Free Things Remembered by Georgia Bockoven

Karla didn’t like knowing her sisters were talking about her personal life to Anna. “They went out of business a couple of months ago.”
    â€œOh, that’s too bad. I know Grace was hoping he could help her get a job.”
    Grace had never said anything to her about talking to Jim. “Grace doesn’t need Jim to help her. She’s got one of the best agents in Los Angeles. All she needs is a break.”
    â€œI hope she can hold on long enough to see it happen. Living down there is so expensive.”
    â€œShe’s doing okay.” Karla thought Grace had stopped dumping her problems on Anna, but wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t. Grace was a person who never let a thought go unspoken.
    â€œIt was lucky that Jim was free to take over the shop for you.”
    â€œYes, it was.”
    â€œYou don’t want to talk about Jim to me, do you?”
    â€œNot really.”
    â€œThat’s okay. It’s none of my business anyway. It was just my clumsy way to let you know I was interested.”
    Karla hesitated over saying anything more. She couldn’t remember one time she and Anna had talked about Jim that they hadn’t ended up in a fight. “When I decided to come, it was either close up the shop or ask Jim to run it for me. I wasn’t about to turn the place over to a stranger, and my part-time people already give me as many hours as they can. It happened that Jim was between jobs and willing to take it on for the month. He may have a lot of faults, but he’s honest.” She thought about what she’d said. To some, her grandmother especially, honesty included fidelity. “At least he’s honest when it comes to something like this.”
    â€œSeems to me he was the perfect choice, then.”
    Karla was aware how much the approval had cost Anna. “I’m pleased you agree.”
    â€œDo you think there’s any chance the two of you will get back together?”
    â€œNo.” As far as Karla was concerned, Anna had lost the right to ask about her and Jim when she’d refused to attend their wedding.
    â€œAre you sure? There’s no one else in your life right now—at least not according to Heather. Couples getting back together after a divorce isn’t unheard of.”
    â€œYou made it very clear that you never liked Jim. Why would you want me to get back together with him?”
    â€œI was wrong. I never should have tried to stop you from marrying him. All I accomplished was to drive a wedge between us, and I’ve been sorry ever since.”
    â€œSo now you think you can change that by giving your approval for us to get back together? It’s not going to happen. Jim and I have gone our separate ways, and you and I are exactly where we have always been.” She sounded cruel and didn’t want to. “We may not have the best relationship, but it’s foolish to waste time worrying about it now or trying to change things. At least we know where we stand with each other, Anna. That’s something, don’t you think?”
    â€œI didn’t mean to push you. It’s just that sometimes I don’t know when to stop.”
    â€œMe either. Maybe it’s something genetic.” It was the first time in Karla’s memory she’d acknowledged they could have something in common.
    â€œIf so, it skipped your mother. We never argued—not about anything. That doesn’t mean she listened to everything I said, mind you.” Anna’s smile at the memory was one of sweetness and longing. “She would just stand there with one of those innocent looks on her face, nodding her head as if she agreed with everything her father or I said, and then she’d go on and do whatever she’d had in mind to do in the first place.”
    â€œDaddy used to say she had a smile that could charm a general out of his stars.”
    â€œHow lovely.”
    â€œHe was always saying