Steps Between Us

Chapter 1 - MADISON

As I placed the shopping bags on the counter, I quickly checked to ensure I hadn't crushed the eggs. Luckily, the rattling cans made more noise than damage. I sighed at the mountain of boxes in the living room that still needed unpacking, along with all the boxes filled with materials for the studios. I was tempted to shove them into storage since putting everything away would take forever. So far, I had searched for the necessary items in the labeled boxes that my sister Cadence, with her organized nature, had prepared.

"Please tell me you brought iced coffee or ice cream! I swear I could even settle for just ice cubes," Cadence said.

I couldn't help but smile at Cadence's appearance. Her hair was in a wild bun on top of her head, with kinky curls springing out everywhere. Tiny dots of light pink paint were freckled across her face, and there were large sweat marks on the chest and armpits of her tank top.

"I got you an iced coffee," I replied, handing her a cup from a takeout tray. "Hopefully, it isn't too watered down. It took me ages to get out of the parking lot at the mall."

Cadence took a large sip with her eyes closed and then placed the cup on her forehead while standing beneath the air conditioning unit.

"It is the perfect day to paint—crazy hot with a nice breeze. The only annoying thing is the music on the radio, still singing about chestnuts roasting and white Christmases. We're in the middle of January, although I could swear we jumped straight into June."

"I agree. It's too hot for only the second week of January," I said as I fetched some milk cartons and placed them in the fridge.

"The backyard studio is almost dry, and I can't wait until we can turn on the air conditioning," Cadence replied.

"A few more days, and we will be done," I said, looking at the disarray of boxes around us and sighing once more. "I'm sorry for getting here so late; it took me longer than I had planned. The mall was extremely busy due to a phone launch event, and a celebrity was presenting in the atrium. However, I was able to stop by the insurance office and arrange everything for both the house and the business."

"Good news then! I was worried," my sister said. "This is our biggest grown-up step, and without that..."

Cadence's gaze moved behind my back, and she frowned as my brother Maurice entered the room, his forehead glistening with sweat, but otherwise, he looked clean. He headed to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

"What's for dinner?" he asked, reclining against the kitchen counter and chugging his drink loudly, the plastic bottle crackling.

"Whatever I cook. Jeez, you stink," I said, scrunching my nose at his unpleasant scent. "Did you even put on deodorant this morning?"

"I'd rather call it musky," he shrugged.

"Musky?" Cadence asked. "Like a deer?"

"I'm not sure about that. I saw this TV show where the guy was all sweaty, and the girl said he smelled musky. He was probably sprayed with water droplets, but it sounded cool, so I thought, 'That's something I could use,'" he shrugged.

Cadence rolled her eyes at Maurice, making me laugh. My baby brother had just turned 22 and was quite amusing.

"Is the garage done?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he replied. "I also lacquered the doors."

"But how come your clothes are clean?" Cadence asked, annoyed, while stretching her top to show the splatters on her clothes.

"Sorry that I know how to paint walls without getting paint on me," he said, giving her a bored look as Cadence glared at him. "I'm going to shower. Mom and Dad are coming tomorrow to help with the floor."