Chapter Two

After dinner, they both set about making the downstairs more like home. Some of their old pictures had still been on the walls but had been covered. So, Molly dusted as Jennifer pulled all the sheets off. The sofas would need replacing, but they had their old furniture still to come over from Phoenix. 

As they uncovered more pictures and more furniture, they were both finding it hard. There were still so many memories in this house that Jackie just hadn't been able to deal with. So now her daughters were doing it all these years later. 

"I remember this," Molly said as she sat down in one of the corner chairs in the living room, letting her hand glide over the wooden bookshelf in the corner. It was on one of the side walls, so as it wouldn't block any of the light. It had been one of her father's most prized pieces of furniture; he loved books and reading to her. He'd made sure she could read before going to school. Jennifer looked over, pulling herself out of one of her own memories as she set up one of the corner lamps they'd brought with them from their old flat, surprised to see her sister's lashes moisten with tears. 

"Don't cry Molls, come on," she wiped her own eyes before striding over to hug her. 

"Sorry, I just didn't think I'd remember much," the younger girl tried to explain.

"Well, you were six. Some of it was bound to have made an impression," Jennifer reasoned, going through her hair to comfort her. She simply nodded in response. "Let's leave the rest for tomorrow okay. It's been a long day," she suggested now, as she let go of her. 

"Yeah good idea, I'm beat," Molly nodded, mostly from complaining and being frustrated but hey, she was exhausted nonetheless. "Night," she said, giving her sister one last hug before heading in the kitchen to get a glass of water to bring with her. She then plodded back past the living room to her bedroom, which was at the back of the house with its own access to the decking. Her parents had never bothered locking that side door, but she made sure it was before she closed her bedroom door, leaving her sister alone in the living room. 

Jennifer sighed as she set about locking all the doors and turning the lights off before she headed upstairs. She too remembered no one around here felt the need to lock their doors, but like her younger sister she was too used to making sure they were. 

Molly took her first trip into town by bike the next morning, to see if she could find an internet café so she could send her friends an email. She'd rather just chat for hours but figured that wouldn't be possible and other people would want to use the computer too. So she settled for a really long email in which she made it clear that she wouldn't have any internet access for the coming week unless she came back into town. She also complained about the noises that kept her up for the first three hours last night. Sirens, cars, people, she was used to. Crickets, owls and howling coyotes, she was not. She ended it with the hope that they would come visit her soon, seeing as the phone signal was also rather crappy. 

She then wandered through town a bit, to see what kind of shops and restaurants they might have. She was just about to turn back to get her bike when a set of dark blue cowboy boots caught her eye in the window of the Three Sisters Boutique. And the best thing was, they were on sale so Jennifer couldn't even really have a go at her. Molly decided that now would be the best time to get a couple of pairs of jeans and some new shirts as well. She'd hated seeing people stare as she made her way around, knowing they knew that she was new here. The sooner she at least looked like a local, the better. 

By the time she got back to the house, Jennifer had finished cleaning the house and the third empty bedroom. They would now be ready for their furniture and other things to arrive from Phoenix tomorrow. "Did you have to spend money on clothes? Don't you have enough clothes?" she complained when she saw her younger sister walk in with a couple of bags. 

"Not here, I don't," Molly said initially, getting a grumpy look back. 

"They arrive tomorrow. You do not need to buy new clothes for a day," Jennifer pointed out, chucking one of the cleaning rags at her.

"Yes I do. Look at these boots, aren't they the cutest? And they were half-off," she retaliated, taking the boots out of the bag. 

Her sister's look softened a little. "Okay fine, I can forgive the boots. What about the rest?" she asked. 

"To go with the boots. Apart from maybe a couple of dresses, I don't have anything that could go with them. And even here, even you wouldn't want me to look like some retard city girl that can't even dress country, would you?" Molly tried to play the guilt card. If her sister wanted to make this work, then she'd need to feel like she fit in. And the clothes were a first step to that. 

"You really are somethin', you know that?" Jennifer said begrudgingly, seeing her sister break into a smile, sensing victory. "But, when those clothes arrive tomorrow, you can get rid of some okay? See if we can sell them in a boot sale or give them to charity. You got it?" she continued before her sister could start celebrating. 

"Grrr," Molly responded initially. "Fine, I'll go through my clothes when they get here," she conceded, holding her hand out to shake on it. 

"Good doin' business with ya," Jennifer said with a wink and her old Texan accent, making her sister roll her eyes before she headed into her room to get changed. She wanted to try out some combos.