***
The next day, my meeting got canceled, so I left work early.
“But all right. I understand. I’ll stop.”
I was feeling good, almost cheerful. I even picked up a bag of those lemon cookies Liz loved, a peace offering for no reason.
I let myself in through the front door as quietly as I could, planning to surprise them.
That was when I heard Jenna’s voice cracking like a whip.
“Why did you complain to your dad? I try so hard for you, and you’re so ungrateful!”
I froze in the hallway. The cookie bag crinkled in my fist.
I heard Jenna’s voice cracking like a whip.
“I didn’t,” Liz said. Her voice was thin and wet. “I swear, I didn’t say anything.”
“Don’t lie to me. Piggy! I’m doing my best, and you keep stuffing your face. No boy is ever going to look at you. And you’ll have nobody to blame but yourself.”
I moved to the edge of the doorway and looked in.
Tears ran down Liz’s face, and she wasn’t even wiping them. Jenna stood next to her with a yellow tailor’s tape stretched around Liz’s hips.
“I swear, I didn’t say anything.”
She pinched the tape, squinted at it, and made a small, disappointed noise.
