children. Rachel and Heather often copped out by focusing only on their kids and not on themselves. It was as if their own hopes and dreams died when they had children.
That was one of the many reasons Julia didn’t want to have kids.
“Wasn’t his first choice out of state?” Julia asked. “How are you feeling about that?”
“I’m happy for him, of course,” Heather said.
