As I worked, Aidy crept down the stairs for a greeting. Her placid tone drifted up through the vents. She sounded like the automated voice you heard when you dialed a number no longer in service. Her indistinguishable murmur of pleasantries bought me time to finish my face and move to my hair. I curled the tangled pieces into soft waves that pushed away from my face, pulling the attention back. Back, back, back. Curtains opening for my great presentation. I changed into a sky-blue Marley hand-me-down romper, gave myself a spritz of perfume, and nodded with satisfaction at my ruse.

“Good grief, baby girl, you look like a doll,” Mom said when I came downstairs. She kissed me on the forehead. “And you smell like a candy shop.”

“I was telling Mom about our day,” Aidy told me. She shifted her weight from side to side, unable to settle.

“Oh?” I questioned.

“I think donating some of your stuff is a great idea,” Mom interjected. “Maybe we’ll actually see your floor for once!”

I cut Aidy a sharp stare as I said, “Yeah.”

Mom smiled at us. “Not sure I’ll know what to do with myself when I see a clean bedroom in there.”

“You and me both,” I assured her.

“Should we do dinner?” Mom’s bliss had a way of making her soft all over. “I can throw in a pizza before Dad gets back.”

At the same time I said, “Perfect,” Aidy said, “We already ate,” so I had to add, “But I’m still hungry,” as a courtesy cover. Aidy, having none of it, told Mom, “Oh, she’s being dramatic. I fed her plenty.”

“I’ll throw one in, just in case.” Mom read the interaction between Aidy and me as classic sibling banter.

I tried to read it back to front, searching for the ending. Whatever Aidy thought she held over my head made her bolder than she’d ever been with me. I shuffled through all the things she might know, deciding she must’ve figured out that I’d broken into Marley’s the night of the memorial. That would make her upset. And she was likely waiting for the right time to confront me. Why it gave her such a sense of power over me, I wasn’t sure.

I decided to bet all my cards on this guess and told my mom, “Nah, don’t worry about it, Aidy’s probably right.”

“Oh, I am,” Aidy agreed.

My dad came home. He gave my mom a quick peck, and hugs to Aidy and me. “What’ve you girls been up to all day? Mom told me you made your calls like we asked.” There was a hint of accusation in his tone.