Best of Women

Pippa

I plopped down on Lin's couch mid-morning, defeated after losing out on an audition. It was something I'd really wanted and I was super disappointed. I was hoping Lin would be home to help me feel better, but he wasn't. I curled up on the couch, burying myself under the covers in a cocoon. Soon enough, I was asleep.

When I awoke, I heard jostling in the kitchen. I sat up and saw Eva finding a snack in the pantry. Was it already that late?

"Crap!" I stood up, looking for my phone. Eva looked at me as she stuffed a cookie in her mouth. "I didn't mean to sleep for this long."

Eva just frowned as she chewed slowly. "Mia and Rio went with Heather," she informed me. Heather was a classmate who also went to the gym after school. I felt badly, but they were old enough to ride the subway alone every once in a while. Hopefully Lin wouldn't be upset with me.

"You decided not to go?" I asked her as I went to the kitchen to make myself some tea.

She shook her head. "I'm kinda tired," she told me.

"Healing takes energy," I reminded her. "Don't you want to sit down?"

"In a minute," she told me. I quietly rinsed out a few dishes in the sink as I waited for the water to boil. When it was done, we both walked to the couch and Eva put on MTV. When the commercial break came on, I studied Eva.

"How are you feeling?"

"I wish people would quit asking me how I'm feeling," she told me honestly.

"Fair enough," I told her. She'd been very standoff-ish the last couple days and I couldn't blame her. She was an active kid holed up in a cast and couldn't do the one activity she loved for six weeks. Eva was not a bystander. "Where's Sebastian?"

"Beats me," she said. It was getting somewhat rare to see Sebastian before early evening. He seemed to avoid being home. His band was practicing a lot lately, or so he claimed.

The show Eva was watching ended and she sighed as she threw me the remote. "I'm gonna go take a nap," she told me. She got her crutches and hobbled off towards her bedroom. I picked up my phone and texted Lin that I'd forgotten to pick them up from school, but he didn't seem to mind. They'd gone as a group, so he felt that was safe enough.

I started dinner, and a little after six, everyone started to wander in, Sebastian being last. He went straight to his room.

"How'd that audition go?" Lin asked as he dipped a spoon into the soup I was making.

I shook my head. "It's a no," I told him. He looked at me, confused.

"Seriously?" he asked. "I'm sorry, I know you were really excited about it."

"Yeah, I was kind of bummed."

"This is delicious," he commented on the soup. He put a hand on my lower back and gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek. He'd never done that in front of a kid before, but Rio and Mia didn't seem to pay it any mind. Their dad was an affectionate guy. I bit my lip a little in embarrassment. "Where's Eva?"

"Napping," I told him as I added some more oregano. "I'm not surprised. Healing is exhausting."

He nodded, crossing his arms. "Another reason I thought she should take off at the gym."

"Try convincing her of that," I quipped, giving him a look.

"Believe me, I have," he said, standing up. "I'm gonna go check on her."

Lin was so sweet with the kids when they were sick or hurt. He cuddled with them and bought them treats, and watched Disney movies with them. It kind of made me want to get sick. A few minutes later Lin came out and stood next to me.