Finding the Way Back by Jill Bisker Read Free Book Online

energy?”
    “Laney,” Connie said abruptly, crossing her
arms and giving me a very annoyed look. “This is what I do. I’ve
been doing it for years. How do you think I pay for my vacations?
People pay real money for cardboard Halloween decorations from
forty years ago. It’s nostalgia. People are into nostalgia and will
buy stuff that reminds them of their childhood. Stuff they used to
have but got rid of, now want again. Laney, we can do this.”
    I looked at Connie dumbfounded. I wondered
where she had gotten the money for her vacations. I had assumed her
mother gave it to her. I was thinking I’d have to do everything and
drag her along, when in reality she had her own skills and
abilities to bring to the table. My talents lay more with
decorating and remodeling, while Connie had other practical
strengths that I hadn’t realized until now. I hadn’t seen Connie
for several years except at family functions where you can’t really
have a meaningful conversation. Maybe I’d been so self-absorbed I
hadn’t even listened. I’d been jumping to conclusions with no basis
in fact.
    “I thought you moved home because you
couldn’t find a job,” I answered lamely.
    “I couldn’t find a job in my field when I
first got out of college and then my dad got sick. I moved home
because my mom needed my help. Afterwards, I started this little
side business and it’s been working well for me. I also repurpose
items and sell them in a consignment store a friend of mine owns.
It gives me a creative outlet I find rewarding. The arrangement has
worked well for me and my mom for quite a while now, but we’re both
ready to be on our own now.”
    “I’m sorry. I’ve really misjudged you,
Connie,” I said, feeling more than a little humbled by my
self-centeredness. “You know, that’s a great idea, and we could
probably finance some of the redecorating and remodeling with the
money we make.” I smiled at her. “For now, maybe you can go strip
the sheets from the beds in your new room and throw them in the
washer while I get started on making our pizza.”
    “How about you start the sheets and I’ll make
the pizza?” she teased.
    * * * *
    After wolfing down our pizza, Connie and I
walked into the living room, each of us holding a glass of red
wine, and then we both sighed simultaneously. Nothing was going to
get done by itself. Setting our glasses down on one of the more
level piles, we started moving the boxes and things off the couch,
piling it on the other boxes surrounding it.
    “I am so tired of this mess and we’ve hardly
even started,” I said, only a little embarrassed that it sounded
like whining again. “You’ll notice, though, that he left a path
from the recliner to the TV.” I retrieved my glass and sank into
the couch while Connie chose the recliner. Connie switched on the
TV and started going through the channels. There was no cable or
satellite receiver in sight, and we were dismayed to find we only
had the four channels the antenna picked up.
    It had been such a long day, yet still Connie
looked glamorous. She had pulled her hair back in a bun, with curly
tendrils falling loosely about her face and neck in perfect
form.
    “My God, do you always look like that after a
day like today?” I asked.
    “Like what? I don’t look any better than
you.” She sighed, leaning her head against the back of the
chair.
    “Yes, you do,” I answered, annoyed. “Any time
you appear, you look like you just walked off a movie set. Every
male in the vicinity falls at your feet, thrilled to be walked on.
You never even have to try. You can have any man you want, and no
one would ever want to leave you.”
    “Is that what you really think? That it’s
just so easy for me? Yes, some men seem easy but it’s rarely the
right ones. You know, most just want to sleep with me, and that’s
it. They don’t see me for anything real, and they sure don’t want a
real relationship. The one man I’ve always wanted has never