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“Fuck, you’re probably still bruised.” He pulled away and gripped the back of his neck.
“Don’t say fuck,” Mom said, pushing him aside. “Let her get out of the damn hearse. I don’t like seeing any of my children in this thing, but especially Rowan.”
“Told you she’s Mom’s favorite,” Poppy shouted to Chris from the driver’s seat.
Mom waved her words away and reached in to unbuckle my seatbelt like I was two. She grabbed my hands and guided me from the hearse before squeezing me tighter than Chris had.
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hold you. It’s been torture staying away.”
She smelled of fresh bread, roses, and home. My eyes burned. I took a deep breath and forced the tears down. “It’s what I wanted.”
Mom stepped out of the hug, but held onto my arms, scanning me from the top of my head to my feet, pausing long enough on my hands for me to send Poppy a silent thank you.
Mom’s blue eyes filled with rage, and she pressed her lips so tight they went white at the edges. I’d love to be inside her head to hear everything I should have said to Brad before I left.
“You need to eat,” she snapped, directing some of that venom at me. “Let’s go.”
I wanted to keep up with her, but my back had other ideas. I took a painful step, trying my best not to groan.
Chris looked at Poppy and she nodded, either confirming what a mess I was or that she’d fulfilled operation dog poop.
Mom brushed at her eyes, turned, and stomped back to the hearse. “You can’t leave your Cymbidium in this heat. Where is it?”
Poppy opened the back and yanked out enough boxes to climb inside to the middle of the pile where we’d stowed the orchid. “Here it is,” she said, handing the plant to Mom, who examined the blossoms like a doctor giving a thorough physical. She tsked and headed toward the house, focused on healing something she could.
“I’ll unload everything,” Chris said, bending to grab a box. “Where do you want it?”
I looked at what remained of my DC life scattered across the driveway and spilling from the hearse, and my mind went blank. I wasn’t even sure where I’d be sleeping. Brad and I always got a hotel room when we visited together. On the few occasions I came alone, Poppy and I shared our childhood bedroom, which didn’t seem like a viable solution long term.
“Just put everything in the living room,” Poppy said, weaving her arm through mine. “We’ll figure it out later.”
“I didn’t think this through,” I said as I gripped the porch railing with my free hand and pulled myself up the steps. “I don’t know how long I’m staying, but you shouldn’t have to share your room with me.”
“Our room,” Poppy said. “Besides, I usually sleep on the futon in the studio.”
“You do not sleep in the shed. Mom wouldn’t let you.”
Poppy rolled her eyes. “For the last time, Rowan, I’m twenty-three. A full-grown human. I only live here because I’d rather work less at the café and have more time to sculpt. Mom understands and does her best to let me be the adult I am. Besides, she’s so worried about you, I could do a satanic ritual in the backyard, naked, and she wouldn’t notice.”
“She wouldn’t,” Chris added, hurrying past us with a precarious stack of boxes. “Pop?”
The two of them had a shorthand way of speaking I’d never understand, and, of course, my sister insisted he give her a nickname as well. Poppy released me to hold open the heavy wooden door and Chris sailed through. I followed him inside.
“Don’t you dare lift anything, Rowan,” Mom shouted from the kitchen. “Take a seat in the dining room.”
“If you tell her I let you help load the hearse, I’ll draw on your face with a Sharpie while you sleep,” Poppy hissed in my ear.
“You let her carry stuff?” Chris shouted.
“Shut up,” Poppy and I said in unison.
“What was that?” Mom asked, peering out of the dining room archway with a platter of biscuits.
“Chris was making fun of Rowan’s throw pillows,” Poppy said. “I agree, no one needs that much paisley, but he shouldn’t kick a bitch while she’s down.”
“Hush, the both of you. Grab all the plants and leave the rest until after we eat. Rowan, honey, come sit.”
I pointed to the small powder room, and Mom nodded and hurried out of sight. I hobbled to the bathroom and locked myself inside. I loved my family but only five minutes in, and I needed a breather. They weren’t usually so aggressive with their affection or concern. I caught sight of my face and cringed. Eyes so swollen I could barely see the green, cheeks gaunt and paler than usual, and a nose red enough to audition for Rudolph. I washed my hands and splashed water on my face, then ran my damp fingers through my hair before taking the hair tie from my wrist and twisting my long locks into a bun. I still looked a hot mess, but slightly less deranged. When I opened the door, Poppy and Chris were leaning against the wall, waiting.
