The Bloom Girls by Emily Cavanagh

Author:Emily Cavanagh [Cavanagh, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Literary, Contemporary Women, Family Life, Sisters, Women's Fiction
ISBN: 9781503942530
Google: eGAQvgAACAAJ
Amazon: B01JOEK5ZM
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Published: 2017-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

Cal

Cal’s back hurt. She’d slept poorly the night before, probably because she’d been dozing off and on all day yesterday. She’d been in this bed for over twenty-four hours, though she was still tired and groggy. She wondered if she was coming down with something, some flu or disease. Terminal exhaustion, maybe. She felt like she was recovering from years of exhaustion, not just recently but as far back as her school days, when she spent nights poring over legal briefs in law school, cramming for exams and writing papers in college, and even staying late to meet deadlines as the editor of her high school paper, then rising early to start at dawn, a cup of coffee her only company.

“Just relax,” her mother was always telling her when she was growing up. “You don’t have to do everything. Take some time to relax.”

But Cal couldn’t relax. It wasn’t in her nature. These days relaxing meant checking Facebook or saving projects to Pinterest she’d never get around to doing. Otherwise, there was work to be done, and if she didn’t do it, who would?

As if on cue, her phone rang, Howard’s grinning face lighting up the screen.

“Hey,” she said, answering his call for the first time all day. It was close to noon.

“Hi,” he said. “You’re there.”

“Where else would I be?” she asked, then immediately felt guilty for snapping at him.

“I tried calling a few times earlier this morning, but you didn’t pick up.”

“I was helping my sisters figure some stuff out,” she lied.

“Good. Do you know when the service will be?” His voice was patient and soothing, the way one might talk to a child.

“There’s a wake tomorrow night. The funeral will be Tuesday morning.” Suzy had left a message earlier with the times, though Cal still didn’t know any of the details.

“Okay. So we’ll come up tonight,” he said.

“You don’t need to come,” she told him. “There’s no reason for the girls to go.”

“Cal, of course we’re going to come,” Howard said, exasperation creeping into his voice.

“No, really. I don’t want them here. I don’t want to explain this to Maisy. And what’s Sadie going to do? She’ll be tired and cranky. There’s no reason they have to come.” She lay back down against the pillow, closing her eyes.

“Cal, I want to come. I knew your father. I’d like to come to his funeral.” The word stuck in her throat. A funeral. Her father would have a funeral. “Have you talked to your mother?” he asked, changing the subject. “When is she coming?”

“I’m not sure.” Cal had been dodging her mother’s calls as well. The last message had said she was trying to catch a flight out today, though there were some delays because of weather. “Are the girls okay? How’s Sadie sleeping?” At the mention of Sadie, her breasts ached, her nipples tingling as the unspent milk rushed to the surface. She still hadn’t used the pump. Soon the milk would begin to dry up.

“She’s doing all right,” Howard said.

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