Stephanie chewed on her lip, staring at her reflection in the mirror anxiously.
Maybe she shouldn't do this. It might end up being a huge mistake that she'll regret with no way to fix it. But she was already here and had everything ready. She shouldn't back out now.
Her right hand, gasping the pair of scissors tightly, hovered beside her overgrown bang, which went down to the bottom of her face, just below her chin. She'd been meaning to cut them for a while now, having a desire to change up her appearance without it being drastic enough that her dad would have a spaz attack. She'd just never had enough courage to do so; Laney Halloway attempted the same thing during freshman year and it came out so bad. It was really uneven, not to mention that it caused her to get picked on by some so-called popular girls for the majority of the year.
A sigh escaped from her and she lowered her hand. If only Aunt Becky wasn't preoccupied, maybe he could help. But her attention was solely focused on Wake Up San Francisco; apparently, the show was having some big named guest next week. Privately, Stephanie didn't think the lady was all that popular, she'd never heard of her before. But Dad and Aunt Becky were thoroughly excited and had become obsessed with ensuring that everything was perfect for the segment.
Placing the scissors down on the bathroom countertop with a slight cling, Stephanie pressed her palms down against it, her mind wandering elsewhere. She was curious to find out how Charlie's evening with his grandparents had gone. Of course, there was the possibility that he might not wish to divulge much of it at all-of which she was prepared for. However, it didn't stop her from hoping otherwise.
His words had resonated with her and she was unable to fully move on. It sounded like pressure. A sense of urgency to move on, whether he was truly ready or not. Her dad had said in relation to something that people heal differently. He still had moments where he dearly missed their mom. It hadn't gone away completely in the years that passed, not even with him having his on again relationship with Vicky. He'd told her that there would always be a part of him that missed her.
And maybe that applied to Charlie as well; not so much in a sense that he missed his dad but that there might always be a part of him that couldn't get over what happened. It was something he'd drag around with him for the rest of his life. She felt bad for him, even though he probably wouldn't want her to. She just couldn't help it. It wasn't right. None of it was.
"What are you doing?"
Michelle came inside the bathroom, arms crossed, observing.
"What does it look like?" Stephanie was debating on it again.
"It looks like you're about to do something stupid," Michelle said in a snarky manner. "What kind of dummy cuts their own bangs?"
"You're all heart," Stephanie said sarcastically.
Her sister rolled her eyes. "Here, let me-" She took the scissors, gesturing for Stephanie to sit on the toilet. "You're gonna ruin 'em if you do it."
Stephanie sat down, daring to allow her to help. Michelle carefully took her bangs into her hand and began to cut. "Sooo," she drew out, "what was with Charlie the other day?"
"What?"
"Don't play dumb," Michelle said with disinterest. "He acted like it was an emergency. What was up with that?"
"Nothing, really," Stephanie shrugged, which resulted in a noise of irritation coming from her sister and a warning to stay still.
"You say nothing really but I know better. I'm not stupid. Clearly, something's up and you don't wanna say it."
"There's nothing up. It's none of your business, that's all," Stephanie denied.
"Remember who has the scissors," Michelle said not-so-innocently.
"Remember who has the car."
"Whatever," Michelle muttered.
"So, did you talk to Marcus like Aunt Becky wanted?" Stephanie asked.
"Yeah."
"And?" Stephanie prompted when she received no further explanation. A wide smile started to come onto Michelle's lips. Stephanie raised her eyebrows and smiled to herself. "Obviously, it went well."
"Very well," Michelle agreed.
"Tell me everything," Stephanie encouraged her. "Don't leave out any details."
"Alright, alright. Hold on," Michelle used a comb to flatten out the hair. "There. Finished. Take a look first."
Stephanie got up to look in the mirror. She was more than pleased with the turnout. Apparently, giving Michelle scissors to use on her hair wasn't the worst decision she'd ever made. "Wow, this looks great."
Michelle shrugged, although she didn't reject the compliment. "I've practiced before."
Stephanie looked intrigued. "On real hair?"
"Fake. Lisa's got an older cousin that's a hairstylist. She let Lisa have some old wigs to practice on. Me, her and Denise did that last time we had a sleepover."
"Are you interested in being a stylist?" Stephanie hadn't known that. She supposed she'd been pretty busy with her own life that she hadn't really hung out with her sister all that much or had a conversation that lasted longer than five minutes.
Again, Michelle shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe."
"You're pretty good at it," Stephanie praised her. "All that practice is paying off."
"I hope so," Michelle wandered back to her bedroom with Stephanie in tow. They laid on her bed on their sides facing each other.
"Alright, now spill," Stephanie instructed.
"Okay, okay," Michelle was giggling giddily. Stephanie remembered how that was. She'd been that way with Andrew, which felt like a lifetime ago. "He said he liked me back!"
"That's great!" Stephanie was genuinely happy for her.
"Yeah," Michelle sighed dreamily. "You should've heard him. He thinks I'm cute."
"Nice," Stephanie nudged her.
"Yeah. We're gonna hang out again. Turns out, he didn't talk to me because he was nervous after seeing Dad, Joey and Uncle Jesse."
"I can imagine," Stephanie shook her head. "But as what? Friends or -"
"Just friends for now," Michelle was slightly disappointed, she could tell. "He said his parents won't let him date 'till he's sixteen."
"And if you're lucky, Dad might let you then too," Stephanie grinned.
Michelle rolled her eyes. "Maybe."
"Cheer up," Stephanie said. "At least he likes you."
"True," the grin was back on Michelle's face. "I can't believe he does! I thought for sure he wouldn't."
Stephanie moved off her arm when it began to go numb and give off spins and needle feeling. "How's Aaron taking it?"
At this, Michelle sighed with irritation. "He's being ridiculous."
"Yeah?" Stephanie said with interest. "How so?"
"He's making fun of him more than usual."
Stephanie raised her eyebrows. "And you still think he doesn't like you?"
"Of course not," Michelle disagreed. "It's-"
"Aaron," Stephanie finished for her. "Yeah, I know. But you can't possibly be that blind."
"Why would he like me?" Michelle gave her a look. "All he's ever done is bother me."
"Some guys do that to girls they like," Stephanie said.
"Why?" Michelle asked.
"It gets them noticed, I guess. I don't know."
"You mean like Charlie does to you?"
"No," Stephanie made a face. "I'm not talking about that with you."
"Is that why he wanted to see you? Are you guys a thing now?"
"No. Definitely not," Stephanie said strongly.
Michelle grumbled. "You can't deny he's like that."
"So?"
"So, you like it," Michelle told her matter-of-factly. "I can tell."
"He's funny," Stephanie said. "That's it. It's not as deep as you think."
"Sure."
"And anyway," Stephanie huffed, "we were talking about you and Aaron. Not me and Charlie."
"I can't help it if that's where we went," Michelle smirked. "I heard from Nicky and Alex that he knows about how much you love guys with facial hair."
Stephanie groaned. She'd been pretty embarrassed about that. But it was never brought up again by Charlie so for that she was thankful. "I can't believe they told him that."
"You're lucky I wasn't there," Michelle remarked. "I would've said worse."
"Of course."
"Apparently Charlie's pretty good with kids," Michelle added. "Nicky and Alex really liked him."
"Yeah," Stephanie remembered how they'd been upset that he had to leave when he did. She also recalled how she'd watched him play with her cousins; how he slowly grew more at ease and shed that awkwardness that he'd had when Nicky had dragged him there. She'd been unable to stop grinning as she kept her eyes on them. And he said he didn't know anything about kids. "They're begging Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse to go out again."
Neither her aunt, uncle or dad raised a fuss about the fact that Stephanie asked Charlie to come over and help or for them being in the house alone. Rather, Aunt Becky and Uncle Jesse had been more focused on the reason why he'd been called. They grounded Nicky and Alex from watching television, having dessert and getting together with their school friends for a whole week. They'd apologized profusely to her but Stephanie waved it off. It wasn't their fault and they'd really gotten better at dealing with the twins' behavior since they were much younger.
Michelle hummed. "What's really going on with you two?"
Stephanie stared, caught off guard by the subject change. "What?"
"What's going on with you two?" Her sister repeated. "Look, you say you're friends and if you are, fine. But I know there's something going on. You guys are so secretive and weird."
She hadn't thought that anyone would notice. She thought they were being subtle enough. Apparently not. And now that Michelle was onto them, she would want to know what was up. She wouldn't simply take a none if your business as an answer. Not anymore it might have worked when she was a kid but as a teenager, she knew better now.
"I can't tell you," Stephanie said quietly.
"So there is something," Michelle said victoriously. "I knew it!"
"Sort of," Stephanie said and took a deep breath.
"Does Dad know?"
"He does. And so does Uncle Jesse." There was also DJ. Stephanie refrained from mentioning her because then Michelle would demand to be told. She did despise being kept from knowing a secret.
"Why can't I know?" Michelle complained. "It's not fair."
It caused a flair of irrational anger to go through her. IIt wasn't fair, she'd said, as if she was being kept from something exciting. Well, she wasn't. It wasn't exciting. It wasn't cool. She might be overreacting; Michelle didn't know what this was about. She'd probably react differently if she did.
"Because you can't," Stephanie said firmly. "If Charlie wanted people to know, he'd say it."
"I'm going to find out eventually," Michelle told her with determination.
"Okay," Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You do that."
"I will!"
"Fine."
Stephanie was about to retort when her phone buzzed. She expected it to be Charlie but it wasn't. It was DJ. "Looks like Ms. Psychology finally found time to call me back," she remarked before answering it. "What's up, Deej?"
She barely got the words out because her older sister let out an ecstatic scream. Stephanie quickly pulled the phone away from her ear.
"I'm engaged!"
"And I'm deaf," Stephanie shot back. "Thanks for that."
What's up? Michelle mouthed.
She's engaged, Stephanie responded.
"So, Steve finally did it, huh?"
"You knew?" DJ asked after she'd calmed down somewhat. "How did you know?"
"Steve," Stephanie told her.
"He told you?"
"He told Dad."
"And Dad told you?"
"Not exactly..." Stephanie grinned. 'I have my resources."
"You little snoop!" DJ exclaimed. "You were listening in on the call, weren't you?"
"I was doing my sisterly duty," Stephanie said. DJ scoffed.
"You were being nosy."
"That hurts, Deej. That really hurts."
"Oh, whatever. Not the first you've heard it and it definitely won't be the last."
"True," Stephanie conceded. "So, tell me. How did lover boy do it? Did he spell it out in pepperoni slices?"
"No, he didn't use food," DJ said.
"There's a shock."
"You should have seen it," DJ sighed dreamily. "It was perfect. He got me this big bouquet of flowers and put the ring on one of them. I didn't notice it at first and then he got down on one knee."
"You're telling me he didn't mess up?" Stephanie found that hard to believe, considering how much fretting he'd obviously done since he'd talked to Dad and got his permission.
"Well," DJ laughed briefly, "there was the minor incident of him falling over when he got on his knee."
"There it is."
"It's not any less romantic," DJ said defensively. "He was nervous. He couldn't help it."
They've literally been together for years. He knows her. What's he got to be nervous about?
"Well, I'm glad it's Steve you're marrying," Stephanie said.
"Who else would it be?"
"Viper," Stephanie pointed out. "Although, I can't say I'd mind if you married Nelson. I've always wanted my own boat."
"What makes you think you wouldn't gotten a boat?" DJ snorted.
"Simple. He'd want to impress his new sister-in-law and lucky for him, I'm easy to impress."
"Oh, brother," DJ said. "Hey, speaking of, now you'll have a brother."
"I'd rather have a brother that doesn't leave the refrigerator empty," Stephanie said.
"It could be worse."
"You're right. You could have married a Gibbler," Stephanie shuddered. "Good thing Kimmy doesn't have a brother."
"She has Garth."
This made Stephanie furrow her eyebrows and wrinkle her forehead.
"Who?"
"He's Kimmy's older brother," DJ elaborated but it did nothing to rejog her memory. "Come on, you know him."
"No, I don't," Stephanie didn't remember ever seeing a Gibbler child besides Kimmy-thank goodness for that.
"Well," DJ paused, "it has been a while since you've seen him."
"Try never."
"He's got his own place now. He was always working when we were kids. I swear, it was like some days he just disappeared, he was never there."
"Good thing. One Gibbler around is enough."
"Oh, Steph," DJ sighed.
"So," Stephanie ignored that, "did you two set a date yet?"
"Steph, we got engaged an hour ago."
She shrugged. "So?"
"I'm still in shock. I haven't thought about anything yet."
"You better be prepared for when you tell the others," Stephanie advised her. "They'll want to know."
"You're right," DJ said. "But don't say anything yet."
"You want me to keep something from Father?" Stephanie faked a gasp.
"Just until I get there."
"Get there-you're coming back?"
"For a visit, yes," DJ said. "I'd rather tell them in person and besides, I miss everyone."
"We miss you too," Stephanie told her. "I caught Dad looking at your baby pictures."
"Oh, gosh."
"It's gonna be worse when he finds out his little girl is getting married," Stephanie smirked.
"Hey, don't look at me. It'll be worse when Michelle gets married."
"Gosh, can you imagine?" Stephanie took a glance at her younger sister, who was preoccupied with flipping through a magazine, having grown bored.
"I can't. I remember when she was in diapers."
Stephanie turned her head, whispering, "She's already talking about boys and dating."
"Are you with her?" DJ asked.
"Mhm."
"Ah," DJ said and added, "I know I sound like Dad when I say this but I wish she'd stay a kid a little longer. She's my baby sister. I helped raise her. I can't imagine her dating and kissing boys quite yet."
"Me either," Stephanie agreed. "It's weird."
"Totally."
Stephanie felt a nudge.
"Can I talk to DJ now?" Michelle asked.
"Oh. Yeah. Sure," Stephanie said. "Hey, Deej. Michelle wants to talk to you."
"Okay. Put her on," DJ said. "If she doesn't give the phone back before she hangs up, remember, Steph; don't tell anyone."
"Yeah, yeah," Stephanie handed the phone to Michelle. Her younger sister started chatting away. She, meanwhile, stretched her legs.
So many changes had happened within the past couple of years; some good, some not so good. This one was good. Definitely good. She was glad to hear about DJ and Steve. Those two deserve each other. Even though she joked about the life she could have had if her sister ended up with Nelson, it was Steve who really held her heart.
Stephanie laid back on the back with a contentful sigh through her nose.