Twenty-Five Years Ago Today by Stacy Juba

sorry, I just get upset. I'd like to invite you to
Cheryl's house for dinner Saturday night. My son-in-law, Michael,
wants to meet you. He was like Diana's big brother."
    "I'd love to join you." Kris hesitated. She
wouldn't let Eric Soares stop her, but she wanted fair warning of
his presence. "Will your grandson be there? He paid me a visit and
didn't seem happy with the investigation."
    "I had a hunch he'd come by. Eric's my
protector. He plays in a band, though, so he won't be around."
    Thank God. She didn't feel like dealing with
his glares and comments. Funny, Eric Soares didn't strike her as a
musician. He seemed too narrow-minded to have a creative side.
    "So we can expect you?" Irene asked.
    "I'll look forward to it," Kris said.
    ***
    Friday night after working the late shift,
Kris made brownies for Cheryl's dinner party. Chipmunk lapped water
from a heart-shaped bowl and rubbed his wet lips against her ankle.
Kris stirred the chocolate batter into creamy folds, jolting when
the phone rang. Her heart thundered, random thoughts darting
through her mind.
    Had her father suffered a heart attack? Had
there been an accident?
    She whipped the receiver from its cradle.
"Hello," she said sharply.
    "I knew you'd be awake," her sister said in a
bright voice.
    Kris's knees wobbled, her heart rhythm
falling back into place. She always panicked when the phone rang
after a certain hour. The police had located Nicole in the middle
of the night.
    She turned down the portable radio on the
kitchen table and forced herself to sound normal. "It's 1 a.m. Why
are you so chipper?"
    "R.J. and I just got back from a friend's
house," Holly said. "I figured if I called you in the morning,
you'd be sleeping. Anyway, we're set for tomorrow. Dennis will be
here at eight, so come over earlier."
    Blinking, Kris scraped the sides of the bowl.
"What?"
    "The blind date, remember?"
    Oh, crap. She dropped the spoon on the floor
and stooped to retrieve it. "Holly, I'm sorry. I forgot. I have
plans."
    "I asked you to keep that night free."
    "I know, it just came up. I feel
terrible."
    "What am I supposed to tell Dennis?"
    Even over the phone, Kris sensed her sister's
frigidity. She tossed the chocolate-tipped spoon into the
overflowing pile of bowls in the sink. "Can't we make it another
time?"
    "He's a doctor. He has a busy schedule."
    "And I don't? Until now, this doubledate was
tentative. Anyway, my plans are work-related. I'm meeting with
Diana Ferguson's family. This is important."
    "What's with you lately?" Holly demanded.
"You prefer the dead to the living. Mom says your job is making you
morbid. She didn't even think I should fix you up with Dennis. She
was afraid he'd tell everyone at the hospital that you were weird.
Maybe she was right."
    "You're so self-absorbed, both you and Mom,"
Kris said around the swelling in her throat. "You're too shallow to
understand anyone but yourselves. I'm trying to establish a
career."
    "Some career. Did you even get paid for that
bookstore article, or did they get it out of you for free?"
    "Of course I got paid. At least I don't work
with Mom at the same hospital, following her around like a puppy in
a white lab coat. I can get hired on my own merit."
    "Do you know how much schooling I've had? How
much-"
    "Spare me the boring details." Kris hung
up.
    Her sister was wrong.
    It hurt, anyway. And damn it, Dex had better
come through with some dough for that bookstore piece.
    ***
    Kris smoothed the plastic wrap around her
plate of brownies and rang the Soares' doorbell. Cheryl lived on
the cul-de-sac of Brandywine Estates. A white picket fence
separated the front yard from the back, its paint luminous in the
early evening moonlight.
    Cheryl held open the door, lovely in her
apricot dress. "Kris, I'm glad you could come."
    Kris handed her the brownies, grateful she
had taken special care with her appearance. She'd tried on three
outfits before choosing a teal sweater and suede skirt. "I hope you
don't mind your mother