On the morning of Ryan’s wedding, I was fastening the last button on the back of Amelia’s dress when she asked me a question I wasn’t ready for.
“Mom?”
Amelia had stopped the family ceremony, and suddenly everyone was waiting for her.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
She was staring at herself in the mirror, but she wasn’t looking at the dress.
“If Dad marries Aunt Lina, is she still Aunt Lina?”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
Amelia frowned. “Even if she keeps saying she’ll be my bonus mom?”
I took a hard gulp.
“If Dad marries Aunt Lina, is she still Aunt Lina?”
“She’s still your aunt.”
Amelia nodded slowly.
“And you’re still her sister?”
I had to look away.
I couldn’t answer that.
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She thought about what she’d asked for another few seconds.
Then she picked up the little white gift bag Lina had sent over for her and said, “Okay.”
“And you’re still her sister?”
Something about that “okay” stayed with me after my mother arrived.
***
Mom looked me up and down. “You’re really staying home?”
“I already told you I was.”
Mom sighed loudly.
“Annie, this bitterness has gone on long enough. Lina is your sister.”
I looked at her.
“Annie, this bitterness has gone on long enough. Lina is your sister.”
