Gia
“Aren’t you freezing?”
My sister’s question makes me blink back into reality. “Sorry, what?”
Ginny is standing at her back door with her arms pinned tightly across her chest. Her blue sweatshirt matches her joggers. She looks perfectly put together, even though she’s wearing comfy clothes.
Then there’s me. With my ratty T-shirt and baggy sweatpants, I look like I haven’t showered in three days. Well…now that I think about it, I’m not sure I have showered in days.Gross.
“I asked if you were cold. It’s like forty-five degrees out here.”
I shrug. “Colorado gave me a whole new perspective on cold.” I’ve got a fuzzy blanket wrapped around me, so it’s not like I’m out in the elements without something warm.
“Come back inside. Nina’s down for her afternoon nap.”
“I don’t want to talk, Gin.”
“I understand. Come inside anyway. I’ll make us some hot chocolate.”
“Such a mother hen now,” I tease as I get up to follow her inside. In the warm air, I realize that Iwasstarting to get cold. I was just too caught up in my thoughts to notice.
Ginny waves me at the big sectional in her living room while she pads into her kitchen. I can’t see her, but the clanking of pans tells me she actually is going to make hot chocolate. I hope she’s using Mom’s recipe. She always made me and Ginny hot chocolate when we were having a bad day. I have no doubt Ginny is channeling her with this move.
It’s not an unwelcome gesture. I haven’t been myself since I came back to Sonoma a few days ago.
I knew leaving would be hard. I just didn’t think I would be this upset over it.
“Here, G.” Ginny hands me a warm mug and then sits next to me with her own mug tucked into her chest. The nickname has a pang of sadness bolting through me. I miss Lauren and Leah even more than I could express.
The heat from the mug seeps into my body like a hug. I take a careful sip, knowing Ginny hasn’t always been the best at cooking. I can’t hide the surprise on my face. “This is perfect. Thank you.”
“Carson’s been teaching me how to cook. I told him this was the one thing I wanted to be really good at making.”
“Well, you’ve officially nailed it. It tastes just like Mom’s.”
Ginny gets a proud grin on her face that makes me smile back at her. We sit in an easy silence, drinking our chocolate and likely both remembering all the times Mom did this for us when we needed a little boost.
“Remember that time?—”
“Do you remember when?—”
We burst out laughing. Ginny speaks first. “Were you going to ask about that time you, Mom, and I were drinking hot chocolate on the couch, and the three of us started bawling at the ASPCA commercial?”
I start giggling. “Yes. Our cycles had synced, and Dad was horrified.”
“He disappeared for hours. I thought we’d scared him off, but when he came back, he had a million supplies, all of which were our favorites.”
“I’ve never loved him more than after that week. He was such a trooper, staying in the line of fire until we were through it.” He took a lot of hits that week, yet he never wavered in his support for us.
“He set the bar pretty high, didn’t he?”
“And you managed to find a man who has set it even higher for your daughter.” She married our best friend, Carson, this past Christmas. They had a small ceremony with just our family. It was beautiful. I was so proud of Ginny for overcoming her trauma and finally getting everything she deserved.
Ginny’s smile goes gooey. “Yeah, I think I did.”
I set my mug on the end table and scoot over for a cuddle. Ginny sets her cup down and holds her arms open, pulling me in tight against her side.
She doesn’t ask any questions or push me to talk. She just holds me, and to my utter mortification, tears begin to fall without my permission. For the first time since I was a kid, I fall apart in my sister’s arms.
