Family Pieces (14 page)

M
onday, Karsen drug herself out of bed and unenthusiastically faced the day. She’d missed too many classes already. She couldn’t afford to be absent again or she’d need to drop the semester entirely. Nor did she want her grades to suffer. Her 3.9 GPA qualified her for a supplemental grant that paid her out-of-state tuition. Without it, she’d find herself back in Indiana.

She pulled on a baseball cap, jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed her lime-green, down-filled jacket and headed out the door.

Her eyes remained puffy and sore. She felt as though there were no more tears left in her.
Time to buck-up
, she told herself. She’d lost her mom and her boyfriend. She felt alone. Nevertheless, she had to be strong or she’d lose herself.

She skipped her usual coffee, the campus Starbuck’s now serving as a painful reminder of how she met James. Besides, her stomach was too uneasy. Usually, she tended to gain weight under stress. This time was different. The thought of him being intimate with another girl made her physically ill, and over the last couple of days she’d dropped at least three pounds. James had attempted to call. He left several messages with insufficient apologies and even worse attempts at explanations. It didn’t matter. Karsen knew she could never trust him again.

Hanna joined her in chemistry lab.

“How you holding up?” she asked, setting her backpack on the table beside her.

“Getting by I guess. I don’t really have any other way to be.”

“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?

“No. You’ve been a great friend. I appreciate everything.” Karsen opened her lab notebook to the experiment they were about to attempt.

“Hey, how’d Brad’s audition go?” Hanna was anxious to hear. After his quick kiss – just a peck, really, she’d told herself – she’d still hoped he’d call her himself, but he hadn’t.

“What audition?” Karsen had no idea what she was referring to.

“Oh, he didn’t mention it?”

“No.”

“Oops. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. Well…apparently, he was on his way to a try-out for a new reality show. It’s supposedly a contest like the singing ones, but for comedians. He was going to skip out on the audition to take care of you when I showed up and made him go.”

“Seriously?” Karsen asked, perplexed, although she was not at all surprised by the fact he would drop everything for her. It was typical Brad.

“Yeah.”

“It probably wasn’t that important if he was willing to pass it up,” she said, even as she felt pangs of guilt in her already unsettled gut.

“Doubt it. That brother of yours is something else. Mine hardly ever calls me. He’d never come to my rescue.”

Hanna paused then, deliberating over whether to tell Karsen about the kiss.

“K?” she started. “He kissed me. Well, really it was just a peck. He was probably just excited to get to the audition. But, well, I know under the present circumstances the timing is not so good, but do you think he’s interested?”

Karsen sat quiet, staring blankly. For a moment, Hanna regretted her comments, but before she could apologize for being insensitive to her situation, Karsen all but burst out laughing. Dear, confident, breathtaking Hanna doubted whether a boy liked her - and not just any boy, her own brother, with his skinny little butt, quirky looks and knack for constantly poking fun.

“Hanna, I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” she assured her friend. Hanna felt a wave of relief flow through her.

The girls stopped gabbing as the professor approached to check their progress on the assignment. Karsen’s bag vibrated at her feet. Her hand reached down discretely, feeling for her phone. She glanced down at the text message.

OMG. I made it 2 round 2! Call me. I’ll explain. B

She tipped the phone so Hanna could read the text. Her eyebrows rose and her eyes widened in excitement. Karsen texted him back, trying not to alert the professor who would call her out for disturbing class.

In Chem. Call U L8R.

Karsen tried to focus on the experiment, but the two-hour class felt like an eternity. Finally, class was dismissed and she called Brad back.

“Hey!” he answered.

“Hey! Hanna told me about the audition. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why really, but I guess I didn’t want to get too excited about it. Thousands audition. I was trying to keep my hopes in check. The chances of being chosen for the show are so small.”

“But you said you made it to the next round.”

“Yes. I got a call back. The producers want me to audition again. They selected forty to audition in Hollywood and then they’ll narrow it down to ten for the show. So, it’s still a long shot. But, I made the first cut. I never dreamed I’d make it past round one. I still can’t believe it!”

“So, what is the show exactly?” Karsen asked.

“It’s called
The Funniest Comic
. Original name, I know. Anyway, it’s a new reality show where comics compete. Kind of like
American Idol
, but trust me, if I sang people would laugh.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t say anything before.”

“I know. I just figured I’d go, get eliminated and not have to be embarrassed that I wasn’t good enough.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit then.” Karsen paused, contemplating whether to bring up Hanna who was standing beside her. “Uhmm. Hanna was disappointed you didn’t call her.”

He paused a moment. “Oh…. So she told you. I wanted to call her, but I wanted to tell you first.”

“So you wanted to call her?” Karsen repeated so Hanna could hear, hoping he would elaborate further.

“Let’s change the subject,” Brad said. He wondered again if he had misread Hanna’s signs. She seemed interested. But him? He wasn’t the type of guy she usually dated – the handsome, built-like-a-quarterback type. He couldn’t imagine why she’d be interested in him.

“Heeelllooo? Brad, you still there?” Karsen broke the long silence.

“Sorry.”

“Anyway, Hanna’s headed home to change. She’s going to meet me to run. I’m sure you could catch her if you call her now.” Karsen still had some doubts about her best friend dating her brother, but she loved them both and if they could be happy together, then she was willing to share.

“Thanks for the information. Talk to you later?”

“Of course. Oh, congrats again on your call back. I’m so proud of you!”

“Thanks. Bye, sis.”

“Bye.” She pushed the “End” key on her phone.

“Here’s her diapers, wipes, pack-n-play, a change of clothes, sippy cup...” Emily unpacked the arsenal of baby supplies.

“Is she moving in?” Addison said facetiously.

Emily ignored the comment, continuing to unload and explain Adie’s routine. “She’s been going on the potty some, but keep a diaper on her anyway. I don’t want her to have an accident on your new designer couch. I don’t know what you paid for it, but I’m sure it was more than I could afford to repay if she ruins it. And… she can climb out of the pack-n-play. If she’s really tired she won’t, at least not until she wakes up, so get to her quickly.”

Emily was about to begin another sentence when Addison interrupted, trying to reassure her.

“We’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be back around four. If Greg can pick her up earlier…”

Addison interrupted Emily again. “No need. Now go. Relax. Adelaide and I have playing to do.”

“You’re the best!” Emily sincerely meant it. Not only had Addy agreed to take Adelaide for the day as a birthday present, but she had arranged a full day for Emily at the spa just as she promised. Massage, pedicure, hair, even lunch was included - a full day without diapers and that sometimes sassy child of hers. No matter how much she loved Adie, mommies need a break, too.

“I know,” Addison agreed. “Only teasing.”

“Bye, sweetie. Mommy loves you.”

“Bye-bye, Mommy!” Adie waved and blew a kiss. Emily blew her a kiss back, waved and ventured out the door before Adie realized Mommy was leaving without her.

Addison thought about what it would feel like to have a child. At her age, she knew the chances of having her own were slim. Her biological ticker was running its last race. It wasn’t that she never desired children, she’d just never found the right guy or at least never allowed herself to keep one around long enough. But she had Adelaide in her life, and it was the next best thing.

“Adie. What do you say we go to Barneys?”

“Barney!” Adie clapped. “I luv u. U luv me…”

“No baby. Not Barney. Shopping. Want to go to the store?”

“Yea! I go to store!” Adie exclaimed with delight. She would’ve agreed to anything.

“You’re a shopping pro, Miss Adelaide.” Addison held up two Prada bags. “Which one do you like?” A lady browsing through the handbag section stared at her. By the look on her face, Addison could tell she wondered if she were really going to let a two-year-old pick out a bag – and such a pricey one at that.

Adie pointed at the new spring line’s woven shopper bag in pink, white and taupe. Addison held it up higher. “This one? That’s what I was thinking, too. You have wonderful taste, my dear.”

Addison placed the more subdued tan bag back on the shelf. “How about we go check out the baby girl clothes for you?” she asked Adie as if speaking to an adult.

“OOO-kaaaay,” Adie chimed, drawing out both syllables. Addison loved listening to her voice. She sounded like she was the lead in a musical, singing every word.

In the toddler girl’s section, they gave Addison’s gold card a workout.

“You’ll be the envy of all the girls at preschool. Little Suri Cruise and Violet Affleck will have nothing on you.” But Adelaide no longer seemed interested in her godmother’s banter. Her thumb was deeply planted in her mouth and her eyes began to grow heavy.

Addison figured she could nap in the car. She wanted to visit her mother who had been released the day before from the hospital. She was now resting at their home in Bedford, roughly fifty miles outside of the city.

“Uh-oh!” Adie’s eyes got big again. Her thumb popped out of her mouth. “Poopy! Poopy-stinky. Yuck!”

Addison grimaced. “You didn’t.”

“Poopy,” Adelaide repeated. The recognizable stench crept into Addison’s nose.