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made our way back to Grandpa’s old
house in northeastern Minnesota. After stopping to pick up a few
groceries and the much-needed bug spray and shower curtain, we
headed to our new home together. When we arrived at the house, I
pulled up behind a green Ford Escort parked in front. “Cool, my mom
must have dropped off my car,” Connie said.
    “So are you really on board with this house
idea?” I gestured toward the quaint little craftsman, its sagging
gutters, peeling paint and warped shingles a testament to all the
work ahead of us. “It’s going to be a ton of work and not
glamorous. We will probably have to do a lot of it ourselves to
save money.”
    “Oh, come on, Laney. It’ll be a blast. Just
point me in the right direction and I’m working.” Then Connie
paused and said, “You know, I’m not as worthless as I once might
have seemed to you when we were kids.”
    I looked at my baby cousin, all grown up.
When you’re a child, a few years between cousins seem like an
eternity, but when you’re an adult, it means nothing at all. I
always thought she was the vulnerable one. I could still see her in
the My Little Pony t-shirt with her thumb firmly planted in her
mouth, trailing after me and my friends on the playground. As a
grown woman, she suddenly seemed more confident and in charge of
her life than I ever was. In front of me was a woman who was making
her own choices and doing her own thing. Had I always
underestimated her? I’d never seen her let a man tell her what she
should or shouldn’t do. It occurred to me that I was a little
envious of her ability to be herself without caring what anyone
else thought.
    I smiled. “All right then, let’s go. You’ve
been warned. We have a bedroom to clear and clean before sleeping
tonight.”
     

 
    Chapter
Five
     
    As I walked in the front door carrying two
bags of groceries, I almost tripped over several suitcases that
were dropped just inside the door. “Hey, where did these come
from?” I asked out loud, trying to push several expensive leather
cases to the side so Connie could come in.
    “Oh, good. Those are here too. My mom said
she would have some of my other suitcases brought over today.”
    “Didn’t you have your suitcases with you?” I
asked. “Like four of them? Where did these come from?”
    “Only a few and that was just my vacation
clothes. I can’t do housework wearing sundresses and swimsuits,”
Connie answered. “These were just a few things I had my mom throw
together so I could be more comfortable. We’re going to be here
more than just a few weeks, you know. Where should I put them?”
    I mentally compared her eight suitcases to
the one small box, single suitcase, and my flowered Vera Bradley
overnight bag, and I realized she was far better prepared than I
was. “Um, you can leave them here for now, I guess. You might want
to store your vacation clothing at your mother’s. We hardly have
any room here as it is. I took the master because I could walk
around the bed, at least I almost can. We won’t be so lucky for
you. Let’s go look at the two other bedrooms and you can have your
pick.”
    Connie looked around the living room and
dining room, staring at the mess. “I see what you mean. This is
going to be a challenge. I didn’t realize how much stuff he had
loaded in every room.”
    I took a deep breath, feeling woefully
inadequate. At first I thought I could take on this project, but
now I wasn’t so sure. This began as a silly favor to my mom that
sounded like a fun venture to hone my remodeling skills. My cousin
showed up with eight suitcases ready to settle in for the long
haul. Who was the realistic one? I suddenly envisioned Connie and
me as two crazy old ladies, living in this house forty years from
now quite resembling my mother and hers. Maybe we should get a
couple of cats.
    We trooped over to the staircase and Connie
glanced into the kitchen before heading up. “Wow, it looks like
you’ve already made some