“Thanks. I didn’t mean to be such a downer.” Lukas pulled his BlackBerry out of his coat pocket. “We’d better get the check and be on our way to practice.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you told me.” Juliane picked up her purse and slid out of the booth. “Our check’s already been taken care of.”
Standing beside Juliane, Lukas knit his eyebrows in a little frown. “How’s that?”
“Remember, my dad’s cousin owns the place.”
“Are you saying the meal was on him?”
“No, I just said the bill’s been taken care of.”
“You are a sneaky one.” Lukas grinned. “I’ll take care of the bill next time.”
Heading for the door, Juliane wondered what that meant. Did he plan on taking her out to dinner another time? Why did the prospect worry her and excite her at the same time? This was not good.
Lukas opened the door and waited for Juliane to go outside. “Do you really think there’s something going on with my grandfather and Dot?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. We’ll have to wait and see.” Juliane hurried down the sidewalk to her car, which was parked next to Lukas’s. She slowed down when she remembered his comment about her speedy pace. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“Don’t drive as fast as you walk.” Grinning, he hopped into his car and closed the door.
Sitting in her car for a moment, Juliane couldn’t forget the way Lukas had looked when he’d told her about his mother and grandmother. The tiny soft spot that had found its way into her heart over the previous days grew a little. She was beginning to understand him so much more. He’d been through a lot, and he was now relying on God—something she’d neglected to do lately.
Everything about her interaction with Lukas today had been positive—preparing her for choir practice tonight. Had she finally turned the corner with him, or would her old feelings of discomfort return without warning? If she was making progress on this front maybe she was ready for the next big challenge—dealing with Elise’s return.
Airline passengers streamed up the escalators as Juliane and her parents searched the crowd for Elise. Juliane’s mind buzzed with anticipation. A gamut of emotions washed over her. Anxiety reigned above the rest of them. Juliane tried to push the negative attitude away, but it returned with a vengeance every time she thought about her sister’s homecoming. There had always been an unhealthy competition between them. How would they get along after all this time?
Juliane had agreed to share her house with Elise. Now Juliane wondered about the wisdom of that decision. Everything about her life seemed out of control lately. She hated that feeling. She lived for stability, but the events of the past few weeks had tested her ability to lead an orderly life. She couldn’t put her interactions with Lukas and Elise into neat little boxes.
Nothing was working out the way she’d planned. She enjoyed living alone, but she felt obligated to share her house with Elise. Now the peace and quiet of her day-to-day life was at risk.
Then there was Lukas. Although everything at choir practice was going smoothly, Juliane was tying herself in knots over her feelings for him. Nothing was tidy about trying to figure out what they meant—why one minute she liked him and the next she worried about getting too close.
Elise was coming home for good, and Lukas was constantly in her thoughts. Juliane wondered how she was supposed to cope when her life was turning upside down. Wasn’t that why she was supposed to be trusting in God?
“There she is.” Juliane’s mom rushed forward, waving her hand above her head.
Juliane hung back as her parents hurried to embrace her sister. Elise, her long curly brown hair accented with honey strands, dropped her backpack and fell into their arms. Juliane felt left out, but the feeling was of her own making. No one was keeping her at a distance. She was doing it to herself.
When her parents stepped back, Elise’s brandy-colored eyes found Juliane. The haggard look on Elise’s face surprised Juliane as she stepped forward to hug her sister.
Elise held Juliane tight. The embrace lasted longer than Juliane had anticipated, almost as if Elise didn’t want to let go. Holding her sister, Juliane realized how thin Elise was. Haggard. Pale. Was Elise ill? Was that why she hadn’t signed another contract with the cruise line?
Elise let go of Juliane and stepped back. “It’s so good to be home.” Elise laughed and hugged Juliane again. “You don’t know how good.”
“We’re glad you’re back.” Despite her misgivings about her sister’s return, Juliane realized she really meant it. But she was concerned about Elise and wanted to ask her why she looked so tired. Maybe the long day’s travel had exhausted her? “Are you worn-out from the trip?”
“I am. I’ll probably fall asleep in the car on the way home. Maybe I’ll fall asleep just waiting for my baggage.” Elise laughed again and gave Juliane another quick hug.
At least it appeared that Elise was in good spirits, despite her long trip. They walked leisurely to the baggage claim as their parents peppered Elise with questions about her trip. When they reached the right area, they stood in silence for a few moments as they searched for the correct carousel.
“This is it.” Ray stepped closer to the empty carousel, then turned to Elise. “What are your intentions now that you’re home? Do you plan to get a job?”
“I’m planning to move in with Juliane. I thought you knew that. Didn’t she tell you?” Elise looked at Juliane with concern.
Ray nodded. “She did, but I wondered about your plans for the future, not just your living arrangements.”
“I’m going back to school and finishing my music education degree.”
Barbara clasped her hands together as a big smile curved her mouth. “What wonderful news. When will you start?”
“As soon as classes resume for the semester.” Elise wrinkled her brow. “I can’t remember the exact date, but it’s next week.”
“So soon? When did you have time to register?” Ray asked.
“I did it all online as soon as I decided not to sign another contract with the cruise line.”
“Why didn’t you tell us your plans?” Ray eyed his younger daughter.
Elise eyed him back. “I wanted to do this on my own—no interference from well-meaning people like you.” Laughing, she poked her dad in the ribs.
“Okay, I get the message—no interference from the old man. Are they going to accept all your old credits?” Chuckling, he shook his head.
Elise gave him a cheesy grin. “Yes, I checked on that, too. So I’m all set.”
“What do you intend to live on?” Ray asked.
“My good looks.” Elise did a little pirouette with her arms held wide. When she came to a stop, she grinned at her dad.
“I’m serious, girl.”
Juliane took in her father’s questioning with surprise. She was used to being grilled by her father, but hardly remembered him ever grilling Elise. Maybe she had a selective memory.
“Me, too, Dad.” Elise slipped her arm through her dad’s and smiled up at him. At nearly six foot, she was only inches shorter than he was. “I hope you’re in need of some part-time help at the store.”
“That’s Juliane’s department.” He patted Juliane’s back.
Juliane grimaced. “You know we always cut back on help after the holiday season, but I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, Jules.” Elise gave Juliane another hug.
As Elise continued to tease their dad, Juliane’s reservations about her sister’s return came into sharp focus. Elise had a habit of waltzing into a situation and expecting everything to go smoothly for her. And somehow it always did—or at least, that’s the way it had always seemed to Juliane. This job thing was just another example of it. Everything always worked out for Elise, and she never seemed to realize that the world didn’t work that way for everyone else.
Elise could always sweet-talk their dad, but she’d never made any effort
to stop him when it came to his drinking. She acted as though the problem didn’t matter. So Juliane and her mother were left to deal with the consequences and cover for him. They’d been taking care of this while Elise spent six years gallivanting around the world.
As the carousel started moving and luggage began to appear, Juliane took a deep breath. She was falling into the old traps. She didn’t want that to happen, but how could she ignore the way Elise behaved? This was not a Christian attitude, and she should pray about it. But right now she wasn’t in much of a praying mood.
Juliane told herself these feelings were only temporary. She’d get over them in time…or would she? She pushed the troubling thoughts into a dark corner of her mind as she helped retrieve Elise’s bags.
Lifting a large black bag, Juliane groaned. “What do you have in here?”
Shrugging, Elise laughed. “Who knows? I don’t remember what I packed in any of the suitcases. I was cramming stuff here and there just to get it all in.”
“How many more pieces of luggage do you have?” Ray surveyed the bags surrounding him.
Elise pointed, silently counting the bags. “Two more.”
“That’s good. Otherwise, I’m not sure we’d have enough room to take them all home.” Barbara looked pointedly at Elise. “It’s a good thing we’re all here to help you get this luggage to the car.”
Elise went over and put an arm around her diminutive mother. “It’s so good to have us all together.”
“That’s the truth.” Ray’s voice boomed above the cacophony of sounds echoing through the baggage claim area. “We should celebrate. I think we should have a big party to welcome Elise home.” He turned to his wife. “What do you think, honey?”
Barbara clapped her hands. “That is a marvelous idea. All your cousins, aunts and uncles and old friends would love to celebrate. Maybe we can rent the church hall.”
“Mom, Dad, you don’t have to make a big fuss.” Elise grabbed the remaining bag off the carousel. “I don’t want you going to a lot of trouble.”
“No trouble. It’ll be fun.” Barbara rubbed her hands together. “Are we ready to go?”
Elise nodded. “Looks like we have it all.”
“Everyone grab two bags, and I’ll take this duffel, as well.” Ray slung the strap over his shoulder and led the way to the car, pulling the wheeled bags behind him.
Trailing the others, Juliane fought against the jealousy that seeped into her heart as she listened to her parents plan a party for Elise. They’d never planned a party for her. Hadn’t she been the dutiful daughter, taking care of the store, being there whenever her parents had needed her? At least she had to give Elise credit for not pushing the party, although it was a given now that their dad had come up with the idea. Juliane vowed not to let her bad attitude ruin this reunion for her parents.
“I can’t believe how much I’ve missed this place.” Elise flung herself onto Juliane’s couch as their parents left.
“My house?” Juliane took in the pile of luggage littering her living room and wished Elise would at least take it to her bedroom. Their dad had offered to carry it up, but Elise had insisted that she would do it later. Memories of Elise’s room when they were in high school made Juliane shudder. She had forgotten what a slob Elise could be. What had she been thinking when she’d agreed to share her house with her sister?
“No, silly, Kellerville.”
“I can’t believe you said that.” Juliane playfully looked behind the cushions decorating the couch. “What did you do with my sister?”
Elise picked up a cushion and threw it at Juliane. Juliane threw it back. Soon they were tossing cushions and dodging luggage as they fought a mock battle.
Finally, exhausted and laughing, Juliane held her hands in the air. “I give. You win.”
“You give up too easy.”
Juliane knew that was true where her sister was concerned. Juliane had always let Elise win. Life was simpler that way. “Would you like some help getting your bags into your room?”
Elise waved a hand at Juliane. “Oh, let’s wait until tomorrow. Let’s relax and enjoy ourselves tonight.”
Juliane tamped down the irritation that accompanied Elise’s procrastination. “I won’t be able to help you tomorrow. I have to be at the store early.”
“That’s okay. I’ve got all day tomorrow to work on it. I can do it by myself.” Elise resumed her seat on the couch. “So how’s Dad been lately? I can’t very well ask when we’re all talking on the phone together, and I never know who’s reading your e-mails.”
Juliane wondered whether she would come home from work tomorrow and find all this stuff still sitting here. She determined not to think about it. “If you’d paid attention, you’d know that you could send e-mails to my private account without any worry.”
“I know you said that, but I could never remember which one was which.” Elise wrinkled her nose.
“Dad’s been fine, since last summer. No drinking at all, even through the holidays.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Everything’s been going very well.”
Even as she said it, Juliane couldn’t help thinking about Lukas. Everything had been going well until he’d shown up and upset the peacefulness of her life. But the changes he’d triggered had been good ones. He’d made her reexamine her reliance on God and her judgmental attitudes. She was seeing them even now in the way she was thinking about Elise. Maybe Elise’s return would yield positive results, as well.
“You certainly have gotten your second wind.”
“Well, that nap on the way home helped.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You’ve lost a lot of weight, haven’t you?” Juliane held her breath while she waited for an answer.
“You noticed?”
“It’s very evident.” Juliane joined Elise on the couch, forgetting her earlier irritation. “I’m surprised Mom didn’t say something about it. Are you having some health issues? Is that why you quit your job?”
“Wow! Juliane, you’re worse than Mom and Dad with the inquisition.”
Juliane refused to let her sister redirect the conversation. “Just call me concerned and nosy, and answer the question.”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s hard to believe. How can anyone lose weight on a cruise ship?”
“Easy. You work a lot of hours and don’t eat much.” Elise stretched out her long legs, encased in a pair of khaki pants.
“Do you have any clothes for cold weather in all those suitcases?” Juliane noticed her sister’s lightweight shirt as well as her pants that definitely weren’t warm enough for January in Ohio.
“Maybe a couple of things, but I’m sure I can pick some stuff up at the store.” Elise glanced around the room. “Hey, do you know you’ve got a message on your answering machine?”
Turning, Juliane looked into the kitchen where the bright red message light blinked on and off. “I guess I do. How did I not notice before?”
“Too busy talking and getting Mom and Dad out of our hair so we can have some sister time.”
Juliane walked into the kitchen and punched the button to play the message.
“Hey, Juliane. It’s Lukas. I tried to leave you a message on your mobile, but you never called back. Hope all went well when you picked up your sister. I meant to ask you earlier today about getting together for the entertainment thing, but I forgot. Grandpa’s doing great. Give me a call when you can.”
As the message ended, Juliane wished she’d discovered the message while she was alone. Now Elise would ask questions in her so-called sister time.
Before Juliane could turn around, Elise was by her side. “So who’s Lukas?”
“Just a guy who’s helping me with the talent program for the Valentine’s banquet.”
“Just a guy, huh?”
“Yeah, he’s new in town, and Val sort of pushed him into helping me.”
&n
bsp; “She’s matchmaking?”
“You’re jumping to a lot of conclusions, aren’t you? He could be some old married man.”
“But he’s not, is he?” Elise grinned.
Juliane sighed. “No, but there’s no matchmaking going on. Val was helping him get acquainted with the community.”
“Okay, if you say so, but what’s this about him seeing you earlier today? And why is he giving you a report on his grandpa?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got plenty of time.”
“Okay. I saw him at church this morning.”
“Oh, yeah, church. When you travel, you kind of lose track of the days.”
“And going to church?”
Elise grimaced. “I’m kind of out of the habit.”
“Will that change now that you’re home?”
“I suppose it’ll have to if you have anything to say about it.”
Juliane couldn’t miss Elise’s little dig, but she wasn’t going to let it get to her. “What you do about going to church is between you and God, not me.”
“What about his grandfather?” Elise asked, seemingly ignoring Juliane’s comment about church.
Juliane proceeded to tell Elise about Lukas and what had happened to his grandfather. “So now are you satisfied that nothing’s going on with Lukas and me?”
“Hardly. I can’t wait to meet him!”
Out of nowhere, a stab of jealousy hit Juliane. What did she care if Elise met Lukas? She had no claims on him. She didn’t even want any. So why was she having these feelings? She had to get over them, and with God’s help she would.
Chapter Seven
The next day gray skies foreshadowed the snow that was rolling in from the west. Juliane locked up the store and waved goodbye to her dad, who was on his way to the bank to make a night deposit. She hated gloomy winter days, and this particular gloom only added to her apprehension about sharing her house with Elise.
Juliane had vowed to get over second thoughts. But when she’d stumbled over Elise’s luggage on her way to the kitchen this morning, her vow had faded as quickly as the daylight was fading now on this late afternoon.
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