As Good as the First Time

by K. M. Jackson

  Drea shrugged. “Well, if you call struggling for over thirty years perfect, then sure, they’ve got it all going on.”

  “You know for a fact that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about their relationship. How they get along together. That’s what’s perfect. Or as close to perfect in this day and age as you can get. Why must you be so jaded?”

  Drea gave Liv a stare that was just long enough to be intrusive. “And I suppose you being Little Miss Perfect, that’s exactly what you have going on with Damon?”

  Liv stared back at her sister, the corners of her own eyes tightening when she caught the fight in Drea’s. She was clearly egging her on. “Whatever,” Liv said, raising her shoulders and then lowering them again in a dismissive gesture. She wouldn’t give Drea the time or energy for the confrontation she was clearly itching for. Besides, she wasn’t going to let her sister bait her into spilling the beans on the demise of her and Damon’s relationship. It wasn’t as if she could expect any sort of sympathy from her sister on the subject; they didn’t have a relationship like that.

  “Whatever do you mean by whatever?” Drea asked, immediately latching on to the dangling thread. “And where is Mr. Right tonight anyway? Aren’t you two always joined at the hip? I expected him to be here all suited down and overdressed. Shouldn’t he be about ready to make some sort of grand proposal by now anyway?” Drea’s words came out harsh and slightly warbled.

  Liv wasn’t playing this game. Not now. Not tonight. Liv started to walk toward the kitchen, but her sister grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up short. “Well?”

  Liv jerked her arm out of Drea’s grasp, annoyance and a hint of nervousness licking at the back of her neck. “Why are you so concerned about my relationship? What’s going on? Don’t tell me, Mr. Married Boss once again putting on the moves, or is it that his wife got wind? Either way, Drea, you can’t deflect by taking your problems out on me, and you sure enough can’t flirt your way cutely around the issue forever. That job is never going to lead to you becoming a star no matter what sort of so-called connections that boss of yours says he has.”

  With that Drea’s pretty brown eyes quickly lit up with a spark of fire. “Flirting? I’m not flirting with anything!” She shook her head. “Look at you. Once again Ms. Judgy Gale coming down with her verdicts and no facts to be had. I knew you couldn’t last the night.”

  Liv moved in closer toward her sister, getting inches from her face, making her voice a hiss of a whisper. “And I knew you couldn’t last the night without trying to bait me and making yourself the center of attention. What is it? Is your life not complete unless you’re all up in mine? This is supposed to be Dad’s night. This little brat act won’t play cute for much longer.”

  Drea looked as if she was about ready to stomp her foot. “Cute! Look at you! As if you’d know cute if it bit you on your—”

  Liv opened her mouth to reply before Drea got out her final word, but was stopped by the sound of her mother’s voice. “Seriously, you two.” Her mother spoke slow and steady, but the underlying edge of anger was all too real. It immediately silenced both her and her sister and took them right back to preteens and weeklong groundings. “Tonight is your father’s night, and I won’t have you two arguing and ruining it for him.”

  Her father came up behind her mother and wrapped his arms around her waist. His smile said he was feeling no pains on this night and his daughters arguing would not be getting to him in the least. Still, when he looked at Liv and Drea, Liv didn’t miss the hint of disappointment. “Oh, Anne, don’t pay these girls no never mind. As if I’d let their usual going at each other ruin this night.” He took Liv’s mother’s hand and gave her a twirl. “Besides, I get to stay up as late as I want and dance with my sweetheart. No work for me tomorrow, or ever if I want. This guy is chilling out, living off a fixed income pension now.”

  Liv couldn’t help but laugh at that and let her annoying sister’s words roll off her back. No, her parents wouldn’t be living off their retirement money in the lap of luxury, and even with tight budgeting, things would probably be a bit tough. But both her mother and father seemed happy, and in good enough health to enjoy these latter years together. So she could totally understand her father’s exuberance tonight, and she felt bad about letting a squabble with Drea potentially ruin it.

  It was then that the familiar sound of the house’s landline rang out. Although usually to Liv the sound was comforting, since she only ever heard it at her parents’ house, being that she and most of her friends who had their own places now relied solely on their cell phones, the fact that it came at such a late hour startled all of them.

  “Who could that be calling at this hour?” her mother said as she went toward the kitchen to pick up the phone.

  “It’s probably Mrs. Jenkins calling to complain about the noise from the party,” her father said.

  Her mother shrugged. “Well, she’s got no reason to complain. She should’ve come up and that way she wouldn’t have had a problem with any noise. It wasn’t like she wasn’t invited.”

  Her father waved a frustrated hand. “Blah, as if that crab apple would have come out of her cave to give a kind word. Please. You know she’s one of those Sunday-only kind of Christians. By Monday her religion is long forgotten till the next Saturday after midnight.” It must have been the Christian talk that brought his gaze back over to Liv and Drea, and he gave his head another shake before walking back toward the sideboard. “Nope, I’m not even going to talk about Crab Apple Jenkins tonight. Tonight is my night.” Their dad picked up the CD player remote and turned the volume up a bit before turning back to Liv and her sister and taking both of their hands, this time swinging them, doing his version of a little shimmy dance to a ’90s groove track.

  “Get it now, Daddy,” Drea said, snapping her fingers and dancing around him. “Mom had better watch out. You still got plenty of moves left in you.”

  But Liv let her own hand slip away from her father’s as she moved closer to her mother when she caught the hint of urgency in her voice.

  “What is that, Joyce? Oh my Lord!” her mother said, bringing her hand to her chest and causing Liv’s own heart to skip a beat.

  What was Aunt Joyce doing calling with news that would cause her mother to figuratively clutch her pearls? Liv gave her mom a concerned look and mouthed the words, “Is everything okay?”

  Her mother just shook her head, and Liv couldn’t tell if that meant things were fine or if she was giving Liv the brush-off. Either way she knew she had to wait to get the news. After listening in on a few nonsensical sentences that ended with, “Are you sure?” “. . . surgery,” and “What about Katherine?” Liv could only surmise that somebody was having surgery and it had something to do with her aunt Katherine. After a few short nods, her mother hung up the phone with a promise to call her sister back.

  By then Liv’s dad, having realized something was wrong, had turned down the music and was waiting for news of what happened with concern in his eyes. So was Drea, a fresh glass of wine in hand, and this time Elijah was by her side, obviously ready for round three with the food, Liv guessed, since it seemed nothing else would coax him back out of his ham and biscuit stupor at this hour.

  “Well, what is it?” Liv’s father asked. “What was Joyce calling for at this time of night?”

  Her mother let out a sigh, then looked up at her father with worried eyes. “Well, unfortunately Joyce, being Joyce, a little too headstrong, decided that she could clean her own gutters and took a tumble off a ladder and broke her hip.”

  “Oh boy. That sounds just like Joyce,” her father said with a knowing tone.

  “Yeah, well, the break was pretty major, and Joyce, not being as young as she thinks she is, is shocked that it will take as long as it will for it to fully heal.” Her mother’s frown deepened as she thought of something. “I honestly can’t believe Kath didn’t call me as soon as this happened. I may just wring her neck for this. Joyce said
she told her not to call, but since when does Kath do what she’s told?”

  “You said a mouthful there,” their father agreed.

  Their mother nodded. “Well, at least now Joyce is calling. She’s out of the hospital and, with the shop back open, having trouble keeping it running as it should on her own.”

  “But what about Kath and her kids?” her father asked. “Doesn’t she have one of Kath’s girls working in the shop now?”

  Her mother shook her head. “No, she’s got one of Clint’s children, Rena, working there. As Joyce said, Kath’s kids are a bit too sadity and wouldn’t dare get their hands dirty by messing around in flour and dough.”

  “Okay, so she’s got Rena working there,” their father said. “What’s the problem? Just call in some extra help.”

  Her mother gave her father a “come on and get real” look. “You know how Joyce is, complaining that Rena is only half there and more worried about her babies’ father than about what she has to do in the shop. Not to mention she’s convinced she can’t get decent help in town, at least not someone who is up to her standards. You know what a control freak she is.”

  “And whose fault is that?” her father asked, and Liv could see that her mother was immediately torn as she looked for an answer to the question. Liv knew as well as her mother that her father was absolutely right. Though a real firecracker and Liv’s absolute favorite, it was true, Aunt Joyce was a total control freak. She ran the family’s pie shop, passed down from their mother and their grandmother before—Goode ’N Sweet—with love; care; and total, exacting control. Although it was Aunt Joyce who ran the shop and did all the baking, Liv’s mother and Aunt Kath were still part owners, but really in name only. Goode ’N Sweet was Aunt Joyce’s baby. She’d often said there was a reason that she’d never gone on to marry or have any children of her own. That taking care of the business was just about as much nurturing as she was able to dole out.

  And she doled out plenty in that old shop. Liv’s mind went to her summers down at Sugar Lake. In the shop’s kitchen with Aunt Joyce were some of her happiest times. Although she was a tough cookie, all her warmth came out when she was sharing her love of baking and the Goode family tradition of nurturing through good food and fellowship. Liv had only fond memories of her aunt and could attribute all she knew about making desserts to her.

  “Well,” her mother said, “her being controlling is neither here nor there. Joyce must be in dire straits for her to swallow her pride, pick up the phone, and call to ask for help. I have a feeling it’s not just about hiring extra help. It may be a money issue too. With hospital bills and all. Maybe she can’t afford it. Mitch, you know that calling like this is not like her. It must be serious.”

  Liv’s father’s expression changed to grievous, which in turn sent a feeling of dread to the pit of Liv’s stomach. “You do have a point there. But what can we do? We leave on our vacation soon. Everything is all booked. How can plans be changed now?”

  “I don’t know,” her mother said. “Maybe if I call the travel agent we can make some sort of change and not have any heavy penalties.”

  “Oh, Anne. There you go. Always putting others first. This has been your dream for so long. There has to be another way.”

  Liv could see the pain on her mother’s face and the joy of the wonderful night fade as it slipped from her father’s expression. Why was it that things must always go wrong at the exact worst possible time? There had to be a solution that didn’t involve her parents putting their dreams on hold, yet once again for someone else.

  “Uncle Cole has other kids,” Drea chimed up from by the bar. “Why can’t one of them just step in?”

  “Because they all have jobs that they can’t just walk away from,” their mother said.

  Drea nodded. “Yeah, well I know how that is.”

  “Do you?” The words were out of Liv’s mouth before she could shore her brain up fast enough to stop them.

  “Seriously?” Drea said, quickly turning toward her sister. “You use this moment to jump on me and put me down about my job.”

  “I’m not jumping on you, Drea. I’m just saying it’s not like your job is one that you can’t, well, take a leave from. That is, if your boss can do without you for a while.”

  “Don’t start,” Drea said by way of warning. “It’s not like I see your man here worried about what you’re doing.”

  “What you mean by her man?” Liv’s mother asked, speedy with the perceptive pickup. “Your boss is your boss and nothing more. Right, Drea? So why would you even equate him with Livy’s boyfriend?”

  Drea looked at her mother seemingly at a loss for words and then turned to Liv with a look that both said she’d like to kill Liv while it asked how she could put her in such a position. Crap. Liv felt horrible for even bringing the subject up and putting her little sister out there like that. She didn’t think there was anything going on with Drea and her boss, but that tongue slip was really a bit too much. Even if she annoyed her to no end, she didn’t want her sister put in a compromising position and be ratted out in front of their parents tonight. Not without talking to her privately first. “I can go help out with Aunt Joyce,” Liv said in a rush.

  Everyone turned toward her with confused looks on their faces, but it was her mother who spoke up first. “What do you mean you can go and help out Aunt Joyce? You’re just as busy as everyone else. Sure, you may be able to take a couple of days off of work, but it’s not like you can just walk away from your job, Livy. Joyce seems like she will need help for a few weeks at least, maybe more.” She waved a hand indicating her frustration. “No, it’s not an option. Your dad and I will figure something out. I’m sure we can make adjustments with the travel agency.”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Liv said firmly. “You will take your trip and you will have a wonderful time. In the meantime, I’ll go and help Aunt Joyce. It’ll all be fine, you’ll see.”

  “Of course it will. Why, it’s so like you to jump in and save the day, big sister,” Drea said from over her shoulder. “Would you care to tell us how you’re actually going to do that with your job and everything?”

  It was Liv’s turn now to give her sister a look. Her eyes let her know that she’d indeed pushed the right button this time.

  Liv sucked in a much-needed breath and let it out before she began her next sentence. “As of today, I don’t have a job.” The air around her chilled, and she couldn’t tell if it was her body reacting to her admission or that her mother and father had just sucked all the air out of the room at the very same time.

  “Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Liv quickly added. “The company used words like downsized and restructured to make it all very PC, so I got a decent-enough severance package to keep me going for a while.” She could do this. “Though I will admit it still sucks to be fired. That’s never happened to me before.”

  “Well, welcome to Club Screw Up, Miss Perfect. We’re happy to have you here,” Drea said, and their mother thankfully told her to hush it up before Liv rounded on her.

  “I’m so sorry, honey,” her father said. “These corporations have no loyalty. And for them to do something like that to a star like you, they obviously have no sense either. That’s okay, you’ll find something in no time. But are you sure you want to take on going to Sugar Lake? You know as well as I do that Aunt Joyce can be a handful and Georgia is just starting to heat up this time of year.”

  Her father’s words pulled her up short. He was probably right. Well for one, Georgia was getting hot, but with the job, Damon and all, Liv was feeling like she could use the change of climate. And two, Aunt Joyce was a lot to handle, so Liv knew a trip to Sugar Lake probably was setting herself up for trouble in more ways than one. Sugar Lake held more than a few memories, some sweet and a few bitter. But it didn’t take away from the fact that Aunt Joyce was family. And her mom and dad needed her right now, and well, that trumped any apprehension she had.

  “Y
es, your father is right, and what about Damon?” her mother asked. “How’s he going to react to you going away for a couple of weeks to Sugar Lake? It may even be a month or two. You can’t really judge what Aunt Joyce needs until you get there. I don’t know about this, dear.”

  “Well,” Liv said as she prepared herself for more judgment, “I’m sure Damon won’t care, since he and I broke up today.”

  “Today!” Drea shouted from over her shoulder. “Isn’t his timing stellar? Was it before or after he’d heard you’d gotten fired?”

  Liv rounded on her sister with a sharp look. “Not that it matters, but my getting fired had nothing to do with it.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Drea said.

  Liv let out a long breath. She would not let Drea pull her in. This was not about her and Damon right now. And besides, she didn’t get to tell him about getting fired before he’d had a chance to move his crap and her TV out of her place, so one had nothing to do with the other, she guessed.

  “Drea, don’t start,” her mother said by way of warning.

  “I’m just saying, the dude picks today of all days to break up with her. That’s classic bum behavior.” She turned toward Liv and gave her a sharp look. “But hey, now I get why you are being so altruistic and running off to Sugar Lake. It will be a perfect place to make your escape and to lick your wounds.”

  Liv’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got a lot of freaking nerve talking to me about escaping and running off!” She’d gone too far now. “You’ve been running and escaping life ever since you finished college. Fluttering from job to job and man to man looking for your so-called big break. How about you get real? You’re not going to get any big breaks from some walk-in asking for a corner table by the window. When are you going to take your life into your own hands, and when are you going to take a little responsibility and help your family out? At least I’m standing up and doing what needs to be done so Mom and Dad can still go on their trip. Live out their dreams. What are you going to do to help them along, to help the family? Continue to take your acting and singing lessons while never going on auditions, while you live under their roof, eat their food, spend their money? Either grow up or shut up once and for all!”