Re-

Lisa was sitting at her wooden desk, with her typewriter sitting in front of her. She was racking her brain for ideas. Ever since her retelling of Rapunzel blew up, Lisa didn't get any time to herself. It was book signings, events, and even meetings with directors for the potential movie version of When Will My Life Begin? She was excited, sure, but Lisa was growing tired. She was about to give up and go for a cup of coffee in her kitchen when the phone rang.

"Elizabeth," I heard my mother's voice.

"Boy, I haven't heard that name in a long time," she got up and walked to the kitchen. Lisa began making herself a coffee, her fourth one today, as she listens to her mother babble about this Thanksgiving. All Lisa did was mumble 'yeahs' and 'mhm.'

"So what do you think?" Catherine's voice was full of energy. Lisa was pouring sugar into the coffee while thinking: What could she possibly have asked me that I couldn't say yes to?

"Sure," Catherine clapped.

The mother was smiling. "Great, I'll book a flight right now," Lisa stopped dead in her tracks. Never agree to anything, she thought to herself.

"Mom I-"

"Elizabeth I found a plane for tomorrow at 6 AM, get your bags ready," and with that, Catherine hung up. Lisa drank her coffee in one gulp and started packing.

.....

By Saturday, Lisa was in her parents' small, crowded house. She was wearing a red, wool sweater that Aunt Judy made and black leggings, all complete with leg warmers from Uncle Barty, which came as the same color as his wife's present.

Catherine and Robert were beyond happy their daughter was home. They invited everyone they knew, but for some of them, the people that knew Cat and Rob asked to be invited. The couple didn't know why. They didn't know the night was meant for chaos.

"Tell us a story!" A group of small children roared at Lisa. Her head ached with a migrane and the need to sleep.

The kids belonged to family friends. They were seated around the tree, staring at the presents and begging for stories. Lisa couldn't do any work at her desk, and she sure as hell couldn't do any work here.

"Fine," Lisa sighed. She ran her hand through her curly hair and got an idea. "Once upon a time, there was a girl named Rapunzel-"

"I KNOW THAT STORY!" A little redheaded girl screamed. "NEW STORY!" Lisa had the urge to put the girl in her place, but didn't.

"Well this is a different version," Lisa said through her teeth. "Rapunzel met her prince, and he..." the author was looking for the words to use, and it was especially hard, since it was children who were listening. "Never mind, new story."

"WE WANT A STORY!" the same girl cried.

"Well I want a story too, but life ain't fair!" the little girl began to cry and Lisa immediately began to sweat. She wasn't good with children. A woman in black ran over and picked up the crying girl.

"I'm so sorry Ms. Lisa Marthou, she gets like this," the woman bounced her daughter on her knee.

"It's my fault,"

"No no no, it's fine," the woman smiled warmly and waited a beat. "Can I have your autograph?" Lisa groaned and picked up a spare napkin and pen. She signed it and threw it at the woman before storming out.

.....

Catherine was worried about her daughter. But also ashamed. Just an autograph and she blows up. The mother was debating following her hotheaded girl, but instead went and began to talk with Marie.

"How's the art shop, Marie?" Cat practically yelled this, partially to flaunt that her daughters were both doing well and to raise sales at the Bonne.

"It's good mom," Marie chuckled before taking a sip of champagne.

The two sisters are polar opposites. Lisa's older, by three years. She's reserved. Lisa has curly brown hair that's always kept in an untidy bun. Lisa wore glasses with black rims. Her green eyes highlighted her face. She rarely wore makeup, and when she did, it was red lipstick and a bit of eyeliner.

Marie was different. She had platinum hair, and nobody could ever get it out of her that it was dyed, even though it was. Marie had pale skin, but it was hidden by blush and eyeshadow. She had extravagant earrings popping out of her hair.

"Can you go talk to Elizabeth?" Catherine asked. Marie struggled with her answer. Lisa and Marie didn't get along, to say the least.

"Ask Logan," Marie walked away after mentioning her brother. Not as creative, but way more logical, Logan was a force to be reckoned with. The least expressive of all her children, Catherine didn't feel like talking to him. Of course she loved him very much, but if she had problems she'd go to her daughters, and if Logan had problems, he'd find his father or a therapist.

"Marie!" Cat tried to keep her daughter close to her, but the artist got lost in the small crowd.

Catherine began wondering if she should just go check on Lisa. If it took this much work to find someone else to do it, she thought. But before she could leave, she bumped into her son.

"Mom," Logan smiled.

"Logan!" Catherine tried to match his enthusiasm. "How is... life?"

"Fine. I'm actually heading out and I wanted to say goodbye to Lisa, do you know where she is?"

.....

Lisa found a beer in the fridge and took it outside. She looked up at the stars. It seemed as if they were spelling big failure. She'd been working her whole life to get rid of the autism, but she was a ticking time bomb in her mind. She'll end up exploding.

"Hey, Betty," Lisa turned to find her brother. While she preferred being called Lisa, Logan only called her Betty.

"Hi," Logan sat down next to his younger sister. "You want a sip?" Lisa offered.

"Yes please," Logan took the beer and drank. "Mom is suffocating me."

"This house is suffocating me," Lisa only half joked.

"And you know what we do when that happens," Logan pursed his lips into a wide grin.

.....

They got Marie before heading to the car. And when they got in the car, they didn't stop driving. They were going to the one place that makes things better. The cupcake shoppe.

Ever since Logan was sixteen, Lisa fourteen, and Marie eleven, they went to the cupcake shoppe. Every time their parents annoyed them or something had them down.

The shoppe hadn't changed. Lisa half expected to find Athena, the waitress, waiting for them with three menus in hand. Instead, she found her mother, holding three menus in her hand.

"I love you," she began to cry.