Those Cabin Fever Days

 "Are you sure you're OK about this?" Jade picked up on Liv's mood when she called her while she was doing laundry. She had her laptop nearby to review notes for a paper she was working on. Yes, she was taking college classes and they had started in full swing. Still, it was an online class.

"Yes," Liv first said about her parents taking in Carmen and Kenny. "No, I hate that someone is in my room..and.." She was silent for a moment. Jade went on with folding another bath towel. "And..and she's that girl Rico is seeing."

"Oh." Jade nodded as if she guessed she could see the problem, yet she was certain Liv had moved on. Evidently, Liv had been living in another world until now. "But just think if you were-"

"No, I don't even want to talk about it," Liv snapped. Soon enough she was asking about Jade's engagement. "When is the big day?"

Jade smiled. "It's hard to say. Sometimes, he wants it to be Valentine's Day. We are thinking of having just a destination wedding. You know, so no one has to bother."

"That's kind of sad, I know your friends want to celebrate with you," Liv said.

"Um, I guess." Jade felt herself thinking, what friends? She hesitated to mention her sister Jewel. "Maybe it's just winter." She talked of the snow and the wind chills then. "Maybe, we just need a winter vacation." Jade did her best to keep upbeat.

It was good to hear how Liv's job was getting better with more pay. "But I still do the dishes," Liv informed her.

"It's a good start," Jade said. "They like you there." She said things were better with her and Dale. "I think we get along, OK." 

"You know, I'm happy for you," Liv said. "It makes me happy to talk to you. I hope you and Ari have a great wedding wherever you are."

Jade thanked her. When she got off the phone, she wondered if it would be a whole year before they decided anything, but she never knew with Ari.