Grace lowered her voice. “Can I wait on that? I’ve got something kind of important to tell you.”
The door cracked open and a head covered in auburn curls appeared. “Wait—we can’t hear very well.” Hannah tumbled into the room with Claire on her heels.
Grace mumbled something about paper-thin walls, and Claire said, “It’s about time you came back to us—I’ve been missing my Grace.” She squeezed between them to steal a hug, glaring when Olivia opened her mouth to object to the intrusion. “No pulling rank, Olivia. We’ve missed her, too. And I’ve got a boy problem, and I need her.”
“So what were you saying? Something important? Is it Brad? Are you engaged?” Hannah asked.
“Shamazzle! No! We’re not even dating right now, and we agreed not to talk about marriage or anything,” said Grace.
“Then what is it?” asked Olivia. “Do I need to get rid of the junior sisters so we can talk?”
“No, it’s okay,” said Grace before Claire and Hannah could protest. “I’m... I’m having a biopsy done tomorrow afternoon.”
“What kind of biopsy?” asked Olivia, as the other two gasped.
“It’s not a big deal, really,” said Grace, but the quiver in her voice belied her nonchalance. “It’s a needle biopsy. I’ve got two lumps in Flopsy.”
“Now which one is Flopsy and which one is Mopsy?” asked Claire. “I always forget.”
“Flopsy on the left. Mopsy on the right,” said Grace.
“Is it cancer?” asked Hannah.
Grace flinched at the word. “They’re probably just cysts, but I’m kind of nervous.”
“No kidding,” said Olivia. “Your face is almost white just from talking about it. When is the biopsy? And where? Do you want us to be there?”
“I’ll gladly skip school,” offered Claire.
“It’s tomorrow afternoon, and Mom’s coming after she finishes her shift. I need you more tonight so I don’t think about it too much.”
“Is it going to hurt?” asked Hannah. “How big is the needle they stick in there?”
Olivia saw Grace’s blanched face grow even whiter as her hand rose to her mouth. “Come on, Grace. Let’s sit down.” She shook her head at Hannah, mouthing the words, “Don’t say needle.”
“I’m sure it will be fine—probably hardly any blood.” Claire didn’t seem to notice how Grace flinched at the word ‘blood’, continuing on merrily. “So tell us about Brad. Are you back together yet? And why did you break up this time?”
Hannah brightened. “Hey! I thought of something good that’s coming out of this biopsy thing. Didn’t you always say Flopsy was bigger than Mopsy? Maybe this will even them out.”
Claire giggled and let out a snort. Soon all four were laughing and rolling around on the beds.
Grace wiped away tears of laughter. “Oh man! I needed this.”
“We’re glad to have our president back,” said Olivia. “It was like you’d fled the country.”
“Yeah, Olivia’s not as much fun as you.” Claire ducked when Olivia took a swing at her.
“I fled the country because I thought I might get assassinated,” Grace teased. “No one was talking to me.”
“You weren’t talking to us,” said Olivia. “You used to tell us everything. Why did you quit talking to us?”
Grace worried her lower lip. “It made perfect sense at the time, but after talking to Mom... I don’t know. Now, I have to admit it’s possible I overreacted.”
“What! Our Grace? Overreacting to something?” Olivia threw her head back in dramatic fashion and held the back of her hand to her forehead. “It can’t be true! I think I may faint!” When Grace swung a pillow her way, she dashed out of reach.
Claire copied Olivia’s pose, “No... No... Say it isn’t so!” Grace lunged for Claire and caught her, tickling her until she begged for mercy.
“So are you finally getting back together with Brad? Because like I’ve said before, I’ll take him if you don’t want him.” Hannah bobbed her eyebrows up and down.