Read Something Beautiful for Free Online

softly on the door before he opened it.
     
    "Mom? Dad? It's Micah. I'm home."
     
    There was a muffled, confused sound, and his father said, "Micah?"
     
    "Yeah. I'm home. Dune met me at the airport and gave me a ride."
     
    "Who?" his mother said sleepily.
     
    "Dune Bellamy, Mom. You've met him. Anyway, I was just letting you know I'm home. Go back to sleep."
     
    "Tell us about your trip," his mother said, already sounding like she was asleep again.
     
    "In the morning, Mom," Micah said, and gently shut the door. He went back to his bedroom and pulled off the clothes he'd been wearing for almost two days, dropping them into the hamper. He'd finish unpacking in the morning, he decided, and took fresh sleep pants and a T-shirt from the bureau. He went to the bathroom to wash up and brush his teeth, and jumped when he came back to his bedroom and saw his sister Shiloh yawning on his bed.
     
    "Shiloh! You scared me."
     
    "Sorry." She yawned again. "So how was Europe?"
     
    "Old," Micah said and shut the bedroom door. He flopped onto the bed beside Shiloh and wadded a pillow under his chin. "But beautiful."
     
    Shiloh laughed sleepily. "You saw castles and art and things most people have only read about in history books, and all you can say is 'old'?"
     
    "I did say beautiful," he pointed out. "It was beautiful. It was amazing. I mean, I can't even, you know, sum it up in a word. It was incredible. It was a life goal realized."
     
    "Life goal," she murmured, and lightly batted his head. "You sound like you've been reading a lot of self-help books."
     
    Micah said dryly, "Many people I know are determined I improve myself."
     
    "Improve yourself how? You're perfect the way you are."
     
    Micah scowled and muttered, "Thanks."
     
    "Darn tootin'. Anybody who says my big brother isn't wonderful needs to have their head examined."
     
    Micah rolled his head to look up at her. "Are you planning to borrow money?   'Cause I don't have any. Not a lot, anyway."
     
    "I don't want to borrow money. I've just missed you. It's been a long summer." Shiloh combed her fingers through his hair a few minutes, and Micah closed his eyes, soothed. "Hey. Guess what?"
     
    "What?"
     
    "Rebecca's back." He opened his eyes and looked at her. She was smiling, her gaze distant. "She came into the store in July. I knew her the second I saw her -- it took her a little longer to recognize me. But she looks fantastic and she's so happy. They've just moved -- Justin has a new job at UC Santa Cruz. They just had a baby and she misses us."
     
    "Wow," Micah said. "That's amazing. So she's okay?"
     
    "Yeah. She's okay. She's been reading your blog, by the way. I gave her the URL. She's glad you got to take your trip."
     
    "Oh," Micah said, smiling, and propped himself up on his elbows. "What did they name the baby?"
     
    "Katherine. Kitty. She's adorable -- she looks so much like Mom. And Micah, Justin's awesome. He's not anything like what Aunt Olivia led us to believe."
     
    "You've met him, too, huh?" Micah said quietly.
     
    "Yeah. He and Rebecca have come out to the city a few times, and I've been out to their place in Santa Cruz." Shiloh paused and said, "I don't know how to tell Mom and Dad. I don't know how they'll react. I'd like to think they'll want to know about Kitty, but --" She shook her head again. "Maybe it'll just make them angry all over again."
     
    She looked like she was going to cry, so Micah sat up and hugged her. "Maybe we should feel them out a little before we say anything. Like, do you ever think about Rebecca, do you miss her?"
     
    "I've missed her," Shiloh said and sniffled. "I've missed her a lot."
     
    "Me, too," Micah said. "Me, too."
     
    "Can I tell her it's okay for her to email you?"
     
    Micah looked at her thoughtfully, then nodded. "Yeah. I want to hear from her."
     
    "Okay. I will."
     
    Micah traced the stitching in his quilt. "Do you work tomorrow?"
     
    "Yeah, but just until two o'clock. Mrs. Rigby is