Page 54 of Thanks for the Memories
She giggles. “Oh, good point.”
“Anyway, I—”
My phone rings again, and I scream loudly. I grab it and finally answer.
“Kennedy, can I—”
“Reagan, it’s Barbara,” Kennedy wails. “She fell down the stairs.”
Oh, no. A wave of guilt pours over me for not answering the first call.
“What? Is she okay?”
Bethany gives me a worried look. “What happened?”
“I think so,” Kennedy says in between her sobs. “She was vacuuming my stupid stairs after I told her not to, and she lost her balance. I think she broke her arm.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say. “Where is she now?”
“Evan is with her at the hospital. I feel terrible because it’s all my fault,” she cries.
“It’s not your fault she tripped.”
“No, but I’ve had such a bad attitude, and I sent her to the spa to get rid of her yesterday.”
“You said she loved the spa.”
“Oh, she did. That’s why she was cleaning this morning—to thank me.”
I somehow manage to calm my sister down and tell her to call me back with an update on Barbara. When I get off the phone, I tell Bethany about Barbara’s freak accident.
“Wow, I guess it’s a good lesson about the dangers of cleaning.”
I smile and nod. “No doubt. I don’t have to do much of that around here because Lila’s family has had the same cleaning crew since she was young.”
“You’re so lucky,” she pauses. “This actually brings up something I want to talk to you about.”
Her tone has grown serious, and I’m pretty sure it’s not because of Kennedy’s mother-in-law’s fall.
“Sure. What’s up?”
She pushes her laptop to the side and folds her hands on the table.
“Obviously I’m thinking about everything that goes into making a long distance move and finding a place to live seems really stressful.”
I wave my hand. “Well, lucky for you, both Lila and Gabby are realtors and they’ll be more than happy to help.”
She nods. “I appreciate that, but I don’t know if I want the added stress of looking at places while I’m getting familiar with the city.”
I purse my lips together. So … she wants to move to Miami but doesn’t want to look for a place to live?
“This vacation has been so nice, and you’ve been so welcoming.” She pauses and exhales loudly. “I was actually wondering if you’d talk to Lila about me staying here when I come back.”
I freeze as she continues talking.
“I could just stay in the guest room like I am now—at least until I find my own place. I just don’t want to rush into anything until I’m settled in a job, and it would alleviate a lot of uncertainty.”
She wants to move in here. With me.
