A Song for the Road by Kathleen Basi (classic literature books txt) 📕

“But it’s none of my business.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You thought it.”

“Yes, I did.”

Dicey sighed and heaved herself out of the chair. “Well, you’re right about that. But crap is easier to handle with help. Trust me on this.”

The sun came out as Dicey returned to her phone. Miriam stared at the top of her head. Unbelievable. The girl who turned every conversation away from herself and refused aid—even when she clearly needed it—had the nerve to tell Miriam not to go it alone?

Something was going on with Dicey. All Miriam’s instincts told her so. The question was, what?

She shook her head. She had enough to worry about. Like this bad feeling that Gus was going to pop out of the bushes to stalk her for real.

It was time to get out of here. “Come on, Dicey. You want to flip the coin?”

“Sure.” Dicey pulled out a quarter and slapped it down on her wrist. “Heads,” she said.

Miriam tapped the icon on her phone. “Pikes Peak,” she said.

“Well, that’s unusually predictable.”

“You sound disappointed.” Miriam got up and tipped their tray into the trash can—and froze. A tan-colored two-door had just stopped abruptly as it passed the restaurant, and was now backing up. “Oh crap,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Jo is here.”

Dicey looked at her like she’d lost her mind. But she followed Miriam’s gaze anyway.

Jo had already parked and was striding toward them. Her sister wore a pencil skirt and pumps, though her French roll hadn’t survived the flight. Clearly she’d gone straight from the office to the airport.

“I guess this is phase two?” Dicey whispered.

Miriam raised her shoulders. “Jo,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

“You won’t answer your damn phone, that’s what!” Jo’s phone blipped; she silenced it but waved it around as she continued. “Six times I’ve called you, Miriam. Six times! You owe me an answer.”

“Not calling back is my answer.”

“Yeah, well. Too bad. I told you, whether you know it or not—”

“This is not your business,” Miriam said as Dicey tugged on the keys in her hand. Miriam released her death grip on them. She sympathized with her companion’s desire to escape.

Unfortunately, Dicey’s action drew Jo’s attention. “So you’re Dicey,” she said, looking her up and down.

“Hi.”

Jo reached into her purse and pulled out a Visa card. “Here. This has got a thousand dollars on it. You can Uber to the airport and fly home.”

It was a breathtaking presumption. Miriam saw the telltale flash of anger in the way Dicey’s face tightened, but she kept her cool. “Thanks, but I’m good.”

“Well, it’s no skin off my back, but you might as well take it, because you’re not riding with Miriam anymore. Miriam’s going home. I’m riding with her to make sure of it.”

“That’s not your call, Jo,” said Miriam through gritted teeth.

“You made it my call,” Jo said. “You made it my call when you decided to go incommunicado. You know I had to follow her social media”—she waved her phone toward Dicey—“to figure out where you were? I’m missing three meetings today alone—and at least two of my kids’ soccer games by the time we get you back home.”

Miriam refrained from pointing out that she was sharing every road trip stop with the faceless e-universe. It didn’t matter anyway. “You don’t have to miss anything. You can go right back home. I didn’t ask you to come out here.”

“No, Mom did.” Jo dropped her bomb with cool efficiency. “She’s worried about you, Miriam. And she’s hurt because you don’t want to talk to her. You act like you’re the only one who lost something. Mom lost her grandchildren.”

The catch in her sister’s voice stopped Miriam in her tracks. That wobble betrayed love. Deep, fierce, protective love for their mother. A love Miriam had rarely shown.

Her conscience, awakened yesterday on the blufftop, stung. For twenty years, she’d been guarding her heart. Her mother was still waiting for that magical day Miriam would never get with her own daughter—the meeting of adult minds, independent yet devoted to each other. She’d never be able to properly grieve Talia until she made peace with her role as a flawed daughter to a flawed mother.

Sunshine and shadow whirled in tight circles, the wind gusting and quieting depending on which held dominance.

She shoved the keys into Dicey’s hand. “Go on,” she said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Dicey made good her escape while Miriam tried to redirect her emotions. Jo’s abrasive, aggressive personality served her well on Wall Street, but it brought out the worst in Miriam. “You’re right, I should have called you back,” she said now. “But I needed to sort things out, and it’s hard to do that with … other voices in my head.” It took a lot of willpower to make that a neutral statement instead of an accusation.

She met her sister’s eyes. “I know I need to do better by Mom. But I have a life, Jo,” Miriam said. “Just because it doesn’t fit your vision of success doesn’t mean it’s not important. It’s important to me. It’s what I’m supposed to do.”

Jo was silent for a moment. “I don’t get you. Clearly you’re a hard worker. Why wouldn’t you focus all that energy on something that lets you get ahead?”

“I do what I do because it’s who I am,” Miriam said quietly. “And if I were to move to Albuquerque, I’d do the same thing there. But I’m not going to move to Albuquerque, Jo. I have a life and a community. I’m going to be all right. And so is Mom.”

Jo stared at her, nostrils flaring. But at least she was thinking about it. “You know I can’t just leave you here. Mom—”

“Oh, come on, Jo. I’m not ten years old. You, me, Mom—we’re all adults now. Mom was wrong to ask you to come. If she needed to talk to me, she shouldn’t be hiding behind you.”

“She did it because—”

“I know why she did it. But that’s on me, not