Chapter 2

Earlier than most on a Saturday morning, I rolled out of bed without the prompting of an alarm as I had been doing since college, slipped on the first t-shirt in my drawer that my hand touched, grabbed my laptop and phone, and went downstairs. As I passed, I grabbed the remote from its precarious perch on the back of the sofa, punched the on/off button, and tossed it back to the couch. I set my laptop on the kitchen table and quickly set about making some eggs and toast.

With a plate of scrambled eggs and jelly on toast in one hand and my laptop in the other, I dropped onto the sofa as the soccer match ticked to the tenth minute. I spent the rest of the match going through emails, glancing through twitter, and looking up to catch glimpses of the match. It was just another routine game for a very good team who trampled a team of lesser quality by five goals to none.

Another match started not long after the first, but it was still barely nine o'clock. Two minutes past the hour, Emma bounced down the stairs. "Morning," I greeted her.

"Hiya," she said shortly.

"I didn't use all the eggs I scrambled. There's still some in a bowl in the fridge. What time do you work today?"

"Ok. Shift starts at 10:15. I'll probably be out in forty-five minutes or so."

"Wow!" I exclaimed as one of the players in the match blasted a rocket of a shot into the goal from at least 25 yards out.

"You're surprised by that?" Emma called from the kitchen.

"No-no. Sorry, someone scored."

There was no response to that, so I went back to watching the game. Eventually, Emma came back in and sat down on the sofa to watch as she ate her breakfast, which was just eggs. She wore a loose-fitting white Big Splash work t-shirt that didn't go all the way to her waist and short jean shorts. She'd evidently showered already and definitely looked ready for a trip to the beach with her blond hair falling in waves nearly as far as her shirt.

"Back to the ice cream stand today?" I asked.

"Yeah, but only a few hours. They want me to come in for a meeting to discuss possibly becoming a weekend shift leader or something." She shrugged.

"Oh, I'd say that sounds cool; but you almost don't sound interested."

"I am interested," she said. "I just don't know if it might be too much commitment for my schedule."

"True. But if they really like having you then maybe they'd be open to you starting that position and doing it more days during the summer."

She was quiet for several heartbeats, so I turned to look at her and found her already staring at me. It was a look I didn't comprehend. "What?"

Emma hit me on the shoulder and smiled as she got up from the couch. "You're getting old, bro."

I spread my arms and opened my mouth in protest, "Wha-? Why would you say that?"

"Cause you're smart and you say things I'm sure dad would say. Makes me wonder if I'm even missing anything not being at home."

"And I suppose that's a bad thing," I prodded.

She stopped half way to the kitchen and turned to look at me again. This time it was an even longer pause before she said anything. "No, I–"

My phone rang, cutting her off. I let it buzz for a second to see if she would continue, but Emma finally just shook her head and left the room. "Hey."

"Hey, babe. Quick question about possibly changing the plan."

"K-Kay, shoot."

"I know we just planned to hang out at your place today, but I forgot I scheduled to spend time with my girls in the Sistership program."

"Oh, that's right, I remember you telling me that actually. We can do later or ever tomorrow, that's fine."

"We could, but I was actually wondering if I could just bring Loren and Molly over? We could hang out and even all head over to Big Splash later."

This wasn't ideal in my mind, but I thought her involvement in the program was awesome and definitely wanted to support it. "Yeah, sure. Headed over soon?"

"Yep! Very shortly."

"Sweet, see you soon."

As I hung up, Emma was headed for the door. Since the Sistership program was something connecting Kayla's university and the school Emma was a senior at, I thought maybe she'd know the two girls Kayla was partnered with. "Hey, do you know a Loren or a Molly from school?"

Emma stopped and thought for a second, "Uhm, maybe. I think I know a couple girls by those names, but if so I don't know them. Why?"

"That's just the names of the girls Kayla is partnered with for the Sistership program." But this brought a followup question to mind: "You didn't want to sign up for the program?"

"Nah, I'm busy. Remember? Don't tell me your memory is going now too. Besides, Kayla being around you all the time is kinda like having her as a big sister."

I smirked at her insult and the truth of what she said about Kayla as Emma went out the front door.