My Cookie-Baking Sister

Before Kickstarter, the summer book tour had included several trips home for a few days. The Kickstarter reward for a $500 pledge was for Dad to spend two hours at a person's house - an hour mingling and an hour discussing When Rainbows Fall including reading selections. To make even more revenue at those visits, Dad would also sell autographed hardcover books. Dad had enough of those visits that we didn't have any time to come home. Doing the visits was very profitable because they were done on the book tour in conjunction with other money-making activities. A typical day on the book tour included an interview on a local radio station, then a book signing at a bookstore, then a night speaking to a book club at someone's house. Sometimes Dad did corporate speaking gigs, typically sales conferences. He had three different speeches he could give, and he made far more giving speeches than anything else we did on the tour. Sometimes he spoke at writer's workshops. Mom had Dad's schedule packed pretty tight.

The first stop was St. Louis, a seven-hour drive. When Dad and I got in the minivan, we pushed the shotgun seat all the way forward and attached to the back of it an arm with a platter for a laptop to sit on. Dad sat in the seat behind the shotgun seat and to his left were his file folders with all his notes. Dad called this "his command center". I kept his cell phone with me silenced. When we pulled out of the driveway, Dad started writing. Dad found the car the best place in the world to write - he had no distractions in his command center, and the words just flowed. I was not to distract Dad, which meant no conversation and no music.

So I drove and drove, listening to the sounds of Dad's fingers typing. I thought about Travis and Brooklynne - were they back together? I knew from personal experience that Brooklynne could be quite persuasive when she wanted to make up. Did I want to get back together with Brooklynne if they hadn't? No, I was done with her. As I drove, I thought about various things but the most common subject was Kate - my last few conversations with Kate, Kate in her tiny bikini, what Kate was reading, Kate kissing me on the lips, Kate flirting and taunting Travis, Kate telling Travis I was her boyfriend.

* * * *

After dinner at a BBQ place in St. Louis, I drove Dad to a bookstore for a book signing. Dad met with the manager, hammering out the final details. People started drifting over to where sixty chairs were set up for Dad's audience. Dad had modeled himself after Mark Twain in the one-man show "Mark Twain Tonight" with wild salt-and-pepper hair that came down to his shoulders and a three-piece white suit. Dad didn't have a cigar or a mustache ("I can't grow a decent one"). There's a song lyric, "Her ad-lib lines were well rehearsed" - that was my Dad in events like this. He had several well-practiced jokes he'd crack like they were off the cuff. When a teen showed up with a superhero shirt on, Dad asked him, "Who's The Flash's favorite singer?" When he didn't know, Dad said, "Taylor Swift." The audience groaned appreciatively.

I recorded this talk. Dad said the same thing at all of his book signings, but the script changed every year to match the new book. He had practiced this year's talk several times, but he always made adjustments to the initial script based on the audience's reaction. Tomorrow, Mom and Dad would go over his presentation and make improvements.

Once the book signing was done, I hustled Dad off to a book club gathering. I was responsible for getting Dad where he needed to be on time, which let Dad be in the moment and be the most charismatic author he could be. Once we arrived at the house, Dad greeted our hosts like they were long-lost friends. Dad eventually brought up the topic of where to put our luggage - Mom had arranged for us to spend the night at our host's house, which Mom always tried to arrange to save money. I got the Wi-Fi password and stretched out on a comfortable bed before placing a video call to Kate. She was waiting for me.

"Hey, Kate."

"Hey, Justin. How was your day?"

"The usual. Lots of boring driving. Dad gave his new talk, which was a lot like his old talks. And now we're at someone's house. I've got pictures for you."

I had taken pictures of Dad in front of the Missouri sign, in front of the bookstore we had visited earlier, Dad giving his talk at the bookstore, and finally Dad in front of this house. The pictures were why I had called Kate - I had already sent them to her, and I'd now go over them with her. I'd take some pictures of tonight's gathering once Dad's talk started, and I'd send those to her. In the morning, Kate would post some of them to Dad's Facebook page with a little story to tie them all together.

Kate said, "Slow down and really tell me about your day."

"What?"

"I'd like to hear all the details of your day," Kate said almost exasperated. "You're my brother, and you're important to me. I get that today was a lot like your other days on tour, but I want you to tell me the things that made today unique."

Really? I found life on the road horribly boring and couldn't imagine anyone wanting to hear all the details about it. But this was Kate. Maybe she was truly interested in all the details. Maybe she was being nice and wanted to be a good audience. Regardless, I started again, telling Kate more details. Kate asked me questions, steadily drawing me out. She told me about her day, telling me all the details. She told me about the romance novel she was reading. I suddenly realized that I had talked to Kate for over an hour, and I needed to go get pictures of Dad.

"See you, Kate. Gotta go."

"Call me tomorrow!"

I went to the living room and took a couple of pictures of Dad, one of him talking and another of him reading from When Rainbows Fall. Done for now, I went back to my room, fired up my laptop, and opened Facebook. I knew Kate had posted something today on Dad's page and was curious as to what it was. It was a picture of Dad, Kate, and me when I was probably five and Kate two, at the base of the Gateway Arch.

I read the blurb and shot Kate a message - Great post today.

Kate eventually replied - Thanks. Got some quality shares off it.

I started getting lots of chat windows; friends asking me where I was. A lot of my friends enjoyed finding out "Where's Waldo?" every day. I cut and pasted into those windows, "In St. Louis. Had St. Louis-style ribs for dinner. Awesome". I'd get back a "Cool story, bro" response from all of them and no more.

When it was time for Dad's talk to end, I went out to the living room. I took pictures of Dad with the hosts and with each of the guests. As I was doing that, I looked around for something interesting in the house to take a picture of Dad with. Our hosts had a collection of little ceramic pigs with wings, and I took a picture of Dad looking at the collection. I went back to my room, sent the pictures of Dad and the guests to our hosts to put on their Facebook page, and sent all the pictures to Kate. I was done with "work" for the day.

I stripped down to gym shorts and started my workout routine. One summer when I was in high school, I looked up workouts that could be done without weights, focusing on those that could be done in hotel rooms. I took some from this and some from that and developed a ninety-minute routine I did every night during the summer tours. For most of the exercises, I used a resistance band. When we stayed at a hotel, I reduced the resistance exercises and added a thirty-minute run on a treadmill. I slept better if I worked out every day, and I enjoyed looking buffed when I got back to my friends.

As I worked out, I thought about Kate. Before I had left, Kate had instructed me on what she was looking for in terms of pictures. She explained to me that the most important thing was to publish content that would get liked and shared. Dad's Facebook page wasn't intended for his fans to read as they were already his fans - it was intended to be shared and liked, preferably by people in Facebook's literary ecosystem so people who weren't Dad's fans would see about him. Pictures of guests - not very interesting and would get few shares beyond the guest and their friends. A picture of Dad with a collection of little ceramic pigs with wings would be liked or shared by people who like that type of kitschy stuff. A picture of Dad with his kids when they were little - serious share-bait for book lovers.

* * * *

Dad and I quickly fell into the routine. Friday when we checked into our hotel, two packages were waiting for us. One was our weekly shipment of more hardcover When Rainbows Fall books from Mom. The other, much to my surprise, was cookies from Kate. When I got to my room, I started a video call with Kate. "Thanks for the cookies!"

She laughed. "They're for you and Dad. Mom helped make them. I found a web page of recipes for cookies that were to be mailed, and we're going to work through the list."

"Great! Something to look forward to."

"How was your day?"

I told her about my day. Every day, I contacted several friends from college but Kate was the only one who was interested in hearing about my day. We talked every day for at least an hour.

When it was Kate's turn to tell me about her day, she seemed uncomfortable. Finally, she said, "I had a fight with Steph yesterday. Sort of."

"A fight?"

"Yeah. She wanted me to go out on a double date with her. She had met this guy, and she wanted me to go out with her, him, and his friend. I got the impression she had sold the guy on the idea of going out by promising him she had a good-looking friend who'd be going with her. She told me to wear the T-shirt I had worn to taunt Travis and to wear a lot of makeup. She was really bossing me around." Kate frowned, bothered by the memory. "When she finally gave me a chance, I told her I didn't want to date. She got upset at that because she thought I just didn't want to go out on this double date with her. I had to explain I don't want to date ever."

"You don't want to date ever?" That made no sense to me.

"I don't ever want to go out on a first date, said Kate firmly. "I don't want to try to make conversation with a guy I don't know well. I'm terrible at that kind of thing, and I feel like an idiot. I don't see any point in going through the agony." The way she said this, it was clear she had given it a lot of thought and was certain of her opinion.

I, on the other hand, was dumbfounded by what she had said. "Then how are you going to get a boyfriend?"

"I... One day I'll be with a guy I like, we'll look at each other, and we'll kiss." She said it like it was the most sensible thing in the world. "And that'll be it - we'll be boyfriend-girlfriend. We'll go out on dates afterward, but the first kiss will happen because we enjoyed being with each other."

"Seriously?" I didn't know what to say. "I hope that works out for you."

"I know it sounds kind of crazy, but that's how I want it to be. I'd be comfortable starting a relationship that way. I wouldn't be comfortable starting a relationship by going out on a date."

I could see Kate being more comfortable with a relationship that started like that. "Okay, Kate. Someday, you'll find the right guy for you, and I can see that working for you."

Kate got flustered. "Thanks. Thanks for believing in me." She sighed for a moment as if she was deciding to say something embarrassing. Then she said, "I'll tell you something even crazier - I want to marry the first guy I kiss. Once I find the right guy, I'll kiss him, and I'll be done."

I didn't know what to say as that was totally unrealistic to me. Kate read lots of Romance novels, and I could see how she could think that could happen - it happened all the time in the books she read. But every couple I had ever known had broken up. We were too young to be talking about forever.

I said, "When you find the right guy and kiss him, I'm sure he'll be totally wowed. You're special, Kate, and you'll find the right guy for you."

An "Aw-shucks" look came over Kate's face. She was flustered for the rest of her call but in a good way.

* * * *

A few days later as we stopped our drive for lunch, I saw Mom had sent me and Dad a text for Dad to call her as soon as possible. As we got out of the minivan, I handed Dad his phone and said, "Call Mom."

I went inside the fast food place and looked over the menu. Dad and I would either get kids meals or split a salad. During the summer tour, water and black coffee were the only beverages allowed in the car, and apples, pears, and carrot sticks were the only allowed foods. It was the rules Dad had worked out to keep from gaining weight.

Dad was outside talking to Mom for a long time. When he finally came inside, he was smiling. He had an odd look on his face that I couldn't place. We placed our orders and sat down.

Dad said, "I'm on the New York Times Best Seller list. #15 Hardcover." Dad gave me a rueful grin. "I'm going to have to change all my marketing materials. That'll be a real pain." Then Dad started choking up. "This has always been my dream. It's been so hard making it as a writer. It was real tough trying to survive initially with a wife and two small kids. We wouldn't have made it without some loans from your Mom's family. But now..." I got up and hugged Dad. He quietly cried tears of joy. I held him, sharing the joy of this moment he had worked years for. That all of us had worked years for. Finally, he said, "The last few years, I feel like we've finally started figuring out the system. But I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. Without you, Kate, and your Mom. It's been a team effort to achieve my dream."

Dad had stopped crying and wiped his face dry. I sat back down. I asked, "What does being on the New York Times Best Seller list mean in terms of our lives?"

"I don't know. I've dreamed about this day for as long as I can remember, but I've never seriously thought about it happening." Dad thought for a moment. "Hopefully more corporate speaking gigs. At hopefully a better rate." He gave me a big smile. "One big change is the type of car we're going to buy Kate. We've been waiting to see how When Rainbows Fall did before deciding how nice of a car to get her. We'll be buying her a brand-spanking-new car. And we'll buy you a new car next summer as your graduation present. But don't tell Kate."

I was really happy for Kate. "I won't tell her."

"Good."

We talked about the rest of the drive, and the plans for this evening. Dad looked like he was floating on a cloud the whole time. After a while, I asked, "Why didn't you buy Kate a car before now?"

"Because she never asked." Dad gave a little shrug. "But she never asks for anything except more books and more bookshelves." Dad smiled. "I'm so lucky. When your uncles give your cousins money to go buy clothes, no amount is enough to buy what they want. With Kate - we had to force her to agree to be paid for doing my social media work. Even then, it was no base salary, and only pay based on outperforming how well your mom and I had done." Dad gave me a rueful smile full of pride. "Kate's been cleaning up on incentives."

"She's very smart."

"She is." Dad beamed proudly. Then a look of concern came over his face. "Though I worry how she'll do at college. Her mom wanted her to live at home but I said living in the dorms would be the best thing for her."

"I agree. The people I've met who live at home while going to UT majorly struggle to make friends."

Dad nodded. "That's what I thought. It's just that..." He sighed. "Kate is very innocent, and your mother and I worry about some boy sweet-talking her, taking advantage of her then breaking her heart." That sounded too close to what Travis tried to do. "Would you do your mom and me a favor and keep an eye on her?"

I didn't know what to say. "I really can't, Dad. She'll be in the dorms, and I'll be in an apartment. I'll probably rarely see her."

"Your mom thought about asking you to share an apartment with Kate. I said you already had a roommate, and we shouldn't impose so much on you."

That was interesting. "It wouldn't have been an imposition as I like Kate. But it'll be better for her to be in the dorms with other freshmen so she can make friends with people who are in her classes."

"I know, I know." Dad seemed to be struggling with what was best for his gifted, beautiful, innocent, and introverted daughter. "Still, I'd feel better if you'd promise to go see her as often as possible."

"Okay, Dad. I promise."

* * * *

The next night when I video chatted with Kate, she was over the moon. "I can't believe it. Mom and Dad bought me a new car. A beautiful new car. A bright blue Honda HR-V. Are you familiar with them?"

"No."

"It's a compact SUV. Tons of fun to drive." Kate raised her balled fists to her face and shivered in excitement. "I'm so happy! I had been saving to buy a car for college, so when Mom suggested we go car shopping I had assumed we would look at used cars. She drove us to a Honda dealership, and, when we arrived, I started towards the used cars. I was surprised when Mom told me to go with her to the showroom. It wasn't until she told the salesman she was going to buy me a new car that I found out we weren't there for me to price used cars. Mom saying she was going to buy me a new car was pretty shocking, but I expected her to tell the salesman she'd get me the cheapest car they made. No, she told the salesman she was fairly open about which model to buy me. I tried several models, and I fell in love with the HR-V. And I love its shade of blue. It's gorgeous! And it had seven miles on the odometer when I got into it. Seven."

"New car smell, eh?"

"Oh, yeah! It smells great. I'm so happy!" Joy filled Kate's face. "I never ever would have thought Mom and Dad would buy me a nice new car for college." Not too surprising as I had had to buy my car when I was in high school and was still driving it. "And since I don't have to use the money I've saved to buy a car, I decided to splurge and buy some fun stuff for me."

"Such as?"

Kate gave me a sly smile. "Well, I'll show you two of them when they get here. As for the third, are you excited about going to Disney World?" Again, Kate balled her fists in rapturous joy.

"Yeah. I'm starting to get a little excited. It's still months away." I wasn't nearly as excited as she was.

"It'll be so great. I'm so looking forward to spending time with you. It's nice doing these video calls, but I really want to be able to hug you and see all of you." Her eyes had gone dreamy for a moment, but then she refocused. "Anyway, one splurge is I made a reservation at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for our first day at Disney World."

"The what?"

"The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. They do Disney Princess makeovers, and I'm going to get a Belle makeover. I've wanted to do that since I saw this Big Bang Theory episode where the women all get dressed up as Disney princesses. And I'm going to do it!" Once again, Kate balled her fists in rapturous joy.

I restrained myself from rolling my eyes. Kate getting a Belle makeover was just so...Kate. The only other time we had gone to Disney World was when I was six and Kate was three. The number one thing Kate wanted to do every day was "Talk with Belle". We went to every Belle character meet and greet while we were there. Whenever we finished one, Kate would ask when the next one was. Getting a Belle makeover explained her excitement of going to Disney World a lot better than her seeing me again.

* * * *

A few days later, Kate was extra excited on our video call. "I told you I splurged and bought some fun things for me. I already told you about the first, and today the other two came in. I'd like to show them to you."