Page 47 of The Problem with Perfect

“Sorry I haven’t been around much lately. I’ve been—”

“I don’t want to know,” Rusty says quickly. “I’m happy to live in blissful ignorance and an empty house if that’s how it’s going to be.”

Jackson smirks and tugs some margarita mix from the cabinet, setting it on the counter next to the tequila. “I figured if we were doing tacos tonight, we shoulddefinitelydo margaritas. Who wants one?”

The reminder of my nasty tequila hangover from yesterday morning is enough to get me to pass, and Rusty declines as well, raising his beer. Abby wants one and so does Jackson, so he gets going mixing everything together.

We shoot the shit for a while, talking about nothing in particular until Briar and Andy arrive a little while later with the onion and cilantro for the tacos.

“Where’s the cheese? And the sour cream and tomatoes?” Jackson asks, looking shocked at our minimal topping spread.

“We’re doing street tacos,” Andy says. “Onion and cilantro are all you need.”

Jackson’s eyes widen, then the two launch into a hot debate about the merits of different types of Mexican food.

“They’re always like this,” Briar offers, leaning against the counter next to me. “Heard you went to bonfire night and got a little tipsy.”

I groan. “Yeah. I might have had a little too much, followed by a littlemoretoo much at Rusty’s later.”

“Everything okay?”

Smiling, I lean forward and wrap my arms around my sister’s middle, and she follows my lead, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

The closeness I’ve been developing with Briar is still new. She’s not a very talkative person by nature, tending to keep her emotions and opinions close to her chest. Ever since she moved back to Cedar Point, I’ve been trying to get to know her better, spend more time with her.

At first, I could tell it was foreign to her, but something clicked into place a while back. It’s like she removed some of the barriers she had surrounding her, letting me see inside a bit more. Not entirely, because that’s not Briar, but a little bit.

So, her asking me if everything’s okay is her trying to keep that connection alive, and I appreciate it more than she knows. Her willingness to start opening up to me somewhat is probably why I feel so sure I can get Rusty to bring his own wall back down. I’ve already been around the block with my sister, and it worked.

“Thanks for asking,” I tell her. “I’m good.”

She gives me a soft smile and nods. “I’m glad.”

A few minutes later, everything is laid out on the counter, and we each move through the kitchen preparing our plates before heading outside to the little grassy area that leads to their short dock and the picnic table I am almost certain must have been swiped from one of the campgrounds at Forks.

As we eat dinner, Briar shares about her recent participation in a floral competition. She took fourth and is very proud. Abby talks about her ideas for possibly creating a social media presence for her home baking. Andy briefly says things at One Stop are going well, then Jackson and Rusty discuss progress with the brewery.

When their eyes turn to me, I realize they’re wanting me to share about my life as well.

“Um…I’m studying for my fourth and final CPA Exam section. That’s the big deal right now, because it is notorious for being the hardest.”

“I thought you already graduated.” Jackson looks confused.

I nod. “I did. The CPA Exam is one of the steps for getting a license. You do it after you graduate.”

“And what’s the plan after you’re done with your exams?” Andy asks as he reaches across the table for salsa. “You gonna work for someone in town?”

I take a big breath and blow it out dramatically. “I mean, I want to start my own accounting business and do work primarily for local businesses. George is retiring, so it wouldn’t be like I’m poaching his people to start my own firm.” I take a sip of my water. “But I have to get in a bunch of work experience before I get licensed, so I have to figure that part out.”

“You should ask George if he’ll give you a job,” Jackson suggests. “I mean, if that would count. I’m not sure how it all works.”

I blink, realizing that in all of my extensive planning, I’d never even considered that idea.

“You know, I might actually talk to him about that,” I say, smiling.

Jackson winks at me before the conversation breaks off into little side comments and questions about all the information we just shared. It makes me wonder if they do this every time they get together, share updates about their lives and everything they have going on.

I like this. I like it for my sister, and I like it for Rusty. It’s great that they have each other to talk to, people to listen to them when they have something to say, who are curious and ask questions.

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