On the Line Read Online Free

this time I thought you were talking about Richard,
but you weren’t, were you?”
    Janelle moved her head from side to side and looked away.
    “Oh, J,” Kelsey sighed as she held a tissue to her sister.
    Janelle took it and dabbed at her eyes before blowing her runny nose. What did her
sister think of her now? She’d always tried to be a good role model for Kelsey while
being someone she would feel comfortable coming to whenever she had a problem. Would
this change Kelsey’s opinion of her?
    “You know this is probably all my fault, right?” Kelsey said.
    Janelle’s head snapped around to look at her sister. Kelsey’s expression was completely
serious, but there was a mischievous gleam in her eye. Janelle was reminded of their
brother, who had died when he was in college. “Your eyes sparkle like Sean’s used
to when he was up to something.”
    Kelsey grinned widely. “You really think so?”
    Janelle tried not to laugh at her sister’s obvious appreciation of the comparison.
“What do you mean this is probably all your fault? You weren’t here when I had the
affair.”
    “Exactly.” Kelsey pointed her index finger at Janelle.
    “Are you doped up?” Janelle asked. “You seem too easily amused by this.”
    Kelsey’s head turned away and Janelle watched as her eyes followed the tube from
the needle in her arm and to the bag of saline solution. Janelle’s eyes narrowed
speculatively on the bag, and she studied it. It didn’t look like there were additional
meds attached to it, but Janelle had no idea what the nurse may have given Kelsey
before she’d entered the room.
    Kelsey shrugged as she turned to face Janelle. “Possibly,” she stated. “And, no,
I don’t think this is funny.”
    “Then how are you to blame for this? This has nothing to do with you.”
    “My lack of presence or involvement has never stopped our mother from blaming things
on me before, why would she stop now?” Kelsey raised an eyebrow.
    Janelle stared at Kelsey as the room began to spin. Oh goodness , she had almost forgotten
about her mother.
    “Exactly,” Kelsey said and laid her hand on Janelle’s arm. “So, I’d like to know
what I’m taking the credit, or blame, for.” Kelsey lay back against her pillow.
    Janelle sighed and leaned into the back of the chair. She let her mind drift to the
time before the affair. After a bit of reflection, she looked at Kelsey and smiled.
“You know, if Mom wants to blame anyone for the affair, she should start with herself.”
    “Why’s that?” Kelsey tried to roll to her side, grimaced, and stopped where she was.
    “When Zach was about six months old, Richard started to stay at work later and later,
and I reached a breaking point. I called her and asked her if she could come over
so I could take a shower and clean the house a bit. Do you know what she said?”
    Kelsey slowly shook her head.
    “She said that I’d made the decision to take on the responsibility of your child
without asking for her advice, so now I could deal with it without her help.”
    Kelsey’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding. I thought she’d gotten over that after Zach
was born?”
    “Only when you were around. She wanted you to think that everything was just fine
without you here.” Janelle crossed her arms and slid into her seat a bit.
    “Figures,” Kelsey mumbled. “So what happened next?”
    “I dealt with it the best I could, but the house was still always a mess, Zach was
starting to get into everything, Richard was later and later coming home and starting
to smell like alcohol when he did, and I was exhausted. Just before Zach’s first
birthday, Nathan’s mom, Nancy, stopped by the house to see the baby and to chat.
The house was filthy, I hadn’t showered, and Zach was fighting a nap when she got
there, so I almost didn’t let her in.” Janelle looked up at the white ceiling tiles
and smiled a little. “And, as usual, she pushed her way in, without being pushy about
it. And when