I picked at the left over orange sherbet my dad left out on the table this morning. I allowed the soft, tangy cream to cool my palette as I waited in anticipation for Sabrina to arrive after her long summer away.
My dad felt that sending my twin sister off for 3 months was convenient for the family and the drastic changes that occurred prior to her leaving. I couldn't blame him for the brash decision, but being separated from my other half for so long was a bit inconsiderate. My feelings in the matter, however, were last on his priority list.
As I stood up from my chair to toss away the empty carton of sherbet, my solitude was interrupted by my stepmother Nicole.
"Oh hi Nicky, I didn't see you there," I said.
"Didn't mean to sneak up on you," she replied apologetically. "I came in here to get the coffee I made. You want some?"
"No thanks, I just stuffed my face with sherbet."
"Sounds like a nutritious breakfast," she teased.
"Says the person drinking coffee for breakfast." I smiled. "And at least my sherbet has orange in it. That's a good source of Vitamin C you know."
She chuckled at my logic and took a seat at the table with her coffee. I followed suit and sat down beside her.
"I'm guessing you can't wait to see your sis, huh Sophie?"
I shrugged. "Yeah I miss her," I said casually, disguising the true longing in my voice. In actuality I missed her so much that I woke up hours earlier than normal and had been counting down the days when she would come.
I'm sure Nicole noted that, but she didn't comment on it.
She remained silent for a moment before speaking again. "I hope she adjusts well when she gets back."
I gave her an empathetic look. I felt her sincerity and anxiety at the same time. Being a newly married wife and a step-mother to two teenage girls was sure to be a challenge for anyone. However my sister Sabrina definitely made it more difficult for Nicole. In the two brief months Nicole and my father dated, Sabrina didn't fail to express her dislike for their relationship. The wedding day was also less than blissful with the lack of support from the family and guests, especially Sabrina. My dad found a costly solution to relocate her for the time being so things wouldn't be too uncomfortable for my stepmother's first months here. While my twin sister traveled the world, stayed with relatives, and went to cheer camp, I spent my summer months at home befriending my new stepmother.
"Don't worry Nicole," I cajoled, standing up from my chair to take another peek at the window. "Sabrina will adjust well and she'll like you as much as I do."
Nicole seemed to relax a little more after that.
I left the kitchen to be on the look out for Sabrina. To my surprise they were already outside, approaching the front door.
"Oh look Nicky, they're here!" I squealed in excitement.
Nicole hopped up from her chair and joined me beside the front door. There was a mixture of happiness and anxiousness in her face, but I knew she was ecstatic to see my dad.
Our quiet house suddenly boomed with cheerful noises as my dad and sister stepped in.
Sabrina plopped her luggage on the floor and ran into my arms. "Sophie!!"
"Brina!" I laughed with glee at her tight embrace. "Try to let me breathe a little please!"
"No, I'm never letting you go!"
My dad chuckled heartily, gently tugging Sabrina to the side. "Go pack your stuff in the room Brina so we all can go out to IHop."
"Yay," I exclaimed, psyched to leave the house. "I'll help her pack." I eagerly grabbed her bags and rushed off with my arms full to our room.
After dumping Sabrina's belongings on her side of the room, I skipped back over to join everyone. Instead of seeing them in the foyer, they were gathered in the kitchen having a discussion. Sabrina was facing Dad and Nicole in an aloof manner. That's when knew a conflict was coming on.
I approached the situation carefully, standing far in corner. If things got too rowdy I could innocently interrupt.
"You apologize right now." My father's voice was icy with warning.
Sabrina tilted her chin in insolence. "All I said was 'why are you here'? There was nothing rude about it. I still don't see how you can marry someone you hardly know."
Nicole hung her head, as if intimidated by her. I instantly sympathized with her and drew in closer to intercede.
The expression in my dad's face was so cold that fire couldn't melt it. His steady voice lost constraint and rose in volume. "I am not going to let you treat Nicole the way you did-"
"-Evan it's okay honey," Nicole said in desperation to avoid an argument. "She is just adjusting that's all."
"I can never adjust to the idea of some random chick taking the place of my mother," Sabrina spat, looking towards her direction. "I can't get used to you. Sorry."
Dad angrily stepped forward, but Nicole held him back. "Please Evan, don't!"
I helped her hold him.
He pointed his finger directly at my sister in reprimand. "Listen you little brat, if you can't respect my wife, then you can't live here. I will send you away for the whole school year if I have to!"
"Fine! My luggage is already packed, I don't have any problem moving. Since you rather keep Mrs. Ross over there than your own daughter, that's cool with me!" Sabrina stormed out of the kitchen in frenzy.
The rest of us stood in silence, trying to digest what just happened.
My father was still clearly very upset. "I can get my sister Rachael on the phone to see if she will take Sabrina in."
"But Dad," I said.
"Quiet Sophie. This is my decision and I am sticking to it."
"No Evan, please don't do that," Nicole pleaded. "She'll just hate me even more. I can deal with her, it's no problem."
He let out a huge sigh and rubbed his temples in agitation. "I need to think this over some more. We can go to IHop some other time. I'm not in the mood today." He moodily walked away, leaving Nicole and I alone.
Nicole still looked shook by the whole matter. I soon began to wonder if she could really deal with this all of the time; being confronted and being the cause of tension between my sister and my dad.
I put aside my doubts of her fortitude and consoled her. "I'm really sorry Nicky. Sabrina was way out of line."
"Thanks for the support Sophie." She managed to crack a half smile, that just as quickly diminished. "I'm starting to think my mother was right all along about marrying Evan. Don't get me wrong, I love you and him both...but Sabrina...sort of makes it hard."
I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Sabrina has been through a lot. Don't worry, I'll work on her. In the meanwhile you just prove your mother wrong."
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
I let Sabrina have it as soon as I got in the room. "What is wrong with you? Why do you want to stress Dad out like this?"
Sabrina let out a sardonic laugh as she unpacked. "Stress him out? What about me? What about us? What would possess a well-to-do business man to wife up a stripper?"
"She was a burlesque dancer, not a stripper. Big difference."
"Sure she is. But when the tips dropped to the ground, so did the clothes. There is no difference."
"That still doesn't mean you have to disrespect her or Dad," I chided. "She spent the whole summer worrying if you would accept her or not. Why can't you?"
Sabrina sighed. I noted that her anger began simmer down a little bit. That was a good thing for me, because I could reason with her in a calmer state.
"I'm sorry to be such a pain Sophie," she started, "but you can not blame for feeling the way I do. They only dated for two months and got married in our living room, with her stuck up family there to make things worse. Everything was just wrong."
"Yes it was pretty bad on Dad's part not to tell us ahead of time," I agreed. "But Nicole is really a sweet person. Just get to know her Brina."
She shrugged begrudgingly. "It's not gonna be easy you know. Dad hates me because of her."
"Not true."
"Oh yeah? Why did he send me away this summer?"
I rolled my eyes. "At least you got to go places. Hawaii, cheer camp in Pleasant View, Bridgeport, the list goes on. I was stuck here all summer. Alone."
Sabrina frowned. "I'm sorry Sophie for leaving you here by yourself. I guess I was so mad at everything that I didn't try to work things out and deal with Nicole. I didn't even try to convince Dad to take you with me." She heaved another sigh stood up from her chair.
I watched her dig in one of her suitcases for a few moments before she pulled out a perfectly wrapped box.
My curiosity got a hold of me. "What's that?"
She approached me with a smile. "A gift I bought you. It was going to be my surprise."
"Oh wow." I eyed the box in pleasant surprise, and eagerly reached out for it. I tore at the wrapper and opened up a book set of the Ladee Cores series. "Oh my gosh Brina, thank you!"
I placed the book set on the sofa and bear hugged her.
She gasped, "Okay okay, too much love. Let go."
I released her, still hardly containing my excitement. "Your the best Sis."
She playfully nudged me. "So are you. Do you want to hear about my summer?"
"Sure, like you haven't told me already."
"Well I haven't told you about cheer camp. See this is what happened....."
END....until next time :)
