Olivia hadn’t seen her sister since their mother’s birthday in June. They spoke as briefly on the phone as possible, mostly on routine matters like their mother’s medications or the leak that required a plumber. Too much had sat between them for many years, but once upon a time they’d been sisters. The kind that dressed in their grandmother’s old dresses and climbed trees. Two girls relishing their secret society, squabbling over who got to marry which crush, and getting up early to watch Tom and Jerry before school. They’d dreamed under a blanket of stars glowing bright on the ceiling of their shared bedroom. They’d worn matching Christmas pajamas, fought over the cereal prizes, and held hands when they jumped in the lake. Sisters the same as any other.

But somehow they’d gotten sideways after all the trouble with their father and never found their way back. Neve resented Olivia’s success. Olivia resented Neve’s lack of motivation. They each stood on the other side of the fence when it came to their parents. Neve enabled their mother’s gambling and unhealthy lifestyle and went weekly to visit their father, who had served his sentence and worked for a waste disposal company outside San Diego. Olivia did neither.

Neve picked up a National Geographic, a smile flitting across her lips. “Remember when we used to look at the naked pictures?”

Olivia nodded. “And Dad caught us and punished us? Ridiculous to put a stop to our curiosity, which was natural, but I suppose we now understand that he knew little of what was natural.”

Neve’s mouth twisted. “Please, Olivia. Don’t.”

Admonished, Olivia shrugged a shoulder. “Of course.”

Why would they talk about the thing that had ripped them apart? Their father’s actions had torn their family, smashing their illusions, making what had happened to Marley even more devastating. And Neve overlooked it.

Their dad, of course, never admitted to his crimes. Both Neve and her mother believed that he’d been falsely accused of lewd conduct and sexual relations with a minor, that his affectionate nature had been misread. They’d stood beside him, even as her parents divorced from the emotional strain. Olivia and her father had butted heads during the trial, and he’d accused her of choosing sniveling liberals over family loyalty. Olivia wasn’t sure her father had done as claimed, but she’d lost all respect for him. They’d had a huge dustup, and now they no longer spoke to one another.