As Good as the First Time Page 4

  Drea’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Oh, I’ll show you growing up, all right,” Drea said as she took a step toward Liv.

  “Enough!” their father yelled, silencing them.

  “Finally,” Elijah sighed from the kitchen entryway, plate in hand. When he slipped away to make it, who knew? Their father whirled on him with a look, one that told Elijah that stuffing his mouth full of sweet potato pie would be his next best step.

  Their dad then turned back to Liv. “Sweetheart, what you’re looking to do is wonderful, and if it’s really in your heart to do it and you’re sure you’re ready to take such a big step for the next couple weeks, at least until we get back from our European trip, we will be greatly appreciative.”

  “But Mitch,” their mother started, but their father put up his hand, stopping her, and continued his speech, this time turning toward Drea.

  “And as for you, young lady, you and your sister need to cut all this fighting. I don’t know what’s going on with your work situation, but whatever it is, you need to get it straightened out. Or do I need to take a trip downtown to talk to this boss of yours myself?”

  Drea quickly shook her head. “No, sir.”

  Their father nodded. “Good. Though not eloquently said, your sister is right. It’s time to live up to who you are. Who I know you are great enough to be. You’re a talented young woman. Time to show it.”

  Drea looked at her father, and for a moment it seemed as if she was going to say something, but instead she swallowed and her gaze swept the floor.

  Their father clapped his hands together loudly, turned around, and picked up the stereo’s remote control once again, turning the music up. “Good. I’m glad that’s all settled. Anne, let’s get in a couple more dances before my night is over. And then tomorrow you can call that loony roof-climbing sister of yours and let her know that reinforcements are on the way.” He gave Liv a wink before he took their mother into his arms, twirled her twice, and kissed her soundly enough to bring a deep crimson blush to her mahogany cheeks.

  “Come on with that!” Elijah said from his spot by the kitchen doorway. “Some of us are trying to eat over here.”

  With that Liv just shook her head and enjoyed the moment as she tried to squelch down the budding feelings of nervousness over the decision she’d just made.

  Chapter 3

  “You have got to be kidding me!” Liv shouted just a few short days later as she came down to load her luggage into her father’s old sedan only to find Drea leaning against it, large duffel bag in hand. “What are you doing here?” Liv asked. “And please tell me that bag is chockablock full of food that mom prepared for me for my trip.”

  Drea gave a sly grin. “No such luck, big sis. After all your talk about family and sacrifice and getting my act together, well, it got me thinking that maybe I could help out a little bit. So I decided to take this trip with you.”

  Liv groaned. “Please tell me you’re joking,” she said, looking her sister in the eye for some sign of gameplay but, sadly, finding none.

  “Nope. No joke here. I’m as serious as they come. You’re looking at a brand-new me. I’m all about getting myself together once and for all.”

  Liv walked over toward the car and put her luggage inside. She started to close the trunk, but Drea stopped her, giving her sister a look. “Not so fast. The way you are acting makes me think you don’t want the extra help. We both know Aunt Joyce can probably use it. Two hands are better than one and all that,” she stated as she tossed her duffel bag in the trunk and slammed it shut.

  Liv then made her way over to the driver’s side and opened the door, looking at her sister from across the roof of the car. “Don’t be such a smarty. Of course Aunt Joyce can use the help, that is, if you are really going to be a help. I’m not going there for a vacation. I’m going there to actually work for our aunt, who’s fallen and broken her hip, mind you. She may be in need of medical care, and from the way it sounds, that shop needs running. Which means baking, cleaning, and tidying up. Come on, we both know that none of those things hit high on your radar as fun.”

  Drea gave Liv an exasperated look. “And like I said, you’re looking at the new me. I can be open to getting my hands dirty. And I do have customer service experience from working at the restaurant.”

  To that, Liv gave Drea a raised brow.

  “Don’t start,” Drea said, pointing a well-manicured nail. “It’s too early in the morning for it.”

  Liv felt her lip curl as she gave her sister a quick up and down. Young, beautiful, with a flawless chestnut complexion; almond shaped, deep set bedroom eyes, accented by just the perfect amounts of liner and mascara; full, deep brick red lips made extra pouty by one of those expensive lip glosses that she loved so much. Her hair, this week, was a thick mass of twisted braids that were swept to one side and worn long past her delicate shoulders in an inviting, haphazard bohemian way. It didn’t go unnoticed that during their five-minute exchange, no fewer than five guys couldn’t help but pause and stare at her sister. She was only three years younger than Liv, and although they had similar features, if not body type, they were night and day when it came to style and appearance. No, there wasn’t much stopping or staring when it came to Liv’s no-nonsense manner. “Yeah, I still see the same old you,” Liv quipped back. “Getting those perfectly manicured nails dirty? I doubt that will ever happen.”

  Drea gave her a shrug before getting into the car. “You just watch me. Now, are you happy taking the first shift driving, or shall I? I mean, I would like to get there before next week. We all know you drive like an old lady.”

  Liv growled as she got into the car and caught her own reflection in the rearview mirror. Her sister made her want to pull her own shoulder-length, blown-straight hair out of the confines of its low ponytail. But she resisted and instead started up the car and gave Drea’s hand a light slap as she went to reach for the radio. “Don’t you dare. I’ve already preset the stations and I have my CDs loaded. When I’m driving, it’s my choice.”

  Drea moaned. “Oh God, is it going to be smooth jazz and news radio all the time, or will I have to listen to call-in shows?”

  Liv shrugged. “Like I said, when I’m driving it’s my choice.”

  In answer to that, Drea reclined her seat and closed her eyes. “Well, wake me when it’s my turn. I’ll show you what real driving music is.”

  Liv shook her head, eased out of her coveted parking spot, and said a silent prayer and good-bye to her apartment, which she had sublet astoundingly quickly to a Barnard College student looking for temporary housing until something in the dorms became available. The fact that she didn’t have to worry about making rent on her apartment was a relief, but what she had gotten herself into with agreeing to help Aunt Joyce and dealing with the idea of heading back to Sugar Lake and all the memories that that entailed was now at the forefront of her mind and ramping up her anxieties. To top it off, she now had Drea along for the ride. The two of them together were nothing but a recipe for disaster.

  * * *

  “We’re here.”

  “Where?” Drea said as she groggily came awake and looked over at her sister.

  “I thought we’d stop, get a little dinner, and maybe check into a hotel to stay the night. Then we can get back on the road early in the morning.”

  Drea frowned. “There is no need for us to check into a hotel tonight,” she said. “You’ve driven enough, so I can take over driving the rest of the way and then we’ll be there not long after midnight, by two or three a.m., the latest.”

  Liv looked at her sister with frustration. “No, that’s not necessary. I’ve mapped it out with just me driving myself and timed it that way with stops to rest and refuel. Besides, why would we want to get into town and bother Aunt Joyce in the middle of the night? She won’t be expecting me until tomorrow.”

  “Us,” Drea corrected. “It may be a surprise to you, but I did call Aunt Joyce to let her know that I would be joining you.�
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  This bit of news, which should have given Liv a sense of relief, only filled her with more anger. She hated surprises, and even more than that she hated being the last to know. “Nevertheless, you’re tired and I’m beat, so we might as well check in here. I’ve already made the reservation for a room and for dinner.”

  It was then that Drea pushed herself up a bit more and finally looked around to check out their surroundings. She turned and gave her sister a shocked expression. “Come on. Why do we have to stay in a place like this? This level of pomp and froufrou looks like it’ll set us back at least four hundred bucks a night. Not to mention it looks stuffy as all get-out.”

  Liv looked over at the Beaumont Inn, where they had pulled up. She took in the regal colonial columns, the freshly painted black doors, yellow shutters, and pretty window boxes overflowing with flowers, and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I’m asking you to contribute anything.”

  She watched as her sister tried to hold on to what looked like her last thread of calm. “See, there you go with your assumptions and high-handedness. Must you make all the decisions on everything? And do you really always have to assume that you’re better than someone else, better than me? Who says I can’t contribute my fair share? I just would’ve liked to have been included in the decision-making process. Not for nothing, but staying in a place like this for nothing more than glorified sleep is a waste of time and money, if you ask me.”

  Liv let out a meditative breath then and made a mental note to add her part of the hotel room to Drea’s mounting tab as the attendant came over to open her door. Goodness, did her sister have to go all in and read so much into every little thing she did and said? Still a twinge of guilt over her choice of words niggled at Liv’s spine. “Well, I didn’t ask you because this trip was planned out before I knew you’d be tagging along. You can contribute whatever you want to or not since I made this choice without you. But like I said, I’m beat and I want to stretch my legs and have a decent meal.”

  Drea got out of the car behind Liv, acquiescing though still not quite able to let the argument go. “And how do you know you’ll get a decent meal here? What’s the matter with fast food along the way? It’s what people do on road trips. They loosen up.”

  Loosen up. Sure. Tell that to her supertight shoulders, Liv thought as she walked past her sister toward the lobby. “Their online ratings said their restaurant is top notch. Besides, some of us have higher standards than a quickie at the drive-through.”

  Drea came up to her just as she was hitting the reception desk. “Well, Ms. High Standards, we will see how far those get you when it comes time to pay the bill. And as you good and well know, it always comes time to pay the bill.”

  * * *

  Darn, Drea and her premonitions. Over dinner that night in the hotel’s highly rated restaurant, Liv could only admit silently to herself how underwhelming the meal was, since she refused to state her thoughts out loud and give her sister the satisfaction of knowing she was right. As a matter of fact, Drea couldn’t have been more right. They could’ve stayed at a roadside motel and gotten a friendlier welcome than the one they’d received from the overteased middle-aged blonde with the clearly antiquated, bordering on offensive ways at reception. As for this meal, once again Drea was right there too. Liv’s chicken was barely done and her rice was overdone, and she tasted better green beans out of a can from the grocery store.

  But looking over at Drea’s way-too-smug expression as she picked at her lobster macaroni and cheese made with a crab substitute in place of the advertised lobster let Liv know that even in her silence she wasn’t fooling her sister one bit.

  “Nice dinner, huh?” Drea finally said, after she took another long pull from her glass of wine.

  Liv let her fork drop with a loud clang and looked at her sister straight on. “You know it’s not, so you might as well get your gloating out of the way now so I can give this plate back and order some ice cream. Hopefully they can’t mess that up.”

  Drea shook her head while her lips took a soft upward turn. “Nah, no need to do that. Just knowing that you know that you were wrong, at least in this one thing, is enough.” Liv looked on as Drea signaled toward their waiter for him to come over. She asked for the restaurant’s manager, and soon a tall, thin middle-aged man appeared at their table. He was smiling weakly with eyes that had no true sincerity and showed that he had an inkling of what was to come.

  “Good evening, ladies. I’m Mr. Bradley, the manager, and I hear you are not happy with your meals this evening?”

  “No, we are not,” Drea said, her tone soft as room temperature butter, but eyes way more firm. “I have to say we were extremely disappointed. My sister and I are coming from New York, and she stopped here because your place had gotten very good reviews. It’s sad to see that you’re not living up to them. It does make one wonder about the authenticity of such reviews.”

  Liv watched as the man’s forced smile dropped and anger flickered around the edges of his eyes. “Ma’am, if you are implying that our reviews are anything but authentic, I will have to take offense at that.”

  Drea’s voice still came out sweet, but louder than it was before. “I am not implying anything, sir. All I’m saying is that your meals are not coming out of your kitchen as advertised. Do you deny that it was not real lobster in my macaroni and cheese?”

  Liv looked around, noticing that there was a bit more of a hush in the dining room now, and in their immediate vicinity all eyes were turned toward their table. She fought hard to brush off feelings of mortification over being the center of attention and not embarrassed by the scene her sister was pulling. But then she noticed Mr. Bradley’s smile come back into place as he noticed the attention they were getting also. “No, ma’am. I’m sorry to say I do not deny that today we had an unfortunate problem with shipping from our usual seafood vendor, and we had to do a substitution. I am very sorry for the inconvenience, and you can rest assured that we will remedy that on your bill.”

  Drea gave him an affronted look. “Just that? How will you make up for my sister’s horrible meal?”

  Mr. Bradley looked at Drea as if he would be ever so happy if the floor opened up and swallowed her. Despite his look, she didn’t falter and gave him the most serene smile. Which, even in her mortification, kind of made Liv want to stand up and cheer. Then the man leaned in closer to the table so that only the both of them could hear. “Of course, I do apologize if the service this evening was unsatisfactory. We pride ourselves on our dishes and making the customer happy. Your meal this evening is of course complementary. And to make up for it, please let me have dessert brought out to you.”

  Liv couldn’t believe that Drea had done it. Sent the meal back, gotten them a freebie, and scored them a dessert on top of everything else. But then her sister went further and opened her mouth again. “That will not be necessary,” she said, just about sending Liv into a silent fit of rage. What was she going on about now? Get out while the getting was good girl. She wanted her ice cream! “We thank you for the complimentary meal, but the dessert is entirely unnecessary.”

  Drea picked up her glass of wine and took a final sip before reaching into her purse and pulling out two twenty-dollar bills. She placed them on the table. “But this is for Charlie. His service was impeccable. Please be sure to relay our thanks. Maybe he could help train your shoddy front desk greeters in hospitality and making folks feel welcome.”

  Mr. Bradley, seemingly unable to form any words, just gave them both a nod as he backed away from the table.

  “Really, after all that talk and complaining, you couldn’t at least accept the dessert? You knew I wanted some ice cream to clear my palate from that horrible meal,” Liv whispered to her sister as they gathered their things and got up from the table.

  Drea paused midstand. “Would a ‘thank you’ kill you?”

  Liv stared at her. “For what? Causing a scene or the free meal,” she hissed “If
the meal, then thank you. If the scene, then no thanks. I kind of like to keep a low profile. I don’t like to go around causing scenes and making fusses.”

  Drea’s brows pulled together as she stared at Liv. “And how’s that been going for you so far?”

  Liv stood still for a moment, then grinned before Drea’s cheeks spread and she broke into a grin too. “Now, come on, don’t get so serious. This is just a fun road trip. Besides, after all that, why would you accept even a scoop of ice cream from them and trust that it will come out of the kitchen untainted. I’m sure we’ve annoyed both the manager and the chef to no end.” She grabbed Liv’s hand, pulling her toward the hotel’s doors as they made their way into the lobby. “Wasn’t there a convenience store just a few doors down? We can go there and grab some ice cream and even a hot dog, which is what we should have done in the first place. The night will be complete. Let’s make this quick. Best to be on the road first thing in the morning, and don’t forget, I’m driving so I choose the playlist.”

  Liv sucked in a long breath of air . . . as well as the exhaust of a passing 18-wheeler. “Don’t remind me.”

  * * *

  SUGAR LAKE 126 MILES. Upon seeing the sign, Liv couldn’t ignore the quickening beat of her heart. She and Drea had been silent for the past hour and a half, Drea seemingly focused on belting out her new age rap/bohemian music while Liv was, for the moment, content with leaving her to it while she tried to come to grips with the jumble of thoughts that were churning through her own mind.

  It seemed that the more miles they ate up, and the closer they got to Sugar Lake, the more she couldn’t quite wrap her head around her making such an impulsive decision to come to the small town. Yeah, sure, she’d spouted all that to Drea about stepping up, and helping out, and putting family first. And for the most part, yes, she believed it, but still a part of her knew there was something else, something that she needed to face, needed to deal with, and maybe that something could be found in Sugar Lake. But why leave New York? Was Drea right? Was she running away from something or toward something? For the first time in her life, with no set school classes or job to rush off to at a specific date, Liv was slightly panicked. She was also a little excited. Yes, she’d be going to help out Aunt Joyce, but she was now also open to something new. When had she’d ever had that opportunity? The last time she remembered dreaming seemed so long ago—heck, it had to be when she was back in high school. Back in Sugar Lake.