her to speak her mind and think for herself.”
Mia held up the tiny trashcan from the bathroom for Tulsi to toss her tissue. “She’ll be fine. She’ll be home for the wedding on Saturday and we can talk to her then before she heads back to camp for the last night.”
“But what do I say?” Tulsi asked. “That part of the story’s always bothered me, too.”
“Tell her that parts of the Old Testament are weird and violent and it’s okay to be creeped out,” Mia said with a shrug, making hard answers seem easy the way she always did. “I mean, the Noah story is scary. I don’t know why people think it’s so perfect for kids. Cute two by two animals do not make up for wiping out the rest of creation in a big scary flood. I guess most kids don’t get that, but Clem’s advanced for her age. We’ve known that for a while.”
Tulsi sighed. “She’s so much smarter than me.”
Mia laughed. “She is not. Don’t be crazy. You’re smart!”
“Not the way she is,” Tulsi said, but the words didn’t bring on another round of tears. Talking to Mia was working the magic it always did, making her feel better even though talking didn’t change any of the things that had gone wrong. “I’m not always going to have answers to her questions, you know? No matter how hard I’ll try.”
“And that’s okay, too,” Mia said gently. “It’s okay for Clem to know that we’re all searching and trying to do the best we can. The only people who think they’ve got life all figured out are the ones who’ve stopped paying attention. And those people are the real jerk faces.”
Tulsi smiled as she rested her cheek on the overstuffed couch cushion. “At least she didn’t say anything worse than jerk face.”
“Yeah, that would have been bad.” A guilty expression flickered across Mia’s features. “I guess some people should start watching their mouths in front of Clem a little more than they do right now.”
Tulsi chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I slip up sometimes, too.”
Mia lifted a wry brow. “I don’t think ‘flipping’ counts as a swear word.”
“It does too. And sometimes I say ‘damn it’ under my breath when I’m driving.”
“Rebel.” Mia poked her playfully in the leg. “All right Miss Potty Mouth, are you ready for pie now?”
“I am so ready for pie,” Tulsi said, sliding her legs out from under her. “Let me go grab plates.”
Mia waved her back onto the couch as she hopped to her feet. “Don’t worry about it. I know where everything is. You just relax. You’ve had a rough day. Let me wait on you.”
“You don’t have to,” Tulsi said as her cell began to buzz behind her on the couch, where she’d hurled it after her lecture from Mrs. Beatrix.
“I want to.” Mia pointed to the phone as she headed toward the kitchen. “If that’s the camp, don’t answer.”
“I have to. Clem might have changed her mind about coming home.” Tulsi snatched the phone from the cushion and glanced at the screen to see an out of state number. For a second, she considered letting the call go to voicemail, but on the off chance that it was one of her clients calling from out of town, she tapped the green button. “Hello.”
“Hey, T.T., what’s up? I got your message a few minutes ago. My cell died so I’m calling from a friend’s phone.” Reece’s usually soft, husky voice was raised to a shout and there was a ton of background noise—the rumble of a large crowd and the blare of buzzers—but no one called Tulsi T.T. except her sister.
“Hey you!” Tulsi smiled, amazed that Reece had called her back so quickly. Usually, it took at least three days for her sister to get around to returning a call. “Oh, nothing much. I was just feeling down about Daddy and some other stuff and wanted to hear your voice.”
“You needed someone to tell you that he’s an asshole, and you shouldn’t listen to a word he says?”
Tulsi’s smile widened. “Something like
Mia held up the tiny trashcan from the bathroom for Tulsi to toss her tissue. “She’ll be fine. She’ll be home for the wedding on Saturday and we can talk to her then before she heads back to camp for the last night.”
“But what do I say?” Tulsi asked. “That part of the story’s always bothered me, too.”
“Tell her that parts of the Old Testament are weird and violent and it’s okay to be creeped out,” Mia said with a shrug, making hard answers seem easy the way she always did. “I mean, the Noah story is scary. I don’t know why people think it’s so perfect for kids. Cute two by two animals do not make up for wiping out the rest of creation in a big scary flood. I guess most kids don’t get that, but Clem’s advanced for her age. We’ve known that for a while.”
Tulsi sighed. “She’s so much smarter than me.”
Mia laughed. “She is not. Don’t be crazy. You’re smart!”
“Not the way she is,” Tulsi said, but the words didn’t bring on another round of tears. Talking to Mia was working the magic it always did, making her feel better even though talking didn’t change any of the things that had gone wrong. “I’m not always going to have answers to her questions, you know? No matter how hard I’ll try.”
“And that’s okay, too,” Mia said gently. “It’s okay for Clem to know that we’re all searching and trying to do the best we can. The only people who think they’ve got life all figured out are the ones who’ve stopped paying attention. And those people are the real jerk faces.”
Tulsi smiled as she rested her cheek on the overstuffed couch cushion. “At least she didn’t say anything worse than jerk face.”
“Yeah, that would have been bad.” A guilty expression flickered across Mia’s features. “I guess some people should start watching their mouths in front of Clem a little more than they do right now.”
Tulsi chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I slip up sometimes, too.”
Mia lifted a wry brow. “I don’t think ‘flipping’ counts as a swear word.”
“It does too. And sometimes I say ‘damn it’ under my breath when I’m driving.”
“Rebel.” Mia poked her playfully in the leg. “All right Miss Potty Mouth, are you ready for pie now?”
“I am so ready for pie,” Tulsi said, sliding her legs out from under her. “Let me go grab plates.”
Mia waved her back onto the couch as she hopped to her feet. “Don’t worry about it. I know where everything is. You just relax. You’ve had a rough day. Let me wait on you.”
“You don’t have to,” Tulsi said as her cell began to buzz behind her on the couch, where she’d hurled it after her lecture from Mrs. Beatrix.
“I want to.” Mia pointed to the phone as she headed toward the kitchen. “If that’s the camp, don’t answer.”
“I have to. Clem might have changed her mind about coming home.” Tulsi snatched the phone from the cushion and glanced at the screen to see an out of state number. For a second, she considered letting the call go to voicemail, but on the off chance that it was one of her clients calling from out of town, she tapped the green button. “Hello.”
“Hey, T.T., what’s up? I got your message a few minutes ago. My cell died so I’m calling from a friend’s phone.” Reece’s usually soft, husky voice was raised to a shout and there was a ton of background noise—the rumble of a large crowd and the blare of buzzers—but no one called Tulsi T.T. except her sister.
“Hey you!” Tulsi smiled, amazed that Reece had called her back so quickly. Usually, it took at least three days for her sister to get around to returning a call. “Oh, nothing much. I was just feeling down about Daddy and some other stuff and wanted to hear your voice.”
“You needed someone to tell you that he’s an asshole, and you shouldn’t listen to a word he says?”
Tulsi’s smile widened. “Something like
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