Free Coming Up Roses by Catherine R. Daly Page A

us.”
    “Oh, it’s okay,” said Rose. “I’m fine.” She waved toward a table in the back. “I had friends to sit with.”
    “Oh, good!” I said.
    “How do you like being in middle school?” asked Becky. “Everything you dreamed it would be?” she added teasingly.
    “Totes,” Rose said. “Catch you guys later!”
    Becky gave me a funny look as Rose walked off. I shrugged.
Totes?
Where had
that
come from?
    “So has the realtor found any more places for you to see?” Mom asked Dad that night after dinner.
    We were all lounging in the living room, waiting for our houseguests to arrive. Debbie and Nicholas had landed, picked up their rental car, and were on their way to our house. Mom was still knitting that scarf for Aster. Rose and Aster were playing Crazy Eights. I was finishing up my reading for history class tomorrow. And Dad and Poppy were huddled over his phone,as usual, harvesting beans and buying new farm equipment.
    No reply.
    “Honey, I said, did you talk to the realtor?” Mom’s voice rose a bit.
    Dad looked up. “Yes, I spoke to him….”
    Just then Poppy let out a piercing squeal and shoved the phone in Dad’s face. “Look — it’s a new kind of bean to plant — jelly beans!”
    “Hey, look at that!” Dad said excitedly.
    Mom threw a pillow at Dad. He and Poppy looked up at Mom, blinking slowly.
    “
Jelly beans,
Mom!” Poppy explained.
    Mom shook her head. “Forget it,” she said. “We’ll talk later, Ben. Go back to your silly game.” She grinned ruefully and returned to her knitting.
    Soon after, we heard a car pull in to the driveway.
    “They’re here!” Mom cheered, jumping off the couch so quickly she dropped Aster’s scarf on the floor.
    I glanced over at Dad, expecting a sympathetic look. Nicholas was here. But he and Poppy didn’t look up from his phone.
    Mom threw open the front door and gave Debbie a huge hug. Tall and big-boned, with thick chestnut hair, Debbie was the picture of good health. Mom said she ran ten miles a day.
    “Deb-Deb!” Mom cried.
    “Daisy Girl!”
    My eyes widened in surprise. Goofy nicknames — how embarrassing!
    “You look amazing!” Debbie gushed.
    “No,
you
look amazing!” Mom insisted.
    “Actually,” said a voice from behind them with a slight Texas twang, “you both look pretty amazing!”
    “Nicholas!” Mom cried. “How big and handsome you are!”
    “No,
you’re
big and handsome!” said Aster softly. I snickered.
    I studied Nicholas as Mom gave him a hug. He was much taller than the last time I had seen him and his ears didn’t look quite so huge anymore. He had straight dark hair and green eyes. A camera bag was slung around his neck.
    “You remember Nicholas,” Mom said to us. “And Nicholas, this is Ben, Rose, Aster, Del, and Poppy!”
    Debbie gave us all big hugs and kisses and Nicholas shook everyone’s hands rather formally. Then Mom brewed some tea and she and Debbie settled in on the couch and, as Gramps would say, took a walk down memory lane. They laughed and reminisced about their college days. Unfortunately, most of their stories didn’t really make sense to anyone but them.
    “Too much talking!” Poppy said crossly. “We’re harvesting!” That was Dad’s cue to scoop Poppy up over his shoulder and carry her upstairs to bed. Rose and Aster followed shortly after.
    I glanced over at Nicholas, who sat on the couch, fiddling with his camera. “How was your trip?” I asked him politely.
    “Actually,” he said, “there was an extended period of turbulence on the plane, so it wasn’t as enjoyable as I had anticipated.”
    “Oh … okay,” I replied.
    He nodded solemnly and returned to his camera.
    “How is life in Texas?” Mom asked Debbie. “Tell me
everything
.”
    Yikes. This was
my
cue to head upstairs. “Can I show you to your room?” I asked Nicholas.
    “Good idea, thanks,” he said, yawning.
    The steps creaked as we made our way upstairs.
    “Old house,” I