Thursday, August 28, 2008

Love Letter

It was storming. Lightening flashed through the little hand painted curtains in the breakfast nook and I picked up another one of Nana's cheese straws, crunched down hard, and spyed intently over her shoulder. She had the winning hand. She scooped up the pennies, nickels, dimes with her knotty oak tree hands and slid them to the tables edge. "Penelope" she beamed. I scribbled it on the yellow legal pad under her name. She was winning. Penelope was right behind Prudence. We were naming a baby.....

And then she was here. I wore patent leather shoes and was in charge of Kimbies in the lobby. Curty Boy was with Nana at home....waiting. Every magazine had a Norman Rockwell picture on the back. Kimbies stood with her face pressed against the glass of the dirty aquarium. She stood on her tip toes, stretched, wanted to put her fingers in the green water and "pet" the fish. I wouldn't let her. I knew that she would scoop one up and bring it home to sleep with her in the pink princess bed and in the morning Robbie would flush it down the toilet. I let her stare while I did whirly twirls on the hospital terazza, scuffing up their buff job and my patent leathers. They didn't let us see her....but the nurse with the cardboard cap came out and told us we had a sister and that our Mommy said "I've had this baby before"..... We jumped up and hooped and hollered, spun in tired circles....having no idea whatsoever what that meant....

"She looks just like you" Mom whispered to me on the phone, the eldest, in charge of getting the hoo~hah, and I beamed. When they brought her home five days later, I stared. Chinese eyes, wild black hair with static electricity.....fists punching the air, feet kicking. At night I would do my homework, scribble on my notebook, brush my teeth, say my prayers, and then sneak down the hall to stare at her......"the baby just like me, so different....I've had this baby before"....

There were ten years between us. She cooed, I said "cool". She crawled, I scrambled on my Sting Ray bike. She tried vienna sausages, I tried raw oysters. She pitched fits, I pitched girlscout tents....

And then it became a blur.....
My teenage years, Kimbies, Curts, hers....Chanty's
Our lives pretzeled, circled, quilted...

And we grew up.

Peace~love
"I've had this baby before" she whispered....

8 comments:

skinnylittleblonde said...

hahahaha...you tickle me sister! I rememeber you moved out when I was in 3rd grade & we moved here, then there, then over yonder, then half way back & then up there & back again.
Ten years later it was like a reunion...you & I, two sisters at the foot of Grannies bed...both wearing the same jeans, same shoes and me pulling stuff out of my hobo bag & you...'Oh! I have that same exact eye shadow'...'OMG, Look I have that exact shirt...right here!' , 'No Way! I am reading the same book!'
And again, at the beach just this summer...three sisters & this time, two nieces...all reading the same book.
Miles apart & snugged together at the seawall...the circle binds us.
xoxoxox

kj said...

*sniff*. reading this is a precious secret entry into the inner bonds of two sisters protected by deep love.

Shimmerrings said...

... one...

~Babs said...

Selfishly, I love this post, as it brings back so many memories from my own childhood.
The arrival of the sisters.
The excitement!
And, as you say,,,ten years and yet NO time between us at all.
And I loved Skinny's comment: 3 sisters and 2 nieces,,,all reading the same book.
One mind, one heart.
I find it amazing,,,,,,

Maithri said...

And wild love
grew

and signed
her name eloquently

on circles
within circles

across the heart
of the world

And all who saw
them

recognised the
invincible sisterhood
as a reflection

of the love
that lives

in the spaces

which peace
has touched,

Loving you, loving you all,

M

i beati said...

i loved this you two are true peas..4 years my sister and me

SHE said...

singtome: your gift and your love sure shine through in this post

brilliant, wonderful, magnetic writing

love all around! and peace always,
~s.

singleton said...

skinny....And it's those 4:30 in the morning phone calls that still get me! Hellllllo! Tink! ILYSVVFM! How in the world could I have gone 10 years without you?

KJ....I think there is nothin' like sisters....the three of us...Unconditional!

Shimmerings...yes, One! The circle....

Babs....And isn't that funny that it is what it is....Sister Love? The most amazing thing....And here, in our family, our circle, that doesn't always mean bloodlines, but spirits...

love...that priceless umbilical tether.....

Jennie....Girl, I think you're spamming me! But, carry on....Meanwhile, in Florida we eat oysters in any R month....and the rest of the time, we eat 'em smoked!

Ibeati....And your two peas too! Kimbies and I are four years....and no years! Love grows and grows and grows!

She...Much love friend and I know you know the feeling...I've listened closely....

And jsyk....Haley wants to order from you....but when we went to the website, it was members only....Help us out, please!

Peace~love sweet friends,
it's been cuckoo here lately....
And,
have I mentioned,
muddy?