Posters covered the wall—mostly of Justin Bieber, Nathalie’s current favorite—but there was also a poster for the last Harry Potter movie and one of a puppy cuddling with a duck. Stuffed animals littered the bed, and the clothes overflowing the hamper had more color and glitter than the average adult wardrobe.
“Do you guys want to listen to music?” Nathalie asked. Before either of them could answer, she jumped off the bed and went over to her stereo. “I just got some new CDs. What do you like to listen to? I have everything.”
“Whatever you want is fine,” Gemma said. “We came here to visit you.”
“You guys can pick something.” Nathalie smiled, but there was something sad about it. “They won’t let me listen to it too loud, but we can still listen to it softly.”
“Justin Bieber?” Harper suggested, not because she wanted to hear it, but because she knew it was something Nathalie would have.
“He’s the best, isn’t he?” Nathalie actually squealed when she hit play and music came out of the speakers.
She hopped on the bed next to Gemma, making the cookies bounce off the plate. Gemma picked them up, arranging them the same way her mother had had them, but Nathalie didn’t even notice.
“So, Mom, how are things going?” Harper asked.
“Same old.” Nathalie shrugged. “I wish I lived with you guys.”
“I know,” Harper said. “But you know it’s best for you here.”
“Maybe you can come visit,” Gemma said. It was an offer she’d been making for years, but Nathalie hadn’t been home in a very long time.
“I don’t want to visit.” She pouted, sticking out her bottom lip and pulling at the hem of her T-shirt. “I bet you guys have fun all the time. Nobody ever tells you what to do.”
“Harper tells me what to do all the time.” Gemma laughed. “And of course there’s Dad.”
“Oh. Right,” Nathalie said. “I forgot about him.” Her forehead pinched in concentration. “What’s his name again?”
“Brian.” Harper smiled to hide the hurt and swallowed hard. “Dad’s name is Brian.”
“I thought it was Justin.” She waved her hand, brushing off the subject. “Did you guys want to go to the concert with me if I can get tickets?”
“I don’t think so,” Harper said. “We’ve got a lot going on.”
The conversation went on that way for a while. Nathalie asked about the girls’ lives, and they told her things they’d told her a hundred times before. When they left, Harper felt the same way she always did—drained but relieved.
She loved her mother, just as Gemma loved her mother, and they were both glad they saw her. But Harper couldn’t help wondering what any of them got out of this.
FIVE
Stargazing
The garbage can smelled like a dead animal. Gemma wrinkled her nose and tried to avoid gagging as she tossed the bag in the can behind her house. She had no idea what her father or Harper had thrown away, but it was pretty rank.