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On the day of the recital Marah was so nervous and excited she could barely contain her emotions As usual, the stress of it all turned her into a pint-sized diva given to ju room table, one hand on her hip, dressed in faded low-rise jeans and a pink top that read Baby One More Time in rhinestones An inch of skin showed between the bottom of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans "Where did you put my butterfly barrettes?"

Hunched over the sewing lanced up "Theyre in your bathroo that top out of the house "

Marahs mouth dropped open "But it was a birthday present "

"Yeah, well, your Aunt Tully is an idiot "

"Everyone gets to dress like this "

"Youre breaking ue with you "

Marah sighed dramatically and stormed back upstairs

Kate shook her head It wasnt just the recital Everything with Marah lately was high dra and happy or flat-out pissed Whenever Mohed, lit up a smoke, and said, "Oh, the teen years will be fun You should start drinking before its too late "

Kate bent closer to the machine, put her foot on the pedal, and went back to work

As it turned out, that ended up being the last time she paused for almost two hours Then, as soon as shed finished the costumes for the dance recital, she rushed on to her other chores—finding hangers, packing the car, helping the boys brush their teeth, and breaking up fights Thankfully Johnny took care of dinner and the dishes

At six oclock, she herded everyone to the car and helped the boys into their car seats, then took her own seat "Have I forgotten anything?"

Johnny looked at her "You have spaghetti sauce on your forehead "

She flipped down the visor and saw herself in the tiny rectangular h, she had a streak of red across her brow

"I didnt take a shower," she said, horrified

"I wondered about that," Johnny said