Page 108 of Fake As Puck
“But there’s the wedding in Napa. I mean I’m literally going to be there.”
“Yeah. She said she’s still coming.”
“She better be.”
“You’re not hearing me, Tessa. She doesn’t want to get paid anymore, but she’s still coming.”
Tessa takes a pause. “Oh,” she says confused, and then, “Oh!”
“Yeah,” I shake my head. “So what the hell do I do?”
“Call her,” Tessa says like it’s that easy.
“What would I say?” I roll my eyes.
She says, “How about ‘hi, how are you, I miss you’?”
I scoff. “I can’t just say that.”
“You can. I can tell right now that you miss her. So why not just call her?” The phone starts shuffling as she huffs. “West, you know what you need?”
“Therapy?”
“A change of scenery. You should come visit.”
“Visit?” I say. “As in come to LA?”
“Come to LA. You can help me with the kids, get out of your own head, maybe run into a certain freelance writer who’s been helping me out a lot lately.”
“She’s still helping you out?”
“She watches Charlie and Emma three days a week while I work. She’s great with them. They love her.”
I scratch my head, wondering if I should or shouldn’t listen to my sister. Sometimes my sister is not up to any good, and honestly, it sounds like she’s not getting enough sleep lately.
“So what do you think, West? Want to come play uncle for a few days?”
I plop on my couch. All of the whirlwind of anxiety rushing through me suddenly ends. Because the idea hits me that I’ll get to see Liv in her natural environment. It will help a lot. I can figure out where we stand without the pressure of faking it or putting on a show.
“That’s actually not a terrible idea,” I confess.
Tessa says, “I know. I’m brilliant.”
“But would Liv be okay with me showing up out of nowhere?”
Tessa snickers, “Only one way to find out.”
“What if she’s not?” I ask.
“Then we’ll deal with it. But I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know my best friend. And I know my brother. And I’ve been watching this thing between you two develop for a lot longer than you think.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means get on a plane, West. Come see your sister. Hang out with your nieces properly. Figure out what you want your life to look like.”
