Duet (Readdie Family Book 1)

by Lizzie Lawson

  A reassuring smile met Kendra’s watery eyes. Feeling a lump in her throat, Monica embraced her sister with everything she had. Her heart broke hearing about Kendra’s birth family. No wonder she doesn’t want her to leave. That had to have been traumatic for her. If she’d only known about that part of her past. Maybe they could’ve done something different. Monica couldn’t dwell on that right now. They were here, and she wanted to help.

  Her voice was soft when she spoke. “Kendra, no matter what life throws at us, there will always be one thing you can count on. You, me, and Tricia are all sisters. We love each other. We help each other. The last thing we’ll do is abandon each other. Don’t think we’ll stop caring if we don’t talk often, especially with Tricia. We both know she likes to keep to herself, but she’ll talk to us if we need her.”

  Monica pushed Kendra back just enough to look straight into her sorrowful eyes. She called out for Tricia and waited. A moment later, footsteps echoed through the hallway.

  “What’s up?” Tricia asked as she entered the room. “Kendra? Are you okay?”

  “See what I mean?” Monica asked, taking Kendra’s hand and reaching out for Tricia’s hand as well. When the three of them held hands in a circle, she continued.

  “We’re sisters, Kendra. Nothing can break that special bond between us.”

  “And it’s a pretty cool thing,” Tricia added. “Up until about a decade ago, I never thought I’d have a brother or sister. Now I have two beautiful sisters, and I love them so much. I’d bend over backward to help either of you.”

  “Just as I would,” Monica said. “We’re not going to abandon you, Kendra. We love you too much.”

  “Do you know what we need?” Tricia asked, shifting her gaze between Monica and Kendra. “We need a sisters' day. It’d be so much fun! Walking the Mile, maybe a little Gino’s, and take in the skyline from Willis. How does tomorrow sound?”

  “What are Gino’s and Willis?” Kendra asked.

  Monica blinked several times while Tricia went stone-faced. “Oh, we have to go do that. We can’t in good conscience not take you to either of those places before we head home.”

  “What are they?” Kendra repeated.

  “Gino’s is a pizza place,” Tricia said. “The Willis Tower has a Skydeck on the 103rd floor. The view is incredible from there.”

  “I say let’s do it,” Monica said with a smile.

  “That sounds so fun,” Kendra added, her lips curling up into a bright grin. “Count me in!”

  Chicago, IL

  The next afternoon, after walking the Magnificent Mile and sharing a pepperoni pizza from Gino’s East, the Readdie sisters stood inside the Willis Tower Skydeck. The view on this clear day was just as awesome as Monica remembered. Today, however, she was more interested in what Kendra thought. Her sister hesitated to step out onto the glass at first, but Monica and Tricia coaxed her on. From that moment forward, Kendra never took her eyes off the skyline spreading out before them.

  “Oh my gosh,” Kendra said, astonishment prevalent in her voice. “The city looks like a simple plastic model from here.”

  “I didn’t plan this out very well,” Tricia said. “We should’ve gotten downtown later in the day so we could see this at night.”

  “I’ll bet it’s just as wonderful at night,” Kendra observed, still keeping her gaze out to the city.

  “We’ll bring you up at night next time we’re in town,” Monica said. She took a deep breath through her nose and looked at Tricia. “If I wasn’t so stuffed already, I’d devour another slice of that pizza.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Kendra said. “That was delicious!”

  “At least we have leftovers for a bedtime snack,” Tricia suggested to the delight of Kendra and Monica.

  Tricia shuffled over to Monica’s side and leaned in. “Have you tried talking to Lillian?”

  “No,” Monica admitted. “What do I say two months after blowing up like that?”

  “Just tell her the truth. You didn’t know about her parents, and you miss talking to her.”

  Monica’s weight shifted uneasily between her feet. “You make it sound so easy.”

  Tricia nudged Monica’s arm with her elbow. “Because it is easy, Prison Girl. Just do it.”

  “Wait,” Kendra said, turning her gaze to her sisters. “Prison Girl? What does that mean?”

  Monica’s eyes squinted at Tricia. “Gee, thanks. I so wanted to tell the tale here on the Skydeck.”

  Tricia laughed at the sarcasm and shook her head. “Don’t mention it.”

  “I’ll plead the fifth for now,” Monica said. “It isn’t exactly the kind of story you want to have advertised.”

  “I’m not going to let you forget,” Kendra said, her sly smile indicating she’d already filed that tidbit of news into the “ask later” pile.

  On instinct, the trio shifted their weight when the floor moved.

  “What was that?” Kendra asked. “Do we need to get out of here now?”

  “It’s alright,” Monica told her. “It’s just the wind pushing on the building. It happens all the time. We’re fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Monica read the uneasiness in Kendra’s eyes. This was Kendra’s first time in such a location. She’d never seen anything taller than 801 Grand or larger than Des Moines until they took her in. Concern eased into her. Monica remembered how nerve-racking it was the first time she saw this view.

  “Are you doing okay, Kendra?” she asked.

  “I’m doing fine,” she said. “This is so awesome!”

  “You two know what we have to do now, right?” Tricia asked.

  Monica’s brow rose. “What?”

  “Sisters selfie!” Tricia declared, taking her phone from her purse.

  They lined up next to each other, their backs facing the Skydeck glass. Full of smiles and laughs, each of them took turns snapping pictures. Dozens of serious, playful, and downright bizarre pictures later, the sisters compared shots and AirDropped them to each other.

  “It’s going to take us over an hour to get back,” Monica said. “We should start heading back to Schaumburg.”

  “Yeah, we probably should,” Tricia agreed. “But there are a couple of things we should do first.”

  “What’s that?” Kendra asked.

  Tricia gave them a sly grin, started walking away, turned, and beckoned them with her index finger.

  Schaumburg

  Ninety minutes later, Monica pulled into her grandparents’ driveway and they went inside.

  “Hey, girls!” Debra said with a smile. “How was Sisters’ Day?”

  “It was awesome!” Kendra exclaimed. “We had so much fun!”

  Debra gawked at the large sacks they all carried. “What in the world did you three buy?”

  “The usual,” Monica said.

  Kendra beamed and continued. “Yeah! Clothes from Macy’s, a few things from Disney, and of course, shoes!”

  Debra laughed and hugged Kendra while a yellow kitchen towel came flying in, landing near Tricia’s feet.

  “Personal foul!” Evelyn exclaimed from the kitchen doorway. “Taunting, on the 19-year-old. Holding a pizza box from Gino’s and withholding it from her parents and grandparents!”

  “Mom!” Tricia said, sounding hurt and playful. “Would I, Moi, your completely amazing oldest daughter, the one who cares for you and her family, even think of withholding Gino’s from those she loves so much?”

  “Oh, absolutely,” Debra said, extending her hand out to Tricia. “Hand over that box, kid.”

  Monica stood next to her sister. “I think she means it, Tricia.”

  Tricia looked everyone over and tapped her index finger on her lips. “Well, I could either hand you this box with three slices left, or we could take out the six pizzas we brought back with us.”

  “What?” Debra asked, sounding beyond surprised at what she heard.

  “Who wants pizza?” Kendra called out. “Two peppero
nis, two Italian sausages, and two cheese!”

  “Seriously?” Miranda asked. “You girls brought us pizzas?”

  Monica put her bag down and pulled out two large pizza pies. She sniffed it a few times and shrugged. “Smells like pizza to me.”

  Five minutes later, the entire family sat in the living room, devouring the pizzas like they’d gone without food for days. They turned on the TV and found a movie to enjoy together.

  Kendra looked at her sisters and smiled. “Today was awesome. We have to do that again.”

  Monica giggled back. “Oh, honey, we will definitely be doing that again.”

  After the ending credits rolled and everyone declared their stomachs could explode any second, the girls went to their upstairs bedroom with their sacks. They each took out their boxes from Bye Bye Chicago and took out their identical snow globes.

  “Girls,” Tricia said, putting her snow globe on the floor and draping an arm around each sister. “No matter whose house or apartment we’re in, we’ll always be able to see our snow globes on display and remember just how awesome today was.”

  “I love this idea, Tricia,” Monica said with a smile. “I’m so glad we did it.”

  She looked at Kendra and watched her stare at her snow globe. When she saw a tear fall, Monica pulled her close.

  “Are you okay, sis?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Kendra said as she wiped the tears away. “I’ve never done anything like that before. It meant so much to be able to hang out with you two like that. I’m so happy right now.”

  Monica joined Tricia when she hugged Kendra tight. “We love you, Kendra.”

  Kendra embraced them right back. “I love you both too.”

  Monica checked the time on her phone. 10:30 pm. Only five minutes since the last time she checked. She couldn’t sleep. Her sisters were still downstairs playing games. Monica needed to deal with her sudden headache and went to bed over an hour ago.

  She needed something to do, something to focus her energy on and hopefully wear herself out. She thought about reading a book, but she hadn’t bought a new title in a couple of months. There were always books she’s read before, but a repeat didn’t appeal to her very much tonight. Perhaps the only thing she could do was go downstairs and deal with her headache.

  Well, she did have another option.

  Taking her phone from the nightstand, she went into messages and typed out a new one.

  Monica: Hey, Lillian…

  She put her phone down, convinced she wouldn’t get a reply. No sooner had she wrapped herself up in the comforter again than her phone beeped. A text came in. Monica grabbed her phone and sat straight up when she saw Lillian’s name on the notification, along with her two-word reply.

  Lillian: Hey stranger!

  Monica couldn’t stop the smile from growing across her face. She cleared a hurdle, having Lillian answer back. But there was still the little matter of them working together for the spring show.

  Monica: How’s break for you?

  Lillian: It’s not bad. I’m with my mom’s family. It was weird meeting them for the first time six years ago, but now it’s just normal.

  Lillian: How is your break going?

  Monica: Pretty good. I’m with my family in Chicagoland. We’re heading back in a couple of days.

  Lillian: I’m jealous! I haven’t been there in a long time!

  Unsure of how to bring the topic up, Monica stayed quiet for the next few minutes. She couldn’t keep up the guise much longer, and she didn’t think Lillian would keep buying into it. Filling her lungs up with air, Monica sent her message.

  Monica: We need to talk, Lillian.

  Her eyes remained locked onto her phone’s display, waiting for Lillian’s reply. She felt her pulse throughout her body. Her stomach felt queasy. If that wasn’t enough, her palms were sweaty.

  “Oh great,” she said, exasperated and confused about what was going on. “My headache must be worse than I thought. Next thing I know, I’ll be talking to myself.”

  Following a few silent moments, she paused and took stock of what was happening. She was nervous about talking to someone. When did she start caring about whether or not Lillian answered back? Or anyone for that matter?

  Her phone lit up, showing her a text notification. Monica looked at it, and her body relaxed.

  Lillian: Yes, we do. I’m sorry for how I behaved at practice. I certainly didn’t show it, but I’m not that snobbish brat anymore. A lot of things have happened since that recital. I hope you let me show you.

  Monica smiled and rolled her eyes when she realized Lillian couldn’t see it. She noticed a peculiar change in her body. Her stomach felt fine. Two palms were now dry. She couldn’t feel her pulse rocking her body. She felt normal. If she was confused before, she was lost now.

  Monica: I’m sorry about your parents. That had to have been hard for you.

  Monica: And I’m sorry for snapping at you like I did. I hope we can put our past behind us. I’d like to get to know you again. Friends?

  Lillian: Friends! I’d shake your hand or maybe hug you, but that’s kinda hard through a phone.

  A burst of laughter escaped Monica’s throat. Tricia was at the door within seconds, giving her a knowing smile before returning downstairs.

  Monica: Yeah, that would be a little difficult.

  Lillian: I’m sorry to cut it short, but I’m getting tired. Talk to you tomorrow?

  Monica: Absolutely! Have a good night!

  Lillian: You too!

  Placing her phone back on the nightstand, Monica went back under the covers and rested her head on the pillow. Her shoulders felt lighter. The quick conversation went better than she thought. To top it off, she had a new friend. Granted, both of them are probably a little guarded, but at least they weren’t rivals.

  Monica wrapped herself up in her blankets, and sleep washed over her as she slipped into a long slumber.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Norwalk, IA

  Monica stepped out of her car on this sunny, frigid January morning. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, enjoying the sight of her breath escaping from her mouth. Her passenger door opened, and she glanced back at Kendra, climbing out and taking a deep breath of her own.

  “I love this weather,” Kendra said. “There’s snow on the ground, a chill in the air, our breath showing us that we’re alive, and it’s just so sparkly!”

  “It’d be better if it were snowing,” Monica said.

  “And if we were at home drinking hot chocolate watching it out the window.”

  Monica smiled at her. “That’s my favorite thing, the five of us huddled around the window.”

  “Yeah,” Kendra agreed. “Maybe we’ll get to do that tonight. They did say a storm is coming in later today. It won’t be the same without Tricia, though.”

  Her eyes locked onto a batch of snow dislodged from a nearby tree as it fell across the parking lot. “That’s true, but at least we still get to do it.”

  The two sisters went inside and went their separate ways for the day. Monica unloaded her backpack into her locker and found her first class of the second semester.

  Two hours later, Monica changed books at her locker before making her way down the corridors to the commons. She had study hall during third period, and she wished it were five classes later so she could head home. That plan had one problem. How would Kendra get home?

  Monica walked into the open commons area and noticed there were no empty tables. But even with that deterrent, one table did catch her eye. She walked over to it and sat across from Lillian, who didn’t bother looking up from the book she was reading. It didn’t take long for Monica to figure out that Lillian was oblivious to the world around her and probably unaware of the fact that the three seats around her were now occupied.

  A few minutes after the bell sounded, Lillian was still buried in her book. Stifling an urge to giggle, Monica got her phone from her small stack of books.

  Monica:
Meet me at the library?

  Lillian: Don’t you have a class right now?

  Monica: Yeah, sort of.

  Lillian: Where are you?

  Monica: Sitting across from you silly. That must be a good book!

  Lillian giggled and finally looked up at her to give a little nod. They sat around while the teacher took attendance, then got library passes. Silence accompanied them down the corridor and through the library door. Monica noticed one of the small rooms was open and went in. Lillian followed and sat at the small table.

  “I think you’re right about us,” Monica said. “We do need to get to know each other. I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance when we disagreed on what to work on.”

  “Thanks. I should’ve backed down, though. You were in charge of how we play that piece.”

  She went over to Lillian and gave her a gentle hug. Lillian smiled and responded in kind. An odd sensation swept over her, but only lasting a few seconds. Monica decided to push it aside and keep her focus on Lillian for now.

  “I hear Mr. Larson already knew you before the year started,” she said, taking a seat next to Lillian. “So he’s your cousin?”

  Lillian giggled, and her head bobbed. “Yeah, that’s how he knows me. He is a nice guy.”

  “Yes, he is,” she agreed with a smile. “We all love him.” She took a deep breath, knowing just as well as Lillian how guarded they seemed at the moment. “I’m sorry about your parents.”

  “Me too,” Lillian said, looking at the floor. “I should’ve died with them. I’ve been trying to figure out why I survived. I’m ridiculous living proof of my dad’s stupid belief that his precious $92,000 Cadillac was so safe it could survive anything—including near-direct hit from an EF-5 tornado.”