Page 37 of Not On Your Life

Where have I heard that before?

I trace a vein in the marble countertop. “Millie, I think it’s time we have a talk.”

Her eyes widen and her jaw goes slack, revealing a colorful display of candy on her tongue.

“Ugh.” I turn away and grab a rag to clean off the counter. “Close your mouth, woman.”

“I’m sorry. I just, I didn’t know it was time. I mean, I knew this had been coming for a while, but I wasn’t sure who was going to bring it up first.”

I face her again. “What?”

She sighs and runs a hand through her short blonde hair as she takes a seat on a barstool. “I know Mom and Dad passed away before they had a chance to see us get married, but there’s really no reason you shouldn’t know now.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” She’s starting to worry me. Is there another debt I’ll inherit when I get married? Like a Hallmark movie in reverse?

She places her hands flat on the counter. “You see, when a man and a woman really love each other, things start to happen and—”

“Millie,” I growl.

She leans back from the bar and cackles.

I glare at her. “I need you to be serious for a minute if that’s even possible.”

She dumps another bunch of Skittles into her mouth.

That’s as good of an opening as I’m going to get.

“We might need to sell the house.” I blurt.I probably could have eased into it better.

Her mouth falls open again, this time in true shock, and a couple of Skittles tumble onto the countertop. “What? No! We can’t. This is where we grew up.”

I pick up the Skittles and toss them in the trash before washing my hands. “I know, I don’t want to do it, but we don’t have anything left in Mom and Dad’s savings account. Actually, we haven’t for about two years now.” I turn off the water and dry my hands then scratch the back of my neck.

“Two years!” Her eyes widen. “Then how…” her voice trails off as she studies me. “You’ve been covering…everything?”

I grimace. Not everything. We are so far behind.

“We can fix this.” She stands, bracing her hands on the counter. “We can figure it out, but we arenotselling.”

“We don’t have a choice. We don’t have the money.”

“Then we will save money.” She says it as if it’s as simple as setting up a lemonade stand outside.

If only.

“How are you going to do that?” I nod toward the dozen bags on the counter.

“I’ll take half back.” She says then scans the house. “And I’ll be better about shutting off the lights. An-and I won’t touch the thermostat ever again.”

“It’s going to take a lot more than that.”

“I’ll take cold showers. They are supposed to be good for your health.”

Well, I certainly won’t stop her from trying that if her heart is set on it. “That’s not going to help.”

“We can’t sell the house!” Her voice comes out high and hysterical.

I’ve done it now.