Hi! It’s me again! Lily! She of the many exclamation points!
So of course it can’t be as easy as just saying “we’re sisters now”. After I wrote the post, I took a shower, and when I got out Beth was waiting for me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to her room. We sat down next to each other on her bed. I’d never really seen her bedroom before – it looked very much like you would imagine a fourteen year old girl’s bedroom would look. It had a surprising amount of books, though. I didn’t know she was that studious.
She looked nervous, though.
“Umm,” she said quietly. “About last night…”
I just looked at her confused.
“I’ve been mean to you. I’m sorry. But you didn’t say you forgave me. You didn’t say anything at all. I….” she looked down. “I won’t blame you if you don’t. I won’t blame you if… you don’t want to be my sister.”
I was quiet for a while. Many things were running through my head. A part of me did resent her a bit for how she treated me. But a part of me knew that I had come into their family and just blew everything into little tiny pieces.
Finally I thought I had the right words.
“You were mean to me,” I said. “Very mean. You said things to me that you can’t take back easily.”
She lowered her eyes.
“I understand,” she said quietly.
“No, you don’t,” I said. “Because I just came into your life and family and ruined it.”
“You didn’t ruin it!”
“But you thought I did!”, I said, a little forcefully. “Me, a strange girl, taking all of the attention from your mom. You had every right to feel how you did.”
“But -”
“Let me finish,” I said. “You had every right, but you hurt me. Your words hurt. Especially at such an awful time for me.” I went quiet for a while. “But you were young.”
Neither of us trusted ourselves to speak.
“Do you really want me as your sister?”, I said quietly. “Not just anyone, but… me?”
She bit her lower lip. It was strangely cute. It was something she did when she was thinking. I could see the woman that was trying to come out in her still childlike face. Truly a woman-child.
“It’s true I’ve always wanted a sister,” she said. “But I like you. You’re a nice person. And even though I was mean to you, you’ve never treated me badly. I think you’d make a good sister. If you’ll have me. I understand if -“
I launched over and took her in my arms. She went quiet and wrapped her arms around me as well. It was a touching moment, and a tear was threatening in my eye. “I forgive you,” I said. “Life’s too short to hold a grudge.”
I felt her shaking. She was crying! I put my hand on her head and stroked her hair. “Ssssh,” I said quietly. “It’s alright.” I chuckled. “God knows I’ve done enough crying lately.”
I heard her chuckle in between sobs. We released each other and I saw her face. I cupped her cheek with my hand and wiped a tear away with my thumb. “Sister,” I said, quietly.
“Sister,” she said, just as quietly. “Thank you.”
“So what do we do now?”, I said. “I’ve never had a sister.”
“Me neither,” she said, softly. “Will you braid my hair?”
“I don’t know how,” I said.
“I’ll teach you,” she said. “It’s easy.”
Well, it wasn’t easy. But we don’t braid each others’ hair because our hair needs to be braided. She told me all about her life, and I told her about how I felt the last year – leaving her out of it, of course. I was really curious about what it was like to actually remember your childhood, and she was happy to tell me. Finally, her hair inexpertly braided, she hugged me, and went off to meet her friends. Girls gonna girl, of course.
I went downstairs, and Sabby was sitting at the table.
“Everything OK?,” she asked.
I smiled. “Everything’s fine,” I said. “I was just spending time with Beth.”
Sabby looked so happy. “I’m so glad you two are getting along now.”
“I don’t really know how to be a sister,” I said, softly.
“You’ll pick it up,” Sabby said.
I think she’s right. I really think she’s right.
The rest of the day was quiet. I spent some time with Liz, but she had some classes to take, so I just busied myself on my computer for the rest of the day. Maybe it wasn’t the most productive day. But that’s alright. Some days are like that. Some days are perfect just as they are.
Love you all!!! ❤️