The Spirit of Summer | The Andersons: Book 1

Chapter Two

"So then I won the match and now everybody's in love with me!"

The distorted laptop-screen image of our mother flickered as she laughed heartily, and I realized how much I'd missed hearing her laugh, even though it sounded more like a crackling paper bag with the horrible signal.

"Mom, don't laugh!" Krysy frowned, folding her arms in a childlike manner. "It's the truth."

Mom smiled at her warmly. "Everybody's always been in love with you, sweetie. You're just only starting to realize that now."

Krysy grinned in self-satisfaction. "Hmm. That is true."

I playfully shook my head at her before turning to Mom, brushing some hair behind my ear somewhat awkwardly. "So, uh, Mom... when are you coming home again?"

Kat nodded in agreement. "Mm. Now that is a very good question. We haven't seen you in forever."

Mom sighed deeply, and for a second, it sounded like she was about to cry. Thankfully, she didn't, and instead, she faced us through the screen, a sad smile on her face.

"I'll have to check my schedule and see if I can find any openings this week, " she replied.

I resisted the urge to sigh at that statement- that was what she always said. It had been almost a whole week since we'd last seen her, and just the thought of that was enough to make my throat heat up.

"That's what you always say, " Jen said softly, disappointment evident in her voice.

"I know, sweetheart, " Mom began, glancing downwards. "But you know how busy I am. I already have four clients booked for tomorrow and I have to convince at least two of them to buy these huge pieces of property."

"We know. And we understand. It's just... we haven't seen you in so long."

"I know... " Mom said with a defeated sigh. Perking up, she clasped her hands together and grinned. "Tell you what? I'll clear my plate one of these days and I'll come see you girls real soon, okay?"

Kat folded her arms. "You'd better."

Mom chuckled again, flicking some brown hair out of her face with one swift movement of her hand. "Mai, honey, you've been very quiet. Is everything alright?"

Mai's gaze moved up from the keyboard to the screen as her head remained placed on her folded arms. She gave Mom a half-hearted nod. I hadn't even realized that she hadn't said a single word yet.

"Are you sure?" Mom asked, obviously not convinced.

Mai softly bobbed her head up and down.

The rest of us stared at her. She was rarely ever the quiet one in a room, so something was definitely bothering her.

She could pick up that we knew something was up by our unblinking stares, so she finally decided to say something: "How's Dad doing?"

We each had different reactions to that question- even Mai herself, judging by how disinterested she sounded when she asked it. I couldn't resist the urge to roll my eyes, while Jen glanced away to her side indifferently. Kat groaned and made it no secret that she would much rather talk about something else.