“I’m so happy for you, Amy! When do we get to meet him?”

“I don’t know. Bud travels for work, so he’s not around much.” Amy continued to play with the grass, imagining it was Bud’s hair. “But he’s coming home for a few days, so maybe we can get together then?”

“I’m a maybe, Amy. I’m not sure if I’ll have time. I have four clients, two with video shoots in the next week, and the other two are launching ad and web campaigns. Speaking of which,” Jamie glanced at her Apple Watch, which read 11:48 A.M., “I need to get back. I have a one o’clock and need to review a few things with my team.”

“I’ll be there, Aims,” Amber winked. Aims was the family nickname for Amy. No one used it anymore except Amber. “When?”

“Well, I don’t know yet, but I’ll text or call you.”

“Sounds good to me, sis!” Amber stood up, pulling Amy up with her. Hugging her little sister, she kissed her cheek. “He sounds like a great guy. I can’t wait to meet him.” Amber hugged Amy again, then danced back down the hill, hot on the heels of Jamie, who was almost back to the Mercedes. Amber grabbed Jamie’s shoulders, spinning her around. It caught Jamie off guard, nearly throwing her to the ground.

“Would you please stop doing that?!” Jamie shouted. “Sheesh! You can’t let up with the hugs and kisses and over-the-top affection, can you?”

“I can’t help it, Jams. I just love and adore you! You are so cute!”

“I am NOT cute, Amber! Just stop it. I may be the baby, but I don’t need you doting all over me for the rest of my life. I’m strong enough to do it all myself, thank you very much!”

“Well, you can be that way if you want to, Jams, but we all know you need us as much as we need you. So I’ll see you for Mom’s birthday party on Saturday?”

Jamie pulled out her phone. Still no reception. “Yes, Amber. I’ll be there. It’s in my calendar.”

“Good. I’ll text you a reminder the day before. I don’t want you to miss it like you did last year.”

“You do know I was sick last year, Amber? It wasn’t an excuse.”

“Yeah. I also remember you going out Friday night and having quite a few. You were pretty loose that night.”

Jamie remembered that night, too. It was last year, and the guy she was seeing dumped her when she woke up early Friday. It wasn’t a great start to her day, so Jamie opted to take a personal day, starting to drink around four o’clock that afternoon. By 9:30 that night, she was ready to party, dance, and forget all about the guy. Every once in a great while, Jamie would tell her sisters about the men she was dating. This guy had all the right stuff. The right car, a Rivian. Not that Jamie was a truck person, but the guys she dated drove trucks. Not a beat-up farmboy kind of truck. Big trucks. Shiny. Clean and fancy, expertly detailed. The type of vehicle that screamed wealth, much like a newer Mercedes or Tesla. He also had the ‘right’ job – a day trader who worked a few hours three days a week. He had more than enough money, spending it lavishly on Jamie. She thought he was going to propose. Instead, he broke up with that Friday morning.

“Not that it was your business, but I was going through some stuff.”

“Yeah, honey. Mom told me.” Amber hugged Jamie. Again. Mom didn’t know what a boundary was. As far as she was concerned, if you shared something with her, it was common knowledge, and she’d let the sisters who weren’t involved know all the details, regardless of whether or not they wanted her to. Mom didn’t understand boundaries, so the sisters kept many of their intimate details to themselves. Unless they wanted Mom to spread it. Then they would share it.

“That figures,” Jamie said, rolling her eyes. “Is there anything she doesn’t tell you?”

“Not that I know of,” Amber winked. “But it doesn’t matter. What was that guy’s name, anyway?”

“The one with the Rivian?” Jamie knew who she was referring to but didn’t want her to give her extra information.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t remember. I think the people we hung out with called him Bud.”

“Huh.” Amber blinked a few times, looking puzzled.

“You okay there, sis?” Jamie snapped her fingers in front of her. She wanted to make sure she wasn’t having a stroke.

“Oh, yeah. No biggie,” Amber said, blinking a few times, then rubbing her eyes. “It’s just. Well. Amy’s dating a dude who goes by Bud. And so were you.”

“Not the same guy at all.”