AN: Chapter by AnImaginary Mann.
"Don't be sad, mom. I didn't want her to come, anyway. It'll be way more fun if it's just the two of us."
Alice, the little peacemaker. Being a teenager, Rosalie decided to annoy me by refusing to come with us. She said she didn't want to get as fat as Alice... a comment that resulted in another wave of tears from Alice and false reassurances from me. Maybe Rosalie was right, maybe I indulged Alice more than I should... but she had already lost so much that I didn't have the heart to deny her anything.
"Don't worry honey, I'm okay."
"Then why is your face all scrunched up?"
"Because I'm old and old people get wrinkles."
"You are not that old, are you?"
"I'm 32, do you think that's old?"
"I don't know. But you are way older than me."
I can't contain the laughter – talking to my Alice is always a delight. However, she quiets when we both spot a parking space. The "no-talking-while-mom-is-parking" is a security measure to avoid accidents – I hate to admit but parking a car is my Everest. I don't want an encore of the accident that almost took the life of my beloved Rose.