Page 216 of Darling Venom
More importantly—she was finally coming to terms with the cover she’d been dealt with in life and remembering what the most important part of the book was.
The spine.
“A penny for your thoughts.”
Leah flipped a coin my way.
I didn’t have time to catch it, I was so stunned. She hadn’t done this in… well, let’s see, close to nine years now. I thought she’d forgotten all about our tradition.
I looked up from my book, nestled on the couch. Row was tucked under Leah’s arm on the opposite armrest, reading her a fairytale.
“Why are you asking?”
“You’re reading Heartburn by Nora Ephron. There’s no more ice cream left in the fridge, and your hair looks like you poured grease all over it. I think it’s safe to say you are heartbroken.” Leah looked down at the mass of blonde curls under her arm and kissed Row’s temple. “Whaddaya think, Row?”
“Super-duper heartbroken,” Rowling, who would have agreed with Leah about anything, including a theory claiming the sun was purple and clouds were made of armpit hair, confirmed with an eager nod.
I still couldn’t get over the penny.
“I thought you forgot about the whole ‘penny for your thoughts’ thingy.”
The oven dinged. Leah released Row, getting up from the couch to check on the chocolate chip cookies they were making.
I loved our apartment. The whiteness and cream of the furniture and colorfulness of the throws and paintings.
Everything was exactly where it should be. Tidy and clean and perfect. Everything other than my sister’s face.
But today, it finally felt like it would be okay.
“Why would I?” She was in a good mood lately. Probably because she’d started to see she could be loved despite her biggest fear—her face.
She wore full makeup now, because Rowling was here, but I could tell she felt more comfortable without it. In fact, she’d gone au natural in front of Jonah three times now.
The second, to test him.
The third, because she still couldn’t believe it didn’t bother him.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged, flipping through the book without reading it. “I thought you were mad at me.”
She knew what I meant.
Leah grabbed a mitt and opened the oven. The scent of warm dough and chocolate filled the air, making my mouth water. Hand wrapped in a kitchen towel, she slid the cookie tray back.
“I am. I mean, I was. I’m still mad. At the world. At God. And maybe… I don’t know… Myself. For smoking. But after that happened, not much else could give me back what I lost, so I kind of decided to stick to the bad habit.”
“It is eating me alive,” I mouthed without words, not wanting Rowling to hear.
She returned to the couch and bent down until she and Row were eye level. “The cookies will be done in a bit. Want to head into the shower? By the time you get out, they’ll be nice and cool, so you don’t burn your tongue.”
Row nodded, taking off to the bathroom. Jonah was raising her well. I don’t know why, but it gave me hope for his relationship with my sister.
He was a good egg.
Truly.
Leah turned back to me. “What is? My smoking habit? Or whatever’s eating your head.”
“You’ll kick the habit,” I declared.
