Certainly Sensible by Pamela Woods-Jackson Read Free Book Online

window for Allie’s car. Turns out Allie’s prediction had been right; it was nearly midnight by the time she finally got home. Caroline stepped into her flip flops and tiptoed past Megan’s closed bedroom door and down the hall, intent on catching Allie before she got inside their house and stumbled over any of the packed boxes lying around.
    Allie quietly opened the front door to the Benedict house and carefully set her suitcase on the floor inside. As she was attempting to make her way to the table lamp near the staircase, before Caroline could warn her, she stubbed her toe on one of the boxes and squealed in pain. “What the…?” Allie said. She fumbled in her handbag for her keys and got the attached penlight to illuminate the entry hall around her. With the tiny light in hand, she stumbled over to the table lamp and flicked it on. She stared in silence until Caroline flipped on the upstairs hall light.
    “Allie?” Caroline whispered.
    “Yeah, it’s me,” Allie called back, “trying to walk in the front door until I tripped over all these boxes. What is all this?”
    Caroline sighed. “I tried to tell you this morning when I called, but you wouldn’t let me get a word in.” She walked down to the bottom of the staircase, faced her sister, and forced a smile. “So there’s news. We’re moving.”
    Allie’s eyes widened. “Moving? What? Where?” She again took in all the moving boxes and shook her head in confusion. “Why?”
    “I’m so sorry. I thought I’d be able to tell you about all this”—Caroline waved her arms around at the mess—“before you saw it for yourself. Dad and Sharlene are moving in here on the first of June. That’s when the lease on his penthouse is up.”
    Allie all but collapsed onto one of the nearby boxes. Her gaze floated around the entry hall. The walls were bare, the bookshelves empty, decorations were missing, all packed in boxes. Slowly she got up and walked through the living room, family room, dining room, kitchen, circling back to the entry hall.
    Susan came to the top of the stairs and whispered, “Allie, is that you? Where have you been? We expected you hours ago.”
    “I’m here now!” Allie shouted. “What in the world is going on here?”
    “Caroline, didn’t you tell her?”
    Caroline nodded. Allie glared at both of them, hands on her hips.
    Susan put a finger to her lips and pointed toward Megan’s room. “Sorry about the mess, Allie. We’ve got most of what we’re taking already packed, but…”
    “Mom!” Allie interrupted. “What’s going on?”
    “I just told you, Allie,” Caroline said. “Dad wants this house back, or really Sharlene wants it, and they want it in about ten days. Everything has just happened so fast.”
    “If it helps, Caroline started packing some of the things in your bedroom,” Susan offered. “If you don’t unpack anything from school, it should save some time in the next few days.”
    Allie ran to the top of the stairs and got in Susan’s face. “For God’s sake, Mom! Why didn’t anybody tell me about this? This is so unfair!”
    Susan took a step back. “Caroline wanted to call you, but I was afraid to disturb you during finals, so…”
    “Actually, Mom,” Caroline said, “I did try to tell her this morning, but…” She shouldn’t have given up so easily. She could see that Allie was devastated.
    Allie crossed her arms and glared at them both. “So exactly where are we moving?”
    Susan reached out to hug Allie, but Allie backed away. Susan’s arms fell limp at her side. “Emily was down from Chicago a few days ago, and she helped me find an adorable house in Rosslyn Village.”
    Allie’s mouth dropped open. “Why Rosslyn Village?”
    Susan offered a crooked smile. “Well, that’s the good news. I got a teaching job at Rosslyn High School for next fall.”
    Allie narrowed her eyes at her mother. “So, great. Commute. And by ‘adorable’ do you mean small? What about my