18As I ducked out of Bonnie’s house into the cool evening air, I felt my strongest craving of the day for a cigarette. It was what my sisters probably thought I was doing out there anyway; I hadn’t told any of them that I’d quit. Why rub it in, since all three of them were still unrepentant heavy smokers? It would just give them another reason to hate me if they found out.
With a heavy sigh, I scuffed down the three cement steps from the back stoop to the cracked and weed-strewn patio slab. I felt discouraged as I wandered among the brightly colored playhouses, tricycles, and pee wee sports equipment.
Though I’d been dreading the evening, fully expecting it to go south in a big way, I’d still been hoping for some kind of peace with my sisters. A little understanding would’ve been ni
