“I need a second to finesse it.” She smiles. “So, I figured I’ll leave you alone for a couple of days while I do that. This way, we get some time to figure out our personal shit before we come together to figure out the family shit. And, when I have everything sorted, I shall present my fully formed sister-bonding plan! Does that sound like something you might possibly be interested in?”

“Welcome to the Black Parade” wraps up around us, and I hold off responding as the group goes quiet. Terry gets her next musical request from the blond girl, Kelly. She wants a song called “ME!” by Taylor Swift because it empowered her in some way, blah blah blah. Terry starts strumming. Retreaters start singing along with her. I turn back to Jamie.

Does that sound like something I might be interested in? she asked.

Yes. It sounds kind of perfect. I don’t want to waste this retreat. I need to use it to find inner peace and all that excrement. I love the idea of a sister-bonding travel plan. Also, putting a pin in this for a few days would be an enormous relief.

I can’t believe I’m about to agree with her assessment.

“I guess, yeah,” I say reluctantly.

Jamie’s overalls jingle as she executes a weird, goofy shimmy. “Fantastic! Okay! Before we go on hiatus, can I ask you three questions for sister-bonding plan research?”

The group song surges around us. “Only if you let me ask you three questions too,” I yell over them. The music dies abruptly mid-song.

My heart falls into my colon. We shouldn’t have been talking.

Terry’s staring at us with a flustered look in her eyes. Not just Terry, everyone.

“Why aren’t the two of you participating? Is everything okay?” Terry asks.

Jamie pulls her stick of food from the fire. “Everything’s fabulous. We’re having an introspection moment, Terr.”

I shoot Jamie a death look. The haphazard way she speaks to authority figures makes my stomach hurt. “Sorry, we’ll move farther from the group,” I offer.

“That’s considerate of you. Thanks, Siri.”

I jump off the log and hustle away. When I’m a good thirty feet from the fire circle I slowly lower myself onto the grass. My back groans as I slouch for a moment. I snap upright again.

Jamie sidles over belatedly.

“You’re so rude to our instructors,” I hiss as she collapses in a heap across from me. She sinks her teeth into a roasted marshmallow. It gets all over her face as she pulls away.

“Whut dud you tink of their rendition of ‘Black Parade’?” She swallows. “I danced my way down here from the cleansing room.”

It’s work not to roll my eyes. “You have marshmallow all over your face.”

“Cool, I think it really adds to my youthful glow.”