Julianne squinted. What the hell? Are they actually fighting over wallpaper samples? She didn’t want to stick around to find out. Clearly, despite his calls and text messages, Remi’s life was complicated enough without her. She shot a last departing look up the dunes at the feuding Moores before turning around. Then she walked back down the beach toward home, humming mourn-fully to herself the entire way.
Chapter Twenty-four
The next day, Julianne and Chloe were sitting in the living room reading while their father worked in his studio. Dangling one leg over the side of an overstuffed armchair, Julianne asked Chloe, “So, wait, where does he go to school?”
Chloe popped a pale green grape into her mouth before answering. “Stanford.”
“And what’s his name again?” Julianne pressed.
“Aaron.” Chloe tossed another grape into the air and caught it in her mouth.
“And you met him on rotation at work?” After her own dating drama, Julianne found herself relishing Chloe’s postdate recap.
“Yep. He’s premed, too, but he’s going to be a junior.” Chloe’s cheeks were glowing a radiant pink. Her date two days ago had been such a success that Julianne thoroughly enjoyed hearing Chloe repeat all the details.
She loved the way her sister’s face glowed when she was this happy.
“And he took you out for Greek food?” Julianne continued.
“Yup. Definite points for that,” Chloe chirped. “I am getting sick to death of first dates with checkered table-cloths and drippy candles. So overplayed.” She giggled.
Julianne rolled her eyes playfully. “Okay, final question, but this one is the ultimate test: Did he ever, at any point in the evening, use the word ‘chicks’ or the delight-ful phrase ‘smart for a girl’ in any context?”
Chloe shut her eyes and let out a dramatic shudder at Julianne’s reference to her disastrous first/last date with Michael at the beginning of the summer. The sisters laughed wickedly at the memory. “No and no!” Chloe declared victoriously. “There was absolutely no chauvinistic ickiness whatsoever. He was a complete and total rock star.”
Julianne arched one eyebrow to let Chloe know that she was appropriately impressed. “Well, then, ladies and gents, I think we have a winner!”
“I hope so,” Chloe remarked. “Have you given any thought to art school applications yet?”
“Not so much,” Julianne admitted. “Although I was thinking that the courtyard mural I did this summer might give me an edge. Not many people do outdoor art.”
“And don’t forget the pictures of our house! The sepia ones you took have ‘professional artist’ written all over them,” Chloe added excitedly.
“Well, I’ll clearly know who to call when I need a manager.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Chloe shot back glee-fully. “Do you want to hear my short-term educational plan for you, or the five-year business plan?” Just as Chloe was opening her mouth to share her (inevitably alphabetized and color-coded) strategies with her sister, the doorbell rang.
“Ooh, saved by the bell! You got lucky this time, Jules.” Chloe jumped up and ran to the door.
Julianne heard her sister scamper into the hallway and throw open the door without even pausing to look out the peephole. She heard the opening whoosh, but then nothing else. After a few seconds of total silence, Julianne ambled over to her sister and was struck dumb.
Standing on the stoop were Mr. and Mrs. Moore, dressed to the nines. At their side, Remi bounced slightly, like a runner getting ready to burst from the starting block.
Inches behind Julianne and her sister, their father wandered into the kitchen. Julianne could only assume that his jaw had dropped at the sight of their visitors as well. She wondered for a second why the still-silent Moores looked as shocked to find themselves on the Kahns’ front steps as the Kahns were to see them there.
Hadn’t they had a few minutes to get used to the idea on their walk over? Julianne thought huffily. While we, on the other hand, were totally blindsided!
After an utterly awkward moment of Kahns staring at Moores and Moores staring at Kahns in complete and total silence, all attention shifted to Remi. While his parents sulked in the doorway, he rushed past Chloe, nearly knocking her down again , on his way into the Kahns’ living room. He was carrying a large poster tube in one hand. Julianne recognized it as the mystery roll of paper from the little show she’d witnessed through the Moores’ window the previous night. Now, standing this close to it, she was a little disappointed in herself for not recognizing blueprints when she saw them. Did these people actually think they could walk into her home with plans for remodeling?
“Remington! Come back here!” Mr. Moore snapped.
He turned to Chloe, mainly because she was directly in front of him and said, “I apologize for my son’s rash behavior.”
“It’s fine,” Chloe said slowly. “Your son is always wel-come here.” Her voice was icy. “We have no problem at all with him.”
Remi’s words came rushing out, rapid fire. “Listen, Julianne, I know you said you never wanted to see me again, but please hear me out. Mr. Kahn, Chloe, I know we’re the last people in the world you want in your living room but I promise you, this will only take five minutes of your time. Mom and Dad—I’m your son. We share DNA. You’re stuck with me. So just try to pretend that you wouldn’t rather be having a root canal.” He took a deep breath as everyone gathered around him with varying degrees of caution. He popped open the lid of the poster tube and started to unroll large sheets of paper onto the Kahns’ living room table.
Standing across the room, Julianne felt her hands shaking. She glanced on either side of her—at her father and Chloe—and knew that she wasn’t alone in her anxiety. She cleared her throat, struggling to make words emerge from the dry, scared place between her heart and her mouth.
