Abby snorts, and it is clear they love one another by how well they tease each other. “I grew up in a traveling circus. My family was crazy.” She looks right at me. “I think you and I can relate on our lives being a little more bonkers than the Roughs’.”
“I’m so sorry, Abby,” I say.
She just smiles. “But look at where I am now.” She takes Plum’s hand and twirls the little girl around the magical bedroom. It all feels too good to be true.
Annie begins going through Fig’s things that she set aside on a bed. “There's some really nice pieces here, Fig,” she says. “Sweetie! You never did wear this sweater. There's still tags on it. I think I got you this for last Christmas.”
“Yeah, Mom. I look terrible in yellow.”
Annie laughs. “Well, it looks like it might be Prairie’s favorite color.”
I look down at the sweater I'm wearing. It's a golden hue, and I nod. “Yellow is my favorite.”
“Perfect,” Fig says with a wide smile.
Lemon and Fig begin working through the pile of clothes, handing me jackets and jeans, complimenting me on how things might fit or look on me. Abby is braiding Plum’s hair and keeping her entertained.
“What size of shoe are you?” Lemon asks.
“I'm a seven and a half,” I say.
“Oh shoot,” Fig says. “I'm an eight and a half.”
We sit on the bed and they keep giving me clothes to try on. If I was self-conscious, well, it's gone by the time we finish sorting through Fig’s items. “This is really generous of you,” I say to Rye’s little sister.
She waves her hand in the air. “I'm trying to be more generous, you know? I'm almost a grown up.”
“When do you turn 18?” I ask her.
“Next month,” she says, “and I graduate a few months after that.”
“Wow,” I say, “do you have any big plans?”
She shrugs. “Not exactly.”
Annie, though, questions that. “No big plans? I thought we were going on a trip to California for spring break? A mother-daughter trip. That seems like a big plan.”
I smile. “That seems like a lovely plan.”
“Have you ever been to California?” Plum asks me.
I shake my head. “No, I've never traveled far. I’ve only ever been in Washington.”
“Same with Rye. He never goes anywhere,” Fig says. “He always stays home.”
“Well, he was up at the cabin,” I say. “Why was he up there?”
Lemon smirks. “Dad made him go. He’s been in a bad mood for an entire year. And last week, Dad told him he had to go up to the cabin alone and clear his head and he wasn’t allowed to come back until he did.”
“How long had he been up there?” I ask, feeling like I know the answer, but so much happened the day I left, the day he found me.
Lemon, Abby and Fig all share a look.
Annie, though, clears her throat. “He’d only gotten up there that morning when he found you.”
“Oh,” I say softly. “So he was in a bad mood, you guys sent him to the woods in the middle of nowhere and he found me, and now you’re wondering why. You still think he’s angry and that I’m making whatever his issue is worse?”
Fig presses her lips together. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”