Chapter 23

"Hello…" she instantly lowers her voice, "Mr. and Mrs. Martin." Cheryl looks to Adele and warmly acknowledges, "Hello, Adele; honey…how are you?" "Fine, thank you." "That's good." Showing perturbation in her voice, Corrine sharply interjects, "I'm fine, too…Mom." Still facing Adele, Cheryl distantly replies, "That's good." Then, after a brief moment, she faces Corrine and asks, "So…how long will you be in town this time?" "I'm not sure yet…" she looks to Nadine, "it depends on how long Na wants me to, I guess." Cheryl gets up from the couch and starts towards the kitchen. "Well…it's nice to see that you came back to finally be here for your sister." The remark instantly disconcerts Corrine to her core. She angrily snaps… "I've always been there for Nadine…Mother." Cheryl, feeling somewhat regretful over her last unsubstantiated comment, immediately stops and concedes, "You're right…you have. I'm sorry." David gently pats Corrine on her back; then walks over to Cheryl and places his arm behind her back. "Listen…Nadine; Corrine…why don't you girls go out back and have a little catch-up chat. Adele…I hear you like strawberry ice cream?" "Yes I do, Mr. Martin, sir." He lightheartedly informs her, "Well; it just so happens that we've recently liberated a half gallon of strawberry ice cream from the store. How would you like to join me and Mrs. Martin in the kitchen for a bowl of it?" Adele enthusiastically accepts the offer. "I'd like that very much, Mr. Martin, sir. Thank you." Keeping his hand placed upon her back, David starts to lead Cheryl towards the kitchen; then looks back to Adele. "Well…come on then." Adele happily follows. Once outside, Nadine and Corrine walk over to an old, rusty swing set in the back corner of the yard and sit. Unlike Adele's fondness of swings…which provides her a joyful, childlike frolicking pastime…the siblings' attachment to this particular swing set holds a more sentimental value deep within them. It was on these very swings that the two had spent many occasions bearing their souls to each other; revealing and sharing their innermost feelings and thoughts. At times, those talks were light and seemingly meaningless in nature; while other times, more serious and of greater importance…but always honest and heartfelt. Today…they'll have probably the most significant discussion of their lives thus far. "So…what's the story with you and Adele?" "Do you remember Mr. Trudeaux?" "Yeah…that British, Sociology teacher; right?" "Right. He paired me and Adele together for this project where we have to be friends for the school year…so we can learn how to interact with people that are different from ourselves. Well…as soon as I got to know Adele, we became instant friends. Cor, she's just the sweetest person you can ever possibly know. I really do love her to death…" Noticing that Corrine has apparently become upset, Nadine suddenly stops. She now realizes that under the circumstances, perhaps her choice of wording was a bit inappropriate; at the very least, disturbing to her sister. "Sorry, Cor…I didn't mean to…" "No…it's alright…I'm fine." She wipes away tears starting to form in her eyes. Nadine takes Corrine's hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. Corrine asks… "So…she doesn't know you're sick?" "No; I haven't told her yet." "Na; don't you think that you should tell…" "I will…but not just yet. I don't want to upset her…or have her worrying about me." Corrine somberly remarks, "Well…at least one of us lucks out." "What do you mean?' Corrine slowly pulls her hand from Nadine and looks away. "Nothing. Forget it…I didn't mean anything." "Cor?" Tears trickle down Corrine's cheeks. She quickly wipes them away, takes in a deep breath, and looks at Nadine. She begins to confess her deepest, darkest…and most guilt felt…secret to her sister.