Page 32 of Whirlwind

I was lucky to have two half-sisters. A younger one from Dad’s second marriage, Poppy, and Zoë, from my mom and Finger’s relationship when they were in their twenties. Zoë was special. She’d been born with Down Syndrome. Mom had given her up for adoption because Finger had ended up in jail and she was unable to take care of her on her own back then.

“How are you here? How?” She clung to my arms, hopping up and down on her toes.

“With my bike.”

“No, silly, here, in South Dakota?”

“By plane.”

“Nooooo. I thought you were touring the world. So far away for so long…” Her voice trailed off.

“I was far away, but it’s over now, and I needed peace and quiet, so I came here.”

“You had a big headache, huh?”

“Huge, terrible headache.”

She giggled, a finger drilling against my temple. “Is it better now?”

“Everything’s better when I see you, Zo.” She beamed and hugged me again. “I have to go back to L.A. tonight, but I had to see you first, and give you this.” I put my gift in her hands.

“Hey, Mrs. D,” said Wes.

“Hello, Wes, nice to see you,” said Gail, Zoë’s mom.

“The plants you sent to my mom’s shop look great,” said Wes. Wes’s mom and her boyfriend owned a tattoo parlor in Meager.

“She called me yesterday and told me. I’m so glad you liked them too.”

Wes shot Zoë a grin. “Hey, Zo.”

Zoë’s face turned beet red. Ever since I’d introduced her to Wes a couple of years ago, she’d had a crush on him. “Hi, Wes.”

Wes gestured at her. “I like your T-shirt.”

Zoë tugged on the edges of her purple tie-dyed shirt, which was from the tattoo shop. “Me too,” she said. She ripped at the wrapping paper of my gift and opened the small jewelry box. “Ohhhh!” She pulled out the gold necklace. An Eiffel Tower charm flecked with tiny diamonds dangled on the end. “So pretty!”

“I brought you a piece of Paris, like you asked.” I attached the necklace around her neck. “There you go.”

“Mommy! Look what Beck brought me!” She ran over to Gail.

“Oh honey, that’s beautiful. So sweet of you, Beck. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Gail. There’s nothing like making Zoë smile.”

Zoë fingered the gold charm and her face suddenly went serious. “Oh, Beck, I saw Mae on Instagram. She was—”

“I know, Zo, I know. We’re over. It’s over.”

“I told you she’s not good enough for you.”

“You did always say that.”

Zoë made a sour face. “Her last album. Meh.”

“I agree,” said Wes. “Totally meh. Less than meh.”

“You have to have another girlfriend now.”

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