The Ones We Trust by Kimberly Belle

Author:Kimberly Belle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 2015-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

18

That Friday, at precisely six o’clock, I ring my brother’s doorbell, praying it’s not Mike but Betsy who answers. My brother and I are not exactly on the best of terms. He’s furious about the memo, about Victoria breaking the story, about it turning his neat and tidy life into front-page news. And I’m still livid about his reaction, which was basically to pound down my door and condemn me, and in loud and rather colorful language, for all of it. Long story short, Mike sides with Dad. Unconditionally. I am a traitor and a snake and a fool. I am the worst kind of daughter. Our reunion tonight is going to be beyond awkward.

But no matter how much I want to avoid seeing Mike, I want to take Rose trick-or-treating more. For kids, Halloween is the most sacred of holidays, and the fact that she wants to spend the evening with me and only me makes braving another round of my brother’s vitriol well worth the cost.

The double oak doors open to reveal Rose in a green fairy costume, glittery wings flapping at her back. She’s flanked by a barking Ginger, who looks more like a maniacal insect than a dog, thanks to antennae that hang lopsided over one eye.

“Trick or treat,” I sing, opening my wool cape with the back of an arm and bending in a deep curtsy. Rose’s eyes widen at the sight of my costume, and she giggles behind a tiny hand.

According to Party City, this particular ensemble is called “Renaissance Maiden,” but so far the only thing it’s been is annoying. A full-length, multi-layered skirt. Puffy sleeves with finger loops and bat wings. A corset that digs into my ribs and a headpiece with long, netted drape. But on a bright note, at least I’m not a slutty nurse.

Mike appears behind Rose, his face set in a perma-scowl. She plucks a plastic pumpkin container off the foyer floor and skips to the door, bouncing up and down and screaming, “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

I hold out my hand for hers, but Mike stops us. No, he stops me. “She can’t go out like that, Abby. Jesus. What is the matter with you?” He snatches a navy peacoat off a chair by the door and punches the air with it.

“Nothing’s the matter with me,” I say pointedly, swiping the coat from his outstretched hand. Mike is the king of passive-aggressive jabs, but he and I lived under the same roof long enough for me to have picked up a trick or two. “You, however, might want to remove that giant stick from your A-S-S.” I soften my tone and turn to Rose. “But your father’s right. It’s cold out, and you need a coat.”

Rose looks down at her costume, essentially flimsy green chiffon over thin white tights. “But Tinker Bell doesn’t wear a coat.”

“Then Tinker Bell doesn’t go trick-or-treating,” Mike says, in an and-that’s-final-young-lady tone.

Rose doesn’t move, except to jut her bottom lip out a little farther.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.