After a decisive win and a quick pizza reunion with everyone back at the house, the three siblings were at their favorite hangout. Rosie and Sam were doing cartwheels in the sand, and after some begging and teasing, they finally got Ben to join in the silliness. He did a couple of standing back handsprings to show off.
"Easy there, you can't be injured for your graduation."
"Hey, I'm an expert. You better be careful with those cartwheels. You're the basketball star."
Sam rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue before sprinting down the beach. Both siblings caught on quickly and raced her, with Ben taking the lead. Instead of winning, he grabbed Sam and spun her around so that Rosie could breeze past them. Sam shrieked and laughed, and all three collapsed in the sand.
"Damn, Sammy, that's getting harder to do. You are going to be as tall as me in no time."
"Watch it, pretty soon I'll be carrying you over my shoulder."
"I don't doubt it."
They sat for a few seconds quietly, watching the moonlight hit the waves. Rosie was dying to ask Sam what was up but knew her sister well. She would talk when she was ready. Instead, she turned to Ben.
"I really like Becca."
"Good. I do, too."
"She was your friend first, right?"
"She's still just my friend."
"Wait, you two haven't…?" She eyed Sam and trailed off. Sam shook her head and laughed.
"Sex, Rosie. You can say the word sex in front of me. God, I'm not five."
Rosie laughed. "Sorry. So the two of you are just pals? I don't buy it."
Ben smiled and shrugged. "I mean, we are a little more than pals. But, I don't know, maybe I'm taking a page out of the 'Lance and Lorenzo' manual. She's too good for me to ruin this, you know?"
"Aw, Ben, you love her! She's your Rita."
"Oh, God! Can we not bring Mom into this?"
She playfully punched him. "You know what I mean. Look at how grown-up you are. I'm so proud of you!"
"Okay, okay. You can stop now." He looked down and found the sand interesting, his shyness briefly taking over.
"I know Dad preaches about how important it was to be friends with Mom first, but I don't think you have to wait years like they did. If you know, you know."
Sam, who had been listening and smiling, jumped into the mix. "I got the lead in the school play."
Ben's head shot up. "What?"
"Sam! That's amazing!" Rosie lept at her sister and gave her a huge hug. "I didn't even know you were into theater."
Sam laughed. "Well, neither did I. It just sort of happened. Coach Fischer wanted us to join at least one club that had nothing to do with sports. I only picked Drama Club because they had a meeting the day she was grilling me about why I hadn't picked a club yet."
Ben eyed his sister carefully. He knew there was more to this story. "Is this why you called us to the beach for a meeting?"
Sam tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ear and exhaled nervously. "Yeah. I haven't told Mom and Dad yet."
Rosie looked confused. "Sam, they'll be thrilled."
"Will they? Dad will be thrilled that I like acting?" She accentuated the sarcasm with a dramatic sigh. "You know his life is going to flash before his eyes. He's going to think I'm turning into Anna."
"Are you?"
"Ben!" Rosie admonished with a frown.
"Sam said she wanted to talk, so let's talk." Ben was always the one to turn up the heat in a conversation. Just like their father, he didn't have patience for evasive maneuvers.
"Ro, it's okay. He's right. Look, this whole acting thing made me realize that there's so much out there that I haven't experienced. Hobbies or dreams or goals that I may not even know exist because basketball is my life."
Rosie softened, going into a pseudo-mom mode, placing a gentle arm around her. "Do you want to quit basketball?"
"No way, I know I'm amazing." She chuckled at her less-than-modest attitude. "I don't want to give it up, but I feel like maybe going to a school just for basketball isn't what I should do. If I stay here and go to Palm Beach High, I can still play, but I can also try new things. I don't want to leave."
Ben sighed. "Sam, I get it. Honestly, I thought this whole thing was a little crazy. Not that you aren't the best baller I've ever seen, because you are. But you are so young."
Rosie chimed in. "I was excited for you, but I was even more excited that Mom and Dad were going to retire. It all seemed perfect, you know?"
Sam glanced at Rosie worriedly. "Should I still go for it so that they do?"
"Absolutely not!" Ben interjected. "You need to do what's best for you. We will all support you no matter what. And Mom and Dad…"
"Mom and Dad will be thrilled." Rosie buried her toes in the sand and propped back on her elbows. "They're not ready to retire. I need to accept that."
"Yeah," Ben surmised. "They've been so torn about all of this. They would do anything for us, but this has been their life for longer than we've been around. I mean, we wouldn't even be here if it weren't for the job."
Rosie's defenses shot up. "They owe that department nothing. How many more times do they have to put themselves on the line to save everyone else?" Ben shot her a look, realizing that Rosie temporarily forgot that their little sister was clueless about their discoveries.
Sam looked puzzled. "Wait, I thought they pretty much sat in their offices all day long."
Rosie realized her blunder and recovered quickly. "You know what I mean. They could get called out on anything and need to be the old Chris and Rita."
"You're lying. What don't I know?"
Rosie looked at Ben helplessly.
"Look, Sam, it's nothing. Dad still helps in Vice from time to time."
"What?! He's still out doing dangerous stuff? It's bad enough Mom got shot, now this?"
"You knew about Mom? Jeez, I just found out today!"
"Sam, how did you know about Mom? I didn't even know until we studied her case in my Academy class."
"They think I can't hear through walls. I overheard them talking about it one night right after it happened."
"Wow, you really are an actress," Ben teased. "You held onto that secret for two years. I'm impressed."
Rosie let out an audible, exaggerated sigh. "Maybe I should transfer back here. I feel like I'm missing out on so much."
"No way. I promised Becca a weekend in Buffalo. She wants to see Niagara Falls."
"So, take her to Niagara Falls. It will still be there without me."
"Ro, what did you just tell me about basketball? You need to stay where you are. You can always move back when you're done and be a brilliant M.E. in Palm Beach."
An atypical silence fell upon the trio, their minds full of unsaid worries about their parents, their futures, and life.
"Soooo…" Sam whispered against the waves, "What should I say to Mom and Dad? And when?"
Ben replied with finality. "I think we need to have a famous Lorenzo Family Meeting. It sounds like we all have things to say, and they need to tell us the truth about how they are feeling."
Rosie, always the peacekeeper, buried her face in her hands. "Ugh! Why does this feel like a showdown? I don't want to blindside them."
Ben grinned. "We won't. We'll bring cookies."
Sam and Ro broke out into matching smiles. "Brilliant!" was the lone reply from Sam, as Ro was already feverishly texting a new co-conspirator in their plan of attack. Game On.
