Free Crave: A BWWM Romance by Sadie Black Page A

leaving the glasses behind. They’re coming with you.”
    Mom laughed and settled the glass gently on the counter. “I know. But, Sherrie and Tucker aren’t. Neither is the balcony.” She turned toward the sliding door, indicating the balcony with one hand. Pausing there, she seemed to consider it for a long moment. “Do you think Francis’ place will have a balcony?”
    “Maybe,” I replied. “It won’t have a Sherrie and Tucker though. Not to worry. These two will travel.”
    I watched my mother closely as she pulled herself away from the balcony and started working on the glasses again. I couldn’t help but feel for her a little. True, she’d only been here seven years. But, that was a long time for some people. Seven years was as close to having a stable home as she’d ever gotten. I made a mental note to be more sympathetic. She was making a significant change. Hopefully, this guy would be worth it.
    My sympathy was finite though, as soon as she started in on the corner of carpet that she had seared when one of her candles had fallen from its perch, I rolled my eyes and tried to focus on the box at hand. Reminiscing wasn’t going to get us any more ready for that truck.
    “Oh. I still can’t believe I did that. That’ll be a hole in my security deposit for sure. Do you two remember how that happened?”
    “Yes Mom,” we said in unison.
    “Julie and I had too many of them lit and had too much wine. Oh that’ll do it. That was the night after her split with Frank. She really does have abysmal taste in men.” She placed a hand against her cheek, gazing at the scorch mark as if it were her child graduating from High School. “It could have been this weekend; it feels so recent.”
    “But it wasn’t this weekend,” I reminded her. “This weekend you packed your apartment so you could move in with some guy you’ve known for little more than a week. And you’re not getting there any faster standing around and cooing at burns in your carpet.” My tone was so frosty, it gave my sister a chill.
    “I won’t even have carpet in the new house.” She continued as if I’d never spoken. I felt deliberately ignored. “All hard wood flooring. Maybe that’s for the best.” She said that like the choice of whether or not to have carpet was on par with choosing to put your pet down. Maybe it’s for the best . Please. I looked at her scornfully and imagined her thinking about what a carpet-less life will be like.
    “Mom. If you’re just going to reminisce, can you reminisce while getting more packing peanuts from the van?” I tried to make my sigh as audible as possible.
    As she went in search of more packing material, Kaila stole back into the kitchen. She turned to the cupboard for more plates. Holding a stack firmly in hand, she adopted a whimsical look and traced the edges of the dishes.
    “These plates. These plates !” She cried.
    Grabbing my shoulder, she spun me around and I almost lost the glass I was holding. “Kaila! You could have…”
    “Do you remember these plates? How we used to eat off of them? They would hold our food so proudly. Then we would put them each in the dishwasher and they would get clean?”
    I wanted to tell Kaila we didn’t have time for this, but the simpering look on her face made me erupt in laughter. I allowed myself a moment of repose as I enjoyed Kaila’s little joke.
    Encouraged, she continued. “Then we would stack them, one right on top of the other, in the cupboard. They stacked so perfectly. Almost…well, almost as if they were designed that way.”
    “Stop.” I was choking with laughter. Kaila had succeeded in getting me to make the high wheezing noise that she cherished so much. I sounded like a cartoon foghorn.
    “Stop.” I managed to make the second one more audible.
    “Why? She's not going to.” Kaila rolled his eyes and turned back to the plates.
    “I know. Which is why I need you more than ever right now. You know how those moving guys