Coming Attractions Read Online Free PDF Page B

and crash between trips than any kind of home.
    Mia, on the other hand, was the
type to put down deep roots. As she told it, when Joe insisted on moving on to
bigger and better career opportunities in a new and more glamorous locale, Mia
had chosen to let him go without her rather than pull up her family.
    That decision had raised many
questions for Cara—like, if Mia had loved Joe, wouldn’t she have followed him
to the ends of the earth? And if she hadn’t loved him, why had she married him?
    Cara had witnessed the moment Joe
and Mia had first met. Even today the memory seemed fresh, the deep and instant
attraction tangible. So, how could Mia let Joe go? Had their relationship
really curdled so much over the decade they lived together that they wanted to
split? Was it some deep flaw handed down from their mother, something that
compelled the family to destroy their love relationships and familial bonds?
    Cara had never had any kind of real
relationship with a man, so she felt in no position to judge her sister, or
even to begin to understand the inner workings of a supposedly lasting and
intimate bond like a marriage.
    She sighed. She and her sister were
as different as milk and marbles, she acknowledged, though their similar looks
belied that truth. Mia was a little shorter and a lot curvier than Cara, but
both of them sported the long, thick honey blonde hair their mother had
bequeathed. Their features were alike, but Cara’s face, like her frame, was
honed and angular. Her eyes were bluer. It was almost as though Cara was drawn
sharply where Mia was all dreamy soft focus.
    “Yeah, still footloose and fancy
free. What about you, Mia? The garden’s come along beautifully. Last time I was
here, you were only digging the beds. Now, it looks like the botanical gardens.”
    Mia’s face lit with pride and she
stood, inviting Cara to follow her into the backyard. Fruit trees laden with
plums and apricots bowed over raised garden beds flourishing with vegetables
and herbs. Flower gardens in full bloom edged the yard and a broad paved patio
yielded to a lush green lawn where Josie and Liam frolicked with their magic
wands.
    “I don’t know if it’s something I
should worry about,” Mia confessed, gesturing toward her son. “Josie has always
been a girlie girl. She loves to play fairies and princesses and mermaids. Just
recently, Liam has been joining in. He’s into the dress-up box more than she
is. They both love wearing Mom’s old things, all those outlandish silks and
velvets, the sequins, the glitter and junk jewelery—the trashier the better. It’s
like they’re channelling her gaudiness just to try my patience. It’s one thing
for a little girl...”
    “Kids experiment,” Cara assured her
sister, though she had no idea if that was true. “It’s a phase he’ll likely
grow out of.”
    Cara thought about adding that if
Liam didn’t leave the love of dress ups behind in his childhood, it wouldn’t
really matter. She knew plenty of men in the film world who didn’t fit the
conventional masculine role. But somehow, she knew her traditional sister would
take no comfort from that sentiment. So, she switched topics, again.
    “What about Freya? How’s she doing?”
Cara asked, spotting the young girl furiously weeding one of the garden beds.
    If anything, the new subject made Mia’s
brow furrow further. “She’s such serious kid. So somber and stoic. Joe leaving
hit her hard. I think she feels responsible in some way. It sounds crazy, but it’s
almost like she thinks she needs to be the ‘man of the house.’ She mows lawns
and delivers papers to earn money that she never spends. And she’s always
tidying up after the other kids or making dinner so it’s in the oven when I get
home from work, or changing washers in the faucets... I’ve tried to talk to her,
but I just can’t get through.” Mia gave an edgy laugh. “It’s topsy-turvy,
really. Most parents are trying to get their kids to be more