Ari was all over the place. Emily could barely parse what she was trying to say. She was afraid of getting sick, of regretting her life choices, of never living to see her dreams come true.

“You know,” Emily said, “Dad is sixty-four and totally healthy. If you want to look to a parent to predict your fate, your health could be like Dad’s just as much as like Mom’s.”

Ari ran her hand though her wavy hair, twisting it into a bun and then releasing it. “I feel like I need to plan for the worst-case scenario. Then it won’t be as hard if that ends up as my reality.”

That was one of the differences between the two sisters. Ari always planned for the worst, always had an umbrella in the car and canned food in the kitchen cabinet. Emily, through whatever quirk of personality, always planned for the best. But that meant things hit her even harder when they didn’t go as she hoped they would.

Emily slid over on the couch to hug her sister. “You can go back to teaching,” she said. “And plan a trip to Egypt. If Jack doesn’t want to go, I’ll go with you. No matter when you got married, you found a great guy who loves you and who you love, and same with your kids. They’re awesome. But no matter whether you’ve got thirteen years left or sixty-five, you should make sure you’re living your life the way you want to live it. And that can change, too. If you decide that you’re done staying home, you can work. The boys are older now anyway. Their lives changed, and yours can, too, if you want it to.”

Ari bit her lip. “Do you think someone would hire me?” she asked. “I’ve been out of the classroom for so long.”

“You won’t find out unless you try,” Emily replied.

Ari leaned her head against her sister’s. “Does it feel nice,” she asked, “to be someone’s muse? To be the subject of his song?”

The corner of Emily’s mouth lifted. “A little,” she admitted.

The sisters kept talking until midnight, when Ezra came home and was surprised to find them on the couch together under an afghan, the cold remnants of a plate of monkey bread still on the coffee table.

“I should go,” Ari said, when she realized what time it was.

“But come back, soon,” Emily responded, realizing how rare it had become for the two of them to get time alone to talk, uninterrupted, for hours.

“Yes,” Ari said. “Soon. Because we still have to clean out the second bedroom.”

Emily laughed. “I’d forgotten we were supposed to do that.”

“Next time,” Ari said. “Next time.”

ix