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November? Maybe just for one night, though."
    Dad took out his phone and punched at it with one finger. "First weekend?"
    I nodded. There was no point in checking my calendar. I already knew I was free.
    "I'll cancel my open homes for that weekend. Suzie can cover them for me." He looked at his phone for a moment longer. "You'll be down for the baby shower."
    "Yay." I put zero enthusiasm into my reply.
    "It will be such fun!" Melinda clapped her hands together excitedly, completely ignorant, or oblivious to my tone. "You can help me set up all the games and decorate. I've got lots of baby blue balloons and little diapers we can shape into a cake."
    I groaned inwardly but attempted a smile for Melinda's sake.
    "Don't you think you should use neutral coloured balloons?" Dad glared at her.
    "I didn't realise that colours had a gender," I said.
    Melinda shook her head. "Everyone pretty much knows, anyway." She grinned. "I told you I was bad at keeping secrets."
    "Obviously." Dad cleared his throat and pushed back his plate, staring at his watch. Melinda picked up the dessert menu but Dad shook his head. "We better hit the road."
    Mum pushed back her chair and stood.
    "I'll get this, Shelley." Dad scraped his chair against the floor and stood, arching his back and patting his belly.
    "No need. I can cover my own." Mum was firm.
    Melinda stood beside Dad and wrapped her arms around his waist. "But I virtually forced you into coming tonight." Melinda smiled. "Please, let us get this one."
    Mum flinched when Melinda said, 'us', but then she straightened her shoulders and looked at the younger woman. "I can look after myself, but thanks for the offer."
    When we got home, I holed myself up on the couch with a blanket and a block of chocolate for company while Mum retreated to her room. A music video raced across the TV screen, one with broken mirrors, swirling smoke and longing looks, and I found myself thinking of the boy at the cemetery. He had such sad eyes. I would ask Sienna about him tomorrow and see if I could find out anything more. If anyone knew the truth behind the rumours, it was Sienna.

Chapter Five
     
    Ruben - the previous year
     
     
    We were named after brothers in the Bible. Ruben and Judah. I'm not sure why our parents chose those names. Two siblings who hated their younger brother so much they plotted to kill him was hardly the most inspiring of stories. But our story, the story of Ruben and Judah, was more like another biblical tale.  In the realm of our small town, our story would come to rival that of Cain and Abel. One dead and the other left branded by the aftermath.
    By the time we were fifteen, rugby was the only thing Judah and I had in common, other than being twins, that is. We were identical, but it only extended to our looks. Everyone assumed that we had a secret connection, that I had the ability to look into the mind of my brother and know what he was thinking because we looked alike. But his mind was just as much a mystery to me as it was to everyone else, our father included. In his eyes, he gave us the same opportunities. Judah just squandered his.
    We returned home from the game covered in mud. Mum frowned when I walked into the kitchen, though I'm not sure why. It's not as though she did the laundry. We had a cleaning service for that. But still, she frowned and placed her hand on her hip, muttering under her breath as she sipped on a glass of wine. I couldn't wait to jump in the shower. Don't get me wrong, I loved rugby, I just didn't love being covered in mud. But as my foot touched the first step of the stairs, Mum called out, "Your father is home." She said it as though it was something to be excited about. It wasn't. Dad was often away on business. He owned a hotel chain, but I would hardly call drinking and playing golf, working, whether you referred to them as business meetings or not.
    As if he had been waiting for Mum's announcement, Dad sauntered into the kitchen and clapped me on the