“You know how hard it is to get everyone together.”
“Today… was Nancy’s funeral.”
There was a beat of silence, as if she hadn’t heard me, and then she pushed on.
“Cassie, this is my first home. You know how much this means to me. People have already brought gifts. You can’t possibly expect me to postpone everything for —”
“For my daughter?”
She sighed. “You always make things so dramatic. Nancy is gone. Are you jealous that I’m finally getting something nice?”
“Today… was Nancy’s funeral.”
My hand tightened around the phone. “Jealous?”
She kept talking. “I didn’t come because I couldn’t. I had people counting on me. Can’t you just be happy for your big sister for once? I’m finally building something.”
“I buried my child today, Rosie.”
Her voice cooled even more. “And I bought my first home. Are you going to keep bringing up Nancy every time something good happens to someone else?”
“Jealous?”
I felt my knees buckle. I slid into a kitchen chair and gripped the edge of the table.
“Is Mom there?”
“She was. She brought chocolate cake and left after lunch. Everyone’s been asking about you, by the way. Wondering if you’ll stop by.”
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “Maybe I will,” I said, surprising myself.
Rosie sounded relieved. “Good. Just try to be positive, okay?”
“Everyone’s been asking about you, by the way.”
I hung up before she could say anything else.
For a moment, I stared at the blank screen.
Then I stood up, grabbed my keys, and looked in the mirror.
“I won’t scream. I won’t collapse,” I said aloud. “But I will look her in the eye.”
I didn’t know what I’d find on the other side of her front door — only that if I stayed here, the guilt would keep using my name.
“But I will look her in the eye.”
***
Rosie’s new house sat at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, freshly painted, with green and gold balloons tied to the mailbox. Music drifted into the street, and laughter flowed loudly.
I parked across the road and watched people carry wrapped gifts through her front door.
Nancy loved green balloons.
The thought nearly buckled my knees, but I forced myself upright, walking past clusters of neighbors with plates in their hands.
Nancy loved green balloons.
A woman from my book club caught my arm. “Cassie… I didn’t expect to see you here.”
I tried to smile. “I wasn’t sure I’d come back either.”
She patted my arm and moved on.
Rosie opened the door before I could knock, her eyes wide for just a moment before she pressed on a bright smile.
“You came.”
“Yes. We need to talk. You scheduled your housewarming for the day of Nancy’s funeral.”
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