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Briar snorts. “Millennial gray?”
“Ah, you know. It’s supposed to be calming, but really it’s just bland.”
“I happen tolikegray.”
I smirk, somehow completely unsurprised.
“Well, regardless of your judgments aboutothercolors, I’m glad you like this one,” she adds, continuing to examine my work.
I roll my shoulders, trying to ease the way my muscles have tightened over the past few hours. Painting a ceiling is no joke.
“You ready for lunch? I was thinking about swinging by One Stop to grab sandwiches from the deli.”
“And I’m sure the fact that Andy is there has no impact on that choice?” I tease.
Briar rolls her eyes but doesn’t dispute my observation. She and my brother-in-law got married last year, but the honeymoon period certainly hasn’t faded in the slightest. Any time she talks about the guy, her cheeks turn all rosy and she gets this…look on her face. Briar isn’t the bashful type, so it always makes me want to laugh. I don’t though, because I don’t want to mock the fact that she’s so in love with him. It’s something I am so glad she’s found, especially because he looks at her with the same twinkle in his eyes.
“I actually brought my lunch,” I answer, crossing to where I chucked my bag in the corner. Tugging out my water bottle, I take a long sip. “But you don’t have to worry about me. Go. I know you want to eat lunch with Andy.”
Briar rolls her eyes. “I want to eat lunch withyou, weirdo. You just got to town and I want to hear how the move has been. Grab your lunch and let’s walk over there together. I can get a quick sandwich and then we can sit outside and chat.”
Smiling, I acquiesce, reveling in the idea that she wants to spend time with me. “Sounds good.”
There was a time when the concept of sitting down to ‘chat’ with my oldest sister would have felt daunting, like I was in trouble. I mean…what would we even have had to talk about?
Growing up, Briar was closest with our older brother Boyd, while I was closer with our other two siblings, Bellamy andBishop, who are only two years older than me. But ever since I got pregnant with Junie, my relationship with Briar has changed in ways I never even imagined were possible. And honestly, probably in ways I wouldn’t have been interested in when I was younger.
Back then, I was a lot more complicated.
“Feeling settled at all?” Briar asks, dropping down onto a bench and plopping her purse next to her hip. We’ve grabbed her lunch from the deli at the grocery store and settled in at the beach park that overlooks the lake and the marina, and Briar stretches out her long, lean frame before she tilts her face back, her eyes closed as she soaks in the sun.
“Not really.” My reply is maybe too honest, because my sister brings her hand up to shade her eyes from the sun, looking at me with concern. “I mean, I’ve unpacked what I can. But I still need to buy a few pieces of furniture, so I’ll be digging things out of suitcases for the foreseeable future.”
Even with the sun, I can feel Briar’s eyes burning into me as I take a bite of my PB&J, and I know what she’s going to say before she even begins speaking.
“I wish you would just let ushelpyou a bit, you know?”
Giving her a tight smile, I shake my head. “Youare. Mom’s watching Junie…full time. You’ve given me a job, and don’t pretend you’re not paying me way more than what you’d pay a normal assistant. And Iknowdad talked with Lois about me renting from her.”
“But that’s not help, that’s just family,” she says, shrugging her shoulder and bumping it against mine. “You were away at college when I moved home, but I had to accept a lot of help I didn’t want.” She makes a face. “I mean, I moved back in with mom and dad.”
“That was different.”
“Why? Because I was escaping an emotionally abusive relationship?”
I don’t answer, surprised by how candid she’s being. I remember Boyd talking about Briar’s ex like he was scum who treated her badly, but I’ve never heardhertalk about it that way.
“Here’s the thing to remember, Busy. I wanted a new start. The same can be said for you. You’ve been throughplenty, and it’s only normal for the people who love you to want to rally around you to help in whatever way makes sense for them. For mom, it’s offering childcare, because she has free time and wants to hang with Junie. For dad, it’s helping get your housing sorted, because he has connections in town. Let me help, too.”
I scoff. “You gave me ajob.”
At that, Briar grins. “Honey, you took a job I needed to have filled. Trust me when I say you’re going to beearningthat paycheck.”
Chuckling, I bite into my sandwich, thinking over what she’s said. Each of my siblings have their own thing. Boyd is Mr. Independent and Bellamy is the people pleaser and Bishop is the charmer. I guess if I had to label myself, I’d be…I don’t know. The problem child, maybe.
But Briar? She’s the best listener. It’s probably because she’s never been super talkative, always kind of keeping to herself and doing her own thing. She’s a quiet observer. So when she shares her opinion about me moving back to town and accepting help from the family, I can’t just write her off. She’s saying it because it’s something she really believesandbecause it’s something she wants me to hear.
Maybe that’s why I have loved her checking in on me so often. She’s careful with her words, so I know the ones she shares with me are important.
