The Sisters' Secrets: Reen

by Katlyn Duncan

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The music and arts festival kicked off the next night with a local band, who drew a large crowd. Nadine wanted Reen at the festival earlier for setup, and so she could get acquainted with how it ran. She wasn’t going to get in the way of her friend’s perfect show. And it gave her an excuse to tell Rose she needed to visit Mom earlier than they’d intended.

  Rose had the day off and slept in. All night, Reen reeled from the conversation they’d had the night before. Rose could say anything to get Mom in Reen’s good graces, but she wanted to hear it from her. If she had visited California, why hadn’t she met with her? Had she chickened out at the last second?

  Reen sneaked out of the house with Rose none the wiser. It would be a while until Rose went to the Whinding House and Reen wanted to be in and out before that happened.

  Walking into the red-brick building without Rose made the hairs on her arms stand up as if she was sneaking in somewhere. But she had every right to be there. Mom might not have wanted Rose to know her reasoning for backing out of whatever meeting she’d planned, but Reen wanted answers. She deserved them.

  ‘What was the code again?’ she asked the older woman sitting at the front desk.

  ‘Let me get that for ya, dear.’ She grabbed a small piece of paper and held it close to her face. Reen glanced around, wondering if this woman was pranking her. Was she a resident or someone who worked there?

  After getting the code, Reen didn’t stick around. She wanted to be in and out of this place. The scent alone was enough to drive her away.

  Mom was inside her room, her head tilted to the side, toward the window. Reen’s earlier purposeful steps slowed once she reached the bed. If she were sleeping, Reen could easily turn around and leave without anyone knowing.

  Rose would know once she saw the sign-in sheet. Reen shook her head. She couldn’t head back now.

  ‘Mom,’ she said softly, walking up to the bed.

  Mom tilted her head to the side, narrowed her eyes and stared at Reen. Her hair stuck to one side of her face. Shadows filled the spaces under her eyes and Reen, once again, wondered how it all could have been different.

  ‘I don’t have a lot of time today,’ Reen said, glancing at the door. ‘I want to talk to you about when you came to California. Do you remember? Rose said it was around a year after I left.’

  Mom shifted in her bed, and her eyes scrunched up as if she were in pain. Reen glanced at the door. Would the workers know to help her? She had no idea what was happening. She went over and grabbed Mom’s pillow, trying to make her more comfortable. Mom’s eyes shot open, and her mouth widened, letting go of a deep moan from low in her throat.

  ‘It’s just me, Mom,’ Reen said.

  ‘Wh-who?’ Mom’s words slurred together.

  ‘It’s me, Reen. Your daughter,’ she said, looking at the door again. She didn’t hear anyone in the hallway, but if Mom kept this up, they wouldn’t be alone for long.

  Mom’s chest rose and fell rapidly. Her breathing became more ragged.

  Reen went to the side of the bed and took Mom’s hand. But she pulled away.

  ‘Mom,’ Reen said.

  Mom shook her head as if she were trying to stir something loose. A memory perhaps. Reen wished she could move it along a little more. What happened to yesterday’s clarity?

  ‘Did you want me to come home? Why didn’t you find me?’ Reen asked.

  Mom’s lips trembled, but no words came out.

  Her wide eyes stopped Reen. They held no recognition, only fear. Why would Mom be afraid of her?

  Reen took several steps back until she bumped into the wall. Out the window, the sun crept over the horizon, shooting beams over the water in the distance. Closing her eyes, she recalled how she’d come in here. If Mom had no idea who she was, of course she’d be scared.

  ‘He…hel…’ Mom croaked.

  Reen’s eyes snapped open. Mom’s covers were up to her chin, and her entire body shuddered.

  ‘No, no, no,’ Reen said, trying to sound soothing. ‘I’m sorry. I won’t—’

  ‘Excuse me?’ someone said from the doorway.

  Reen’s stood up straighter and lifted her chin. She had every right to be there. ‘Hi. I’m Pearl’s daughter.’

  The older nurse narrowed her eyes. It was Katrina. ‘What’s the problem here?’

  ‘She doesn’t recognize me,’ Reen said, allowing the truth to settle inside of her.

  ‘We expect that reaction. Especially in a facility like this,’ the nurse said. She stood by Mom and lightly touched her arm. ‘Pearl. How are you this morning? I’m Katrina. Can I get you something?’

  Mom’s eyelids fluttered until they closed again. Reen thought she’d fallen asleep, but several seconds later they flung open. A deep sigh escaped Mom’s mouth.

  ‘Come with me,’ Katrina said to Reen.

  They left the room and Katrina led her into a public area. ‘It’s nice of you to visit. Perhaps Rose hasn’t informed you about the way we care for our residents. It’s best to keep them calm.’

  ‘Yesterday – she knew me.’

  Katrina nodded. ‘It happens sometimes. But you can’t barge in here thinking she’s the same person you saw before.’

  The hairs on Reen’s neck stood on end. Who was this woman to speak to her like this? It was as if she were back in high school and was being scolded for smoking behind the bleachers.

  ‘Rose should be here soon,’ Katrina said. ‘It would be best for you to give Pearl a little space before seeing her again.’

  Of course, Rose to the rescue.

  ‘I should get going,’ Reen said.

  ‘I hope to see you again soon,’ she chirped.

  Reen wasn’t too sure about that.

  #

  Reen opened the car door as her phone rang. She didn’t need to look to know it was Rose. Katrina was such a snitch.

  Reen picked up. She couldn’t avoid Rose forever, and she would come looking for her at the park if she didn’t respond.

  ‘I got a message from the Whinding House,’ Rose said. ‘What happened?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Reen said.

  ‘They have to alert me when an incident occurs,’ Rose pushed.

  Even when it involved another family member? Maybe it was a mistake to come back here. She hadn’t expected them to treat her like a stranger. Reen explained what happened. No doubt Katrina had twisted it to make her seem like a terrible monster.

  ‘They advise us not to call her Mom. It confuses her, makes her more agitated,’ Rose said.

  ‘She was fine before,’ Reen explained.

  ‘Each day is different. We have to be flexible.’

  Reen ground her teeth so hard her head hurt. She wiped her forehead and dragged her sweaty fingers against her shorts.

  Rose’s voice cut through her. ‘I thought you were going to the festival.’

  ‘I was – am.’ Reen got inside the car. She flipped the air conditioning on and turned the vents toward her flushed skin. ‘I knew I wasn’t going to be able to see Mom later today, so I figured I’d stop here early.’

  ‘I would have come with you, if you’d told me,’ Rose said in a quiet voice.

  Reen shrugged. ‘I’m an adult.’

  Rose sighed. ‘For now, we should go together, so nothing like this happens again.’

  Reen bit back a nasty reply. ‘Talk to you later.’ She hung up before Rose offered any more of her sage advice.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Reen didn’t know what to expect when it came to any of The Burrow events. In the past, she tended to show up late, as she’d spent much of her youth in the pool or ocean, which always made her lose track of time. Once her parents stopped forcing her to go, she stayed away. Since the locals knew everyone’s business, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for other adults to call Mom or Dad if they caught Reen doing anything remotely out of the norm. Brody never minded keeping out of the limelight of the well-attended events. And Nadine avo
ided them like the plague.

  But the fact that Nadine was donating her time to the event flipped Reen’s view of them. She didn’t want to disappoint Nadine, but as she walked across the park, toward the massive group of people, Reen almost regretted her choice to agree to help at all.

  Women in floral sundresses listened intently to Nadine’s instructions, while some black-clad men and women, roadies, she assumed, stood at the outskirts appearing mildly interested. Overnight, the craft tables had transformed. Stained-glass pieces dangled from one, while the sun glinted off the jewelry in another. Clothing, scarves, and other accessories moved against the breeze filtering through the park. Reen didn’t remember the last time she’d seen anything like it.

  She stood off to the side, behind Nadine. There were two pot-bellied men with beards standing close to the sound booth, so she figured those were the men she was working with. Not daring to interrupt Nadine, Reen waited to approach them.

  ‘Our local businesses are providing lunch. I will have them delivered around noon each day. For those on stage, there will be catering under the green room tent,’ Nadine said, checking something off the paper attached to her clipboard. ‘If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to find me. If there aren’t any questions, feel free to head to your stations.’ The crowd dispersed, and Reen jumped on the opportunity to speak with her friend.

  ‘Hey,’ Nadine said. ‘I didn’t see you come over.’

  Reen opened her mouth to complain about Rose and the situation with Pearl, but she already knew deep down she’d been in the wrong and wanted to save herself any further embarrassment.

  ‘I couldn’t find a parking spot.’ A weak excuse, but it wasn’t a lie. With the influx of vendors and band members, there hadn’t been much street parking. She’d opted for the lot closer to the beach.

  ‘No worries,’ Nadine said, walking away. ‘Come here, and I’ll introduce you.’

  Reen tagged along. ‘Reen, this is Tim and Gary, the main operators for the performances. They’re coming to us from a production company near Hartford.’

  ‘Nice to meetcha, I’m Tim,’ said the taller guy. He wore an AC/DC T-shirt and black jeans. His beard made him look menacing until he smiled. Then, he looked like rock star Santa, with darker-colored hair.

  Gary nodded at Reen and walked over to the booth.

  ‘Reen is going to help out whenever needed,’ Nadine instructed. ‘She’s also my good friend, so treat her well.’

  Nadine’s warning made Tim smile again. Even though Reen knew she was serious, it appeared as if they’d all known each other much longer than just today.

  #

  For the next hour or so, Tim and Reen stood at the booth while Gary walked across the stage. Tim set the lights and the microphone levels. The first band walked around the stage, warming up their equipment.

  Brody and his girlfriend appeared near the stage, and Reen sucked in a breath. Loud enough to get Gary’s attention.

  ‘You all right?’ he asked.

  It took her a minute to convince him she hadn’t had a heart attack. Her reaction was much stronger than she expected. Seeing Brody in broad daylight with his girlfriend shifted something inside of her. Flashes of the other morning with Brody in a towel made her cheeks flush. She tore her eyes away from him and the girl.

  Concentrating took some effort. Out of the corners of her eyes, she mapped out every booth Brody walked to, and it appeared as if he were tagging along with the girl through the tents. Now and then, the girl would shriek excitedly, and the sound pinched Reen’s chest.

  She shouldn’t care so much. Why did she care?

  Between working, and talking herself down, she missed a few minutes’ worth of information from Gary. Shaking her head, she refocused on her task.

  #

  It didn’t take long for the food trucks to roll in and the crowd to form. The first band started around one. Gary showed Reen how to work the music they played through the speakers outside of the tents.

  The crush of people would have normally made Reen want to run, but seeing the smiling faces of everyone around her, it planted her in the present. For once, she wanted to be here and felt as if she had something to contribute.

  ‘Reen!’ Nadine called.

  ‘What’s up?’

  ‘I need your help. I can’t find my volunteers anywhere, and we’re late getting the food out to the vendors.’

  Reen glanced at Gary who was far away in his own world. She doubted he’d notice if she left for a little while. ‘Okay.’

  Nadine had two huge coolers of sandwiches and water bottles and several plastic bags of chips and pretzels.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said as they started on their way. ‘These kids are going to get it from me when I see them next.’

  ‘Let me take the coolers,’ Reen said, taking the bags. She rolled the coolers over the thick grass, struggling until she had a good hold on the handles.

  Brody jogged over to them. Reen kept her eyes on the ground.

  ‘Nadine, sit down,’ he said. ‘You look like you’re about to pass out.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Nadine punctuated each word with a big breath.

  ‘No, you’re not,’ he said. ‘Where are your volunteers?’

  She flashed her teeth. ‘It’s best if they stay away from me right now.’

  ‘I’ll handle this with Reen. Take a break. I haven’t seen you stop moving for a while.’

  Reen watched the way his muscles tightened as he grabbed the bags from Nadine and pulled the cooler filled with water bottles closer to his body.

  ‘Thanks for doing this,’ Reen said, as they continued toward the tents.

  He pressed his lips together.

  ‘Where’s your girlfriend?’ Reen blurted out. She wished she could curb her mouth sometimes, but she’d been searching for her in the crowd since Brody came over to them.

  He shrugged. ‘She’s sitting over there. She likes this band.’

  Reen tried not to appear too interested, but she did find the girl across the way. ‘How long have you been dating?’

  His smile wavered. ‘We’re doing this now?’

  ‘Doing what?’

  ‘Pretending we care about each other’s relationships.’

  She stared ahead. ‘I’m not pretending.’

  ‘So, you care about who I’m dating?’

  Reen lifted her shoulders. ‘We haven’t seen each other in a while. I wanted to catch up, is all. Isn’t that what friends do?’ Reen waited for him to say they weren’t friends. But he didn’t.

  ‘She’s from New Hampshire. Her aunt rents a house every year in The Burrow. I met her last year, and this year we kept up with a casual relationship.’

  ‘Casual? Meaning open?’

  ‘No. There’s a difference,’ Brody said. ‘I’m not that kind of person. What about you?’

  ‘I don’t prefer open relationships.’ She didn’t prefer relationships at all but keeping it casual was her thing. Not that she’d agree with him about that.

  He laughed. ‘No, I mean are you in a relationship?’

  Reen thought of Darin. Roguishly handsome Darin. She could have easily said yes, claiming him as something he wasn’t. Or would telling him about Darin make it easier for her to stay away from Brody?

  She didn’t have a chance to answer as they arrived at the booth of a local author. He was an older man with thick glasses. There were dragon statues all over the table along with his book covers.

  ‘I’m starving,’ the author said, taking a sandwich from Reen’s hands.

  ‘Sorry about the delay. We’re a little short-staffed,’ Reen explained.

  The author ripped the paper around his sandwich and dug in. As he ate, he refocused on the printed manuscript in front of him.

  Reen stifled a laugh but Brody didn’t try as hard.

  ‘Starving artist?’ Brody asked when they were further away.

  ‘He certainly had a dragon-sized appetite.’ Reen’s eyes filled with tears
as they approached the next booth. Her vision blurred, and her stomach ached from laughing. Her shoulders relaxed, and she and Brody fell into a familiar place once again. She blinked, and they were back to their life before Dad died and Mom checked out. A place she never thought she’d leave until her life came crashing down. Her thoughts tried to soil her good mood, but she didn’t allow it. Brody’s smile lit up his face, and even if he never smiled again, she wasn’t ready for their bubble to burst just yet.

  ‘Let’s bring these to my truck,’ Brody said.

  Even though she didn’t want to be alone with him anymore, for fear of getting too close again, her body had other ideas. They walked away from the crowd, becoming more secluded by the minute.

  ‘You do a lot around here,’ she said.

  ‘I do what I can,’ he said. ‘This is our home.’

  Our home. She hadn’t thought of it that way in a long time. Did his inclusion mean he still thought of her as part of his home too?

  Their conversation faded to small talk. She hated that. Why couldn’t this be as easy as it had been when they were teens? They’d had conversations between make-out sessions. If she could let go of that part of herself, maybe they could part as friends.

  ‘Brody!’ a familiar female voice called from behind them.

  Reen froze in her spot, even though the girl clearly wasn’t looking for her.

  ‘Hey,’ Brody’s girlfriend said, sliding next to him as she had in the bar. ‘Where did you go?’ Even though she spoke to Brody, the girl only had eyes for Reen.

  Reen knew that look. The words back off, bitch floated in the air between them. Unsaid, but the message was clear.

  ‘I’m Reen,’ she said, extending her hand to the girl. ‘I’m one of the volunteers. We were helping with lunch.’

  ‘I saw you the other night at the bar,’ the girl said, bumping Brody’s arm.

  ‘This is Krystal,’ Brody said.

  She smiled with all her teeth and tucked her body close to his as if claiming him.

  ‘It’s nice to meet you,’ Reen said, lifting the empty cooler into the back of Brody’s truck. She kept her expression impassive. ‘Well, I should be heading back. See you two around?’