Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

Which she actually believed—something she could be proud of, she thought as she walked into the house.

First she was going to get herself some ice cream, then she was going to retreat to her bedroom and find something girly to binge watch until the family meeting that night.

“There you are!” Marilee stood in the living room, a dress in each hand. “Everyone’s abandoned me. I need your opinion on these. Which one do you think your father will like best?”

Kelly put her tote bag on the table by the door, drew in a breath and reminded herself that she was a good person and she should act like it.

“What are you doing here, Mom? I don’t mean why are you picking out dresses, I mean why are you here in town? Why did you come back?”

Marilee set the dresses on the back of the sofa. “To see my girls, of course. And your father. Why would you ask?”

Kelly fought against a series of swear words. Yelling wouldn’t accomplish anything.

“You left him thirteen years ago. In fact, you left all of us. You didn’t care then and you don’t care now. Tell me honestly, why are you here?”

“That’s not your business, is it?” Her mother looked smug. “This is still your father’s house and Jeff is happy to have me here.”

“No, he’s not.”

“Then he should say so.”

Frustration built. “You know he won’t. He has some dumb-ass idea that he shouldn’t speak ill of his daughters’ mother. I have no idea what that is, but it exists. I don’t get it. I honestly don’t get it. Why now? Why this summer?”

Marilee played with one of the buttons on the dress and didn’t answer.

Kelly stared at her. “No way,” she breathed. “Because of Olivia? You came back because she came back? Is that it? Were you afraid we were going to accept her as one of the family?”

Marilee rolled her eyes. “Hardly.”

“That’s it, isn’t it? You couldn’t stand for her to be a part of the family again. You liked it better when she was with you.” Kelly couldn’t begin to understand the hows and whys of her parents’ marriage, but she knew she was close to the truth.

“You’re being vindictive. You’re here so Dad doesn’t win Olivia back. Yet from everything I’ve heard, you don’t want her anymore. What is wrong with you?”

Marilee’s gaze narrowed. “I’m your mother, Kelly. You’ll do well to remember that.”

“I can’t seem to forget it, although I’d like to.” She told herself to stay in her head, to not let her emotions run wild. That would only lead to disaster.

She drew in a breath and gentled her voice. “Mom, you had your chance with us and you don’t get a second one. Not from me or Olivia or Dad. More important, you don’t even want one. You’d never be happy here. This town is too small for you. You always hated it. It’s time for you to leave.”

“Not your call,” her mother chirped. “I’ll leave when your father says I should.” She smiled. “He’s never been able to resist me. That hasn’t changed. Your little friend thinks she’s all that, but she’s completely wrong.”

Something inside of Kelly snapped. “You leave Helen out of this. She’s so much better than you in every way. We are all lucky to have her in our lives. As for my father, you know what? Let’s go ask him. Right now. I’ll drive. We’ll go see Dad and ask him flat out if he’s interested in you sticking around or if he’d like nothing better to have you gone.” She grabbed her tote bag. “Come on, Mom. Then we’ll both know where we stand.”

Her mother’s pleasant expression slipped, revealing cold, ugly rage. “You little bitch! You’re not going to win this one, you hear me?”

Kelly wanted to take a step back but she knew in her gut that showing weakness would be a disaster. “I take it that’s a no?” she asked, pretending not to be affected by her mother’s vitriol. “Too bad. It would have been a fun conversation.”

Marilee grabbed her dresses and stalked down the hall. Kelly took a step toward her own room only to realize she was trembling and couldn’t actually walk. She took a couple of deep breaths before trying again. On the bright side, she would guess the family meeting had just been canceled.





32

Work was a great way to escape from the horror of her life, Helen told herself Monday morning. Jeff didn’t show up for his pre-opening chat, but that was hardly a surprise. She hadn’t expected him to—only she had hoped and now there wasn’t even that.

“Dramatic much?” she muttered to herself as she put dirty dishes into the bins, then reminded herself that her customers didn’t care about her issues. They had plenty of their own to deal with.

She took three more orders and turned them over to Delja. The cook smiled at her and Helen instantly felt better. Her love life might suck but her friends were great. Delja and her family had kept her busy all yesterday afternoon and evening. Kelly was constantly in touch. She was loved by everyone but one stupid guy. Things could be worse.

Kelly stopped by during the midmorning lull and told her about the blowout she’d had with Marilee the day before.

“I think she’s going to be leaving soon.”

Helen pretended to be pleased by the news, mostly because Kelly looked so hopeful and was trying so hard. But in truth, it wouldn’t matter. Jeff obviously didn’t care about her. Not enough to make things right.

“Want to go to dinner this week?” Kelly asked as she was leaving. “Just hang out?”

Helen hugged her. “That would be great.”

“I’ll text you later and we’ll figure something out.” She hesitated.

Helen smiled and pushed her toward the door. “I’m fine. Go grow tulips. The world is waiting for your beautiful flowers.”

Kelly laughed, waved and left. When the door closed behind her, it was all Helen could do not to collapse on the floor and give in to hopelessness.

But wallowing and doing nothing wasn’t on her to-do list, so it would have to wait, she told herself as she cleared the last of the tables and began to set up for lunch.

By noon, the café was completely full. She and the other two servers were scrambling to keep up with orders. Everyone wanted to talk about the fund-raiser and how great it had been. Most were hoping it would be an annual tradition. All the puppies and kittens had been adopted and most of the antique furniture sold.

Helen was happy for Olivia. She’d worked hard and it had paid off—reaffirming world order and a sense of justice. That was nice to know. It could give her hope.

She heard the front door open and automatically reached for the pad by the cash register. They were going to have to start taking names until tables became available. She was halfway to the door before she looked up and saw Jeff standing in front of her.

She had no idea what to do or say, which turned out not to be a problem because he walked past her to the center of the room and spoke.

“If I could have your attention, please,” he said loudly.