It's All So Bittersweet
#3
A novelette by Ian Rose Castro
![Copy of Correct Wraparound Covers.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/58f109_beb522a2c62349048f034a2ee945093c~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_398,h_616,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Copy%20of%20Correct%20Wraparound%20Covers.jpg)
Meg and Kevin Reilly have thrown an amazing sweet sixteen party for their daughter Jo… but she has to share it with her half-sister Elena, who doesn’t even want to be there. Meg just wants everything to be perfect for the girls, but her marriage is on the rocks, Kevin and Elena have barely spoken in months, and Jo is hiding a big secret from the rest of the family. Can they keep the peace and find some common ground or will this night be a complete disaster?
Elena does not appreciate how important a girl’s sweet sixteen is, not even after my parents decided that this party would be honoring her as well. I understand why they did that. When we first started planning it, they didn’t know they would have a second daughter turning sixteen in the same year. It was too late (and probably too expensive) to pull together a second event only a few months later. She probably wouldn’t have even wanted her own party anyway. She definitely doesn’t want to be involved in this one, but my mom insisted that she be included. So my sweet sixteen became our sweet sixteen.