THIRTY-TWO

"THEY ARE SO HOPELESS!" Doris breathed in resignation.

Max nodded. "Mmm. Agreed!"

They sat solemnly in their "rendezvous point" reevaluating their life decisions. Whenever they tried to get their parents together, something always went wrong and derailed their plans.

"I never thought matchmaking was this difficult," Max whined disheartenedly. "It always went smoothly when other kids did it in movies." He glanced at his big sister with a pout. "They're never gonna get along, are they?"

Trying to cheer her brother up, Nora said with a grin and a shrug, "Let's look on the bright side. We won the best crafters award."

He glared at her with a look that said, "You think I care about that?"

Nora shifted in her seat, chuckling nervously. "I guess not," she muttered as if reading his mind.

Max dragged his eyes away from her and exhaled profoundly.

She peeked at her brother from the corner of her eyes. He was gazing at something in the distance, absently petting