Flavor of the Month by Georgia Beers

Author:Georgia Beers [Beers, Georgia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635556179
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2020-03-17T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

When Charlie and her parents returned to the house, Sherry was there, home from a long day at work, apparently.

“We gonna do this fire pit thing?” her father said, clapping his hands and then rubbing them together.

Sherry held up a bag of marshmallows.

“You remembered,” her mother said, taking the bag from her daughter.

“There’s a fire pit?” Charlie said, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

“Has been for three years now,” came Sherry’s reply, the ever-present tinge of irritation obvious.

“Okay, everybody go get their fire clothes on, and I’ll get things started.” Her dad went out the back door, and it slammed behind him.

“Just put on something ratty,” her mom said with a grin, then headed upstairs, presumably to change.

Sherry opened the fridge and pulled out several bottles of beer. She moved them to a small cooler on the table and arranged them to fit as she asked, “Do they even have ratty clothes in the big city?”

That was it for Charlie. She had had a couple glasses of wine at the restaurant, and seeing Emma, having Emma wink at her the way she did, it had nudged Charlie off-balance, and she hadn’t been able to right herself since, felt off her axis. Sherry’s ire just felt like more pushing, and she’d had just about enough of it.

“What is your problem?” Charlie snapped the words in a hissed whisper, and they came out harsher than she’d intended.

Sherry had the good sense to look surprised for a split second before her eyes darkened. “My problem? Mine? What is your problem, Charlie? You leave and don’t come home for, what? Two fucking years?” She lowered her voice on the curse and then joined Charlie in the angry whispering. “Do you know how hard it was on Mom and Dad to never see you? And suddenly you’re back, but only because your rich girlfriend dumped you? And what do our parents do? They make you a fucking apartment in the basement and welcome you back like you’re the princess returning home from a long trip. As if I haven’t been here the whole fucking time.” She scooped some ice from the tray in the pull-out freezer and tossed it on top of the beer bottles.

Charlie didn’t know what to say, so she stood there, blinking and absorbing her sister’s words, as she watched her snap the cooler shut, grab the handle, and head out the back door. Shock. Anger. Hurt. Regret. Guilt. So many emotions rolled through her then. Her eyes welled up and a lump formed in her throat as she stood there, but when she heard her mother coming down the stairs, she turned quickly and headed down to the basement, her steps slow as if she wore cement shoes.

Once down there, she tried to busy herself by finding clothes suitable for sitting around a fire, but the lump stayed, uncomfortable and almost painful, as did the almost-tears. Sherry’s voice, her eyes, had held such…venom.

She sat down on the bed, an old T-shirt in her hands, and stared at nothing.

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