Free When the Fairytale Ends by Dwan Abrams Page B

going?”
    Greg reached across her and buckled her in. “Franklin didn’t come to church today, so I’m going to swing by there and check up on him.”
    â€œReally?”
    He frowned at her. “Are you mad?”
    She wiggled her hands in the air. “No, I’m not mad, per se. I’m just not feeling this aura, this vibe you’re putting out in the air. What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting strange all morning.”
    â€œAnd what’s wrong with you?” he tossed back. “You’ve been having a real funky attitude lately.”
    Shania glared at him and ignored the gasps and whispers that reached her ears from the front and backseat passengers. “Move out of my way so I can close my door, please.”
    â€œBabe,” he said and reached out for her hand. He held her hand and gave it a squeeze before placing a kiss across her knuckles. “I’m sorry, okay? I just . . . I have a lot on my mind.”
    She tilted her head to the side. “You want to talk?”
    â€œMaybe later.” He thumped the roof of the car, then stepped out the way so he could close the door. “I’ll meet you at the house later.”
    She knew that whatever was on Greg’s mind would eat at her until they finally talked about it and put it out in the open. For now, she would let the situation rest.
    During the drive home, Shania struck up a conversation with Cheyenne. Although they talked on the phone daily, having Cheyenne at home meant the world to Shania, even if it was only for the weekend. She missed having her sister around since she had gone off to college. As much as she knew she needed to let her go, it was difficult to do. The twelve-year age gap between the sisters seemed to lessen as they got older. The more mature Cheyenne became, the better their relationship got. To Shania, they were beginning to feel more like sisters instead of the mother-daughter role they had been thrust into.
    The thought of Cheyenne being a sophomore in college spoke volumes about God’s favor. Shania was even more surprised that Cheyenne decided to major in engineering. She had always pictured Cheyenne majoring in journalism or English, because she loved writing poetry. She had to admit, though, it pleased her that Cheyenne went for a male-dominated profession; she wished that more women would challenge themselves and not be intimidated by professions that required heavy math or science concentrations.
    â€œSo,” Shania began, and glanced at the passenger seat to make sure Cheyenne was listening to her, “how’s school coming along?”
    Cheyenne whistled and let her hand glide through the air. “It’s a breeze. I’m making As in all my classes and passing all my exams. Thanks to my hubby”—she glanced over her shoulder at Jonathan and they shared a smile—“who stays on me all the time and makes sure I start on my papers well ahead of time.”
    â€œOh, how sweet,” Shania wanted to say, but refrained from doing so because she knew it would come out sounding very sarcastic. So instead, she plastered a strained smile on her face and said, “How are you liking your new apartment?”
    At first Cheyenne lived in the dorms. After getting married, Shania had helped her sister move into a cute one-bedroom apartment in a gated community near the campus. Shania even went to Valdosta to help her decorate and make sure she was settled in.
    â€œWe’re loving it,” Cheyenne said with an even bigger smile, and Jonathan and she shared googly eyes again.
    At the sound of “we’re,” Shania visibly cringed, and at the sight of their googly eyes, she felt like throwing up. For the life of her, she couldn’t understand where this bitterness and attitude were coming from. This was not like her; it must’ve been getting pretty close to that time of the month.
    Trying to be nice, Shania looked at