”
I hid my disappointment with a questioning smile. “Are you sure?”
“Sure of what?” Erin asked from the door.
“Sure you were eavesdropping,” I shot back.
“Paul, be nice,” Christy said. To Erin, “We’re sure the room’s fine.”
It was the most obvious lie in the world, but Erin took it at face value.
“Hold on,” Christy said as she looked around. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“Oh, they’re in the clubhouse,” Erin said cheerfully. “Only the cabins have bathrooms. I need to go too. C’mon, I’ll show you.”
“Erin,” I cautioned, “Christy’s—”
“Jeez, Paul. Chill out. I’m not going to embarrass you. We’re just going
Christy met my eyes and silently told me she’d be fine.
“She’s awesome,” Erin said to me. “I love her already.”
Christy smiled and turned rosy. “Thanks. You’re pretty awesome too.”
“I’m going to change into something nicer for tonight,” Erin said. “Mom and Susan are talking in her room. They said we’ll leave in about thirty minutes.”
“Thanks, Er,” I said.
“See you in a bit.” She left with a wave.
“Well, what do you think?” I asked Christy after I closed the door.
“Your mother’s so pretty. And I see where you get your vocabulary. Erin is just like her. She’s totally cool too. It’s like we’re sisters already.” Her delight turned to panic. “Not that— I mean, I wasn’t saying— Oh my gosh, I should stop talking now.”
“It’s okay.” I gathered her into my arms. “I know what you meant.”
“Thank you.” She pressed her cheek to my chest and relaxed with a deep sigh. “I really like your family so far, although it’s weird to think I’ve met most of them. I keep waiting for you to introduce more people to me. You know?”
“Yeah,” I chuckled. “We’re a lot more like a normal-sized family than yours.”
“We’re normal,” she protested. “Just normal for Irish Catholics.”
“Susan’s really nice too,” she said after a moment. “You’ve known her a long time, haven’t you?”
“Since I was little, although I don’t really remember her from back then.”
Christy pulled back and looked up at me with a question.
“She and my parents met when I was… three, I guess. About the time Erin was born.”
“Then why don’t you remember her?”
Christy nodded absently but then had a thought. Her eyes flicked around
as she worked it out.
“What?” I said with a chuckle.
“Your mother. Susan.”
“They’re what?” I knew where she was going, but I wanted her to get there on her own.
“Well, you told me your mom has a girlfriend. You said they were apart for a while but then got back together.
