Finn finally swallowed the warm yogurt and looked up at Zadie. “What’s that type of music they play in New Orleans?”
“Zydeco?”
“Yeah. That’s it. Wait—” Steel drums began playing a competing tune. “Did you get a swirl?”
Zadie nodded. “Passion fruit and coconut.”
“Oof. Those two songs do not work together.” Finn shook her head, trying to knock the cacophony between her ears loose. “You should have gotten plain vanilla like I did. That one sounded like acoustic guitar.”
Finn’s echo died off at the same time the man onstage started singing “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. Hopefully, by the time the song was finished, Finn would figure out how to tell her sister about her big idea. She’d spent the thirty-minute car ride rehearsing it in her head. First, she’d tell Zadie about her echo. Then, once Zadie had recovered from the shock of it, she would pivot toward her plan. It would be a hard sell. Her sister liked surprises even less than she liked talking about their mother, and Finn’s idea involved both.
The performer had only just finished singing the names of Soviet politicians when Zadie beat Finn to the punch. “So what’s this thing you needed to tell me?”
Finn swallowed. “I had an echo.”
“I know. You told me.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t tell you whose memory it was.”
“Mom?” Zadie wasn’t sure if she’d heard her sister correctly. “It was Mom’s memory?”
“Yes.”
She’d had a knot in her stomach ever since she’d walked into Finn’s party that afternoon. Now it cinched so tight she felt breathless. “How… Are you sure it was her?”
Finn nodded. “Positive. She was singing the song.”
“The song?”
“The one she used to sing to us when we were kids. The one about the bird.”
Zadie remembered. She had loved that song. Now she turned off the radio any time it came on.
Finn started talking so fast her words tumbled over each other. “It was incredible! It was like I was in her body. But I didn’t just see what she was seeing, I felt everything she was feeling. I could hear herthoughts.That’s the first time that’s ever happened.” Finn paused, taking in her sister’s expression. “You don’t look excited.”
“It’s just… a lot.”
“I know. It is for me, too. To be honest, lately I’ve been feeling like I was forgetting her, you know? It was so long ago, and I was only a kid. But now I feel like we’ve been given a second chance.”
“A second chance at what?”
Finn shifted in her seat. There was more she wasn’t telling her. Zadie could feel it.
“I think we should go looking for her.”
Zadie didn’t answer at first. Maybe she could pretend that she hadn’t heard her sister. After all, the karaoke machine was loud and the poorly executed vocal runs of the two middle-aged women onstage were even louder. If she didn’t answer, maybe Finn would drop the subject and they could go back to talking about things that didn’t make her want to scream: funny dog videos, maybe, or people who weren’t their mother.
“Zadie? Did you hear me?”
“Hmm?”
“I think we should go find Mom.” It was clear by Finn’s determined expression that she wasn’t going to let this go.
“But we don’t know where she is.”Or if she’s even alive.“If the police couldn’t find her, what makes you think we can?”
“Because we have something the police don’t.” Finn leaned over the table, nearly setting her elbow down in Zadie’s yogurt. “I’ve never had an echo of Mom. Not before she disappeared, not after. Until today.”
“So?”