For Nicky Read Free Page B

rehearse and read to her.  Nick wasn’t that poor of a reader, he just did better with some practice so that his fluency could improve. After that, I heard “Miss Elizabeth” multiple times each visit.  It wasn’t like a normal guy in his mid-twenties would be talking about a girl.  He didn’t talk about her body or anything in a crass way. Nick thought she was “pretty and nice and smart and she has good books and she’s my friend.”  Nicky didn’t really comprehend attraction to the opposite sex past that at this point. Part of me wondered if he would ever meet someone and fall in love.
    When I asked Mom about Miss Elizabeth she went on and on about how gorgeous she is.  Mom told me she’s super sweet and quiet and I must meet her. Mom isn’t known for her subtlety, I got the idea that she had had a few daydreams about me dating this girl. Actually, I get the idea that Mom would be thrilled if I just seriously dated any girl. I’m pretty sure she has some inkling of my “dating” tendencies and she was NOT fond of my practices. Nicky wanted so badly to introduce me to his friend, Miss Elizabeth, as well.  I couldn’t tell who was more infatuated with Miss Elizabeth, Mom or Nicky. So, I decided to meet this Miss Elizabeth soon.  For Nicky.

Chapter 3
     

Elizabeth Claire Decker
     
    I grew up in the shadow of my younger sister, Audrey Marie.  There’s only 10 months difference between us (a little impatient weren’t you, Mom and Dad?!). Kidding….sort of.  But, seriously, my father wanted to wait to have kids until he’d moved up the ranks in the Army, so I think they had me and then went ahead and tried for #2 right away since they were both in their late, late 20’s already and all my mom wanted to do was have kids.  I’ve always felt that I never got to figure out who I was because Audrey came along so soon and I was overshadowed from that point on.  Audrey was a show-stealer from the moment she arrived on the scene.
    Then, when Audrey and I were 10 and 11, our mother died from a massive heart attack that no one had even seen coming. My mother had always been a runner and kept very fit with various other activities. She cooked fairly healthy foods for us. From what we knew, there wasn’t a family history of heart disease on her side. So, for her to go to bed one night and never wake up, was very shocking. Sadly, my dad was the one who found her. He had gotten up to get ready for his day and was concerned that Mom didn’t already have his coffee ready; Mom always got up with him to get him on his way before waking Audrey and I. That day is a vivid blur in my mind, a total contradiction.  I remember so much of it, yet I feel like I remember nothing. I do, however, remember that our lives changed drastically that day. And not for the better.
    Being 11 years old, with a handful of a little sister, and a military father walking around bouncing between being a zombie or barking orders at us like we were his soldiers, all while missing your mother, is enough to cause anyone stress.  I handled my stress by retreating more into myself, while Audrey hid her pain, but showed the world the rest of herself. Usually the worst of herself.  My dad, he handled his stress by drinking, crying when he thought I wasn’t watching, screaming at my sister and I when he was having a bad day, inviting buddies over to play poker, and sleeping off hangovers in hopes of surviving.
    Audrey has always been a little spitfire and super bubbly and outgoing.  She’s a little too into herself, and she doesn’t always stop to think about how her words or actions may hurt others.  Ok, that’s putting it nicely….Audrey is a complete bitch to me most of the time. Why? Who knows?! I think she’s definitely insecure which is why she’s so over the top with everything trying to prove how great she is. Audrey had the same upbringing as me and we were practically the same age when Mom died, but Audrey seemed to bury all