Sand Castles
Two.
June 17, 1994
Lucy reached out her tiny hand and grabbed hold of Michael's larger one. "I'm scared," she said quietly, staring at the pool in front of them. She watched as the other children, kids her own age, Michael's age, and some much older than the both of them, played in the water. Her eyes widened as one boy dunked his friend beneath the surface with a smile on his face.
"There's nothing to be scared of, Lucy Jane," Michael said. He smiled at her, then led her to the steps that opened up into the pool. With each step forward, she tightened her grip on his hand.
As soon as her feet were underwater, the little girl let go of Michael's hand and latched onto the railing of the steps. She glanced over to the chairs in which their mothers were seated, then back at her friend. "Michael, wait!" But he didn't.
Michael walked forward into the water, facing Lucy when it was waist deep. That same smile was still turning his lips up at the corners. He beckoned her forward. Even with her wings, though, she was frightened. Michael cocked his head to side and reached his hands out for her. "C'mon, Lucy," he said, "you know I won't let anything bad happen to you."
Lucy stepped forward.
Present
Bedsprings creaking, tiny footsteps pattering over carpet, and the squeak of an old door hinge. These were the sounds that Lucy Jane woke up to every morning. Then, after a few moments, there would be a dip in her own bed and a pressure on her side, announcing that Jadey was awake and required her aunt's attention. Lucy would roll over, fingers moving quickly over the girl's side as she tickled her.
Jadey giggled, gasping for air and swatting at Lucy's hands. "Good morning," she said.
Lucy stopped tickling her and sat her up so that they were facing one another on the crumpled bedspread. "Good morning," she replied. "What are we doing today? Gymnastics?"
Jadey shook her head.
"Dance?"
"Nope."
"Swim practice?"
"It's Thursday, Auntie!" Jadey exclaimed.
Thursday was the one day of the week that neither Lucy nor Jadey had anything on their schedules. Jadey had gymnastics Monday through Wednesday, dance class on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, and swim practice Saturday and Sunday. Lucy worked Friday through Tuesday at a café only a few blocks from the apartment. Thursdays were their days. Sometimes they went out early in the morning to rent movies, which they would then watch all day, other times they stayed in and read together, and, on very rare occasions, when Lucy had saved up enough money, they went to plays or other such special events that took place in the city.
"That's right," Lucy smiled. "So what do you want to do today, little miss?" She poked Jadey in the stomach.
The little girl tapped her chin, donning a very contemplative expression. "Can we look at Mama's stuff?"
Lucy wrapped her arm around Jadey and squeezed her once. "Of course we can."
At the back of the shelf in her closet, behind her own boxes of documents and pictures, Lucy kept a box full of her sister's things.
Almost three years previously, while driving home from a New Year's Eve party, Lucy Jane's sister Megan and brother-in-law Andy were killed. A drunk driver hit them head-on. Andy was killed on impact, while Megan lived for two days after the accident. Before succumbing to her injuries, she made Lucy promise to take care of Jadey. Their mother had tried to tell her that she didn't need to take on such a responsibility, but Lucy wasn't hearing it. She had made a promise and she wasn't the type of person to break one. She knew it would be hard, but she was fully prepared to take it on.
"This is my favorite," Jadey said, holding a picture of her parents up so that her aunt could see it.
Lucy grabbed hold of the photo so that she could see it better. It was from Megan and Andy's wedding day. Lucy had kept most of their wedding shots, the ones they'd taken from their home after the accident, for herself. This one was a candid shot. Lucy remembered the scene it captured perfectly. Just before toasts started, Andy had leaned over and whispered something into Megan's ear and she had started laughing, laying her head on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth was open wide in a grin while Andy stared down at her with a crooked smile. "That's a very lovely one," she agreed.
Jadey sat the photograph down in front of her lap, staring down at it intently. "I miss them," she said after awhile.
"I know you do, sweetheart." Lucy pushed the girl's messy hair out of her face.
"You miss them, too, don't you?" She looked up at Lucy.
Lucy nodded. "Every day of my life."
Later, when Lucy had put Jadey to bed and cleaned up the messes they'd managed to make throughout the day, she returned to her room. On her bed sat the box of Megan's things. She and Jadey had gone back to it at different intervals, reading the notes Megan was so famous for leaving for Andy when she left for work early in the mornings, looking at her childhood photos and family pictures of the three of them together. Jadey had asked to keep the picture she'd deemed as her favorite in her bedroom with her. Lucy couldn't say no.
She sat down on her bed, turning on the t.v. for background noise and crossing her legs. Criss-cross applesauce, as Jadey would say. Lucy sometimes wondered what they were teaching in schools these days.
At the top of the pile in the box was a wedding photo album that Jadey had been looking at while Lucy showered. When Megan and Andy got married, Lucy was only 14. But still, out of all of her old high school friends and the friends she'd made in college, Lucy was the one her sister chose as her Maid of Honor. She was the first one, even before their mother, whom Megan told of their engagement. Though they were more than ten years apart, Megan and Lucy were close; much closer than most siblings with such an age gap were.
The photo album contained many photos, both professional and otherwise. On the tables the couple put disposable cameras for their friends and family to take pictures with. Many of those pictures, taken by drunk friends in the late hours of the reception, had been thrown out, or at least put in a different storage box.
The first few pages were group shots of the entire bridal party, growing smaller and smaller as the photos went on. First, everyone in a serious pose, then everyone with silly faces. Second, only the bride with her bridesmaids. Serious and silly. Repeat with the groom and his groomsmen. The bride with the groomsmen, and vice versa. Though she did love all of the candid shots that had been taken, Lucy's favorite was the one of Megan and herself that Megan had snuck when all of the other bridesmaids were inside of the reception hall.
Megan was taller than Lucy. Almost everyone was. Even presently, at the age of twenty-three, she was still the same height as she had been then. The height difference was only made clearer by the fact that Megan was wearing heels and Lucy had taken her shoes off hours before. They looked alike, as most siblings do. But Lucy could never match the glow that was coming off of her sister. Their arms were wrapped around each other, their helds tilted inwards. Lucy remembered after the picture was taken, one of the clips in her hair had gotten caught on one of the clips in Megan's, and their mother had had to run out and help them before there was a real crisis. She would never forget the sound of Megan's laugh when they went to pull apart and were stuck together by their hair.
There was one specific picture that Lucy was looking for. She knew it was in the album. She'd seen it when Megan had showed her the album so many years ago, and she knew every detail about it. She had her own copy somewhere in one of her boxes and had spent countless hours, what seemed like millenia ago, staring at it with tear-stained eyes.
After almost half an hour looking for it, she found the photograph. Her heart clenched and she felt tears prick the back of her eyes. Before she could get too worked up about it, she slammed the photo album shut, throwing it back into the box. She picked the box up, got off of her bed, and pushed it to the back of the closet where it had been collecting dust since the last time Jadey had asked to see it.
As she fell asleep that night, Lucy couldn't push the image of Michael and herself, his arms wrapped around her waist and her head on his chest in embarrassment as he joked to her about something only his 17-year-old boy mind could find funny, out of her head.
Lucy reached out her tiny hand and grabbed hold of Michael's larger one. "I'm scared," she said quietly, staring at the pool in front of them. She watched as the other children, kids her own age, Michael's age, and some much older than the both of them, played in the water. Her eyes widened as one boy dunked his friend beneath the surface with a smile on his face.
"There's nothing to be scared of, Lucy Jane," Michael said. He smiled at her, then led her to the steps that opened up into the pool. With each step forward, she tightened her grip on his hand.
As soon as her feet were underwater, the little girl let go of Michael's hand and latched onto the railing of the steps. She glanced over to the chairs in which their mothers were seated, then back at her friend. "Michael, wait!" But he didn't.
Michael walked forward into the water, facing Lucy when it was waist deep. That same smile was still turning his lips up at the corners. He beckoned her forward. Even with her wings, though, she was frightened. Michael cocked his head to side and reached his hands out for her. "C'mon, Lucy," he said, "you know I won't let anything bad happen to you."
Lucy stepped forward.
Present
Bedsprings creaking, tiny footsteps pattering over carpet, and the squeak of an old door hinge. These were the sounds that Lucy Jane woke up to every morning. Then, after a few moments, there would be a dip in her own bed and a pressure on her side, announcing that Jadey was awake and required her aunt's attention. Lucy would roll over, fingers moving quickly over the girl's side as she tickled her.
Jadey giggled, gasping for air and swatting at Lucy's hands. "Good morning," she said.
Lucy stopped tickling her and sat her up so that they were facing one another on the crumpled bedspread. "Good morning," she replied. "What are we doing today? Gymnastics?"
Jadey shook her head.
"Dance?"
"Nope."
"Swim practice?"
"It's Thursday, Auntie!" Jadey exclaimed.
Thursday was the one day of the week that neither Lucy nor Jadey had anything on their schedules. Jadey had gymnastics Monday through Wednesday, dance class on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, and swim practice Saturday and Sunday. Lucy worked Friday through Tuesday at a café only a few blocks from the apartment. Thursdays were their days. Sometimes they went out early in the morning to rent movies, which they would then watch all day, other times they stayed in and read together, and, on very rare occasions, when Lucy had saved up enough money, they went to plays or other such special events that took place in the city.
"That's right," Lucy smiled. "So what do you want to do today, little miss?" She poked Jadey in the stomach.
The little girl tapped her chin, donning a very contemplative expression. "Can we look at Mama's stuff?"
Lucy wrapped her arm around Jadey and squeezed her once. "Of course we can."
At the back of the shelf in her closet, behind her own boxes of documents and pictures, Lucy kept a box full of her sister's things.
Almost three years previously, while driving home from a New Year's Eve party, Lucy Jane's sister Megan and brother-in-law Andy were killed. A drunk driver hit them head-on. Andy was killed on impact, while Megan lived for two days after the accident. Before succumbing to her injuries, she made Lucy promise to take care of Jadey. Their mother had tried to tell her that she didn't need to take on such a responsibility, but Lucy wasn't hearing it. She had made a promise and she wasn't the type of person to break one. She knew it would be hard, but she was fully prepared to take it on.
"This is my favorite," Jadey said, holding a picture of her parents up so that her aunt could see it.
Lucy grabbed hold of the photo so that she could see it better. It was from Megan and Andy's wedding day. Lucy had kept most of their wedding shots, the ones they'd taken from their home after the accident, for herself. This one was a candid shot. Lucy remembered the scene it captured perfectly. Just before toasts started, Andy had leaned over and whispered something into Megan's ear and she had started laughing, laying her head on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth was open wide in a grin while Andy stared down at her with a crooked smile. "That's a very lovely one," she agreed.
Jadey sat the photograph down in front of her lap, staring down at it intently. "I miss them," she said after awhile.
"I know you do, sweetheart." Lucy pushed the girl's messy hair out of her face.
"You miss them, too, don't you?" She looked up at Lucy.
Lucy nodded. "Every day of my life."
---
Later, when Lucy had put Jadey to bed and cleaned up the messes they'd managed to make throughout the day, she returned to her room. On her bed sat the box of Megan's things. She and Jadey had gone back to it at different intervals, reading the notes Megan was so famous for leaving for Andy when she left for work early in the mornings, looking at her childhood photos and family pictures of the three of them together. Jadey had asked to keep the picture she'd deemed as her favorite in her bedroom with her. Lucy couldn't say no.
She sat down on her bed, turning on the t.v. for background noise and crossing her legs. Criss-cross applesauce, as Jadey would say. Lucy sometimes wondered what they were teaching in schools these days.
At the top of the pile in the box was a wedding photo album that Jadey had been looking at while Lucy showered. When Megan and Andy got married, Lucy was only 14. But still, out of all of her old high school friends and the friends she'd made in college, Lucy was the one her sister chose as her Maid of Honor. She was the first one, even before their mother, whom Megan told of their engagement. Though they were more than ten years apart, Megan and Lucy were close; much closer than most siblings with such an age gap were.
The photo album contained many photos, both professional and otherwise. On the tables the couple put disposable cameras for their friends and family to take pictures with. Many of those pictures, taken by drunk friends in the late hours of the reception, had been thrown out, or at least put in a different storage box.
The first few pages were group shots of the entire bridal party, growing smaller and smaller as the photos went on. First, everyone in a serious pose, then everyone with silly faces. Second, only the bride with her bridesmaids. Serious and silly. Repeat with the groom and his groomsmen. The bride with the groomsmen, and vice versa. Though she did love all of the candid shots that had been taken, Lucy's favorite was the one of Megan and herself that Megan had snuck when all of the other bridesmaids were inside of the reception hall.
Megan was taller than Lucy. Almost everyone was. Even presently, at the age of twenty-three, she was still the same height as she had been then. The height difference was only made clearer by the fact that Megan was wearing heels and Lucy had taken her shoes off hours before. They looked alike, as most siblings do. But Lucy could never match the glow that was coming off of her sister. Their arms were wrapped around each other, their helds tilted inwards. Lucy remembered after the picture was taken, one of the clips in her hair had gotten caught on one of the clips in Megan's, and their mother had had to run out and help them before there was a real crisis. She would never forget the sound of Megan's laugh when they went to pull apart and were stuck together by their hair.
There was one specific picture that Lucy was looking for. She knew it was in the album. She'd seen it when Megan had showed her the album so many years ago, and she knew every detail about it. She had her own copy somewhere in one of her boxes and had spent countless hours, what seemed like millenia ago, staring at it with tear-stained eyes.
After almost half an hour looking for it, she found the photograph. Her heart clenched and she felt tears prick the back of her eyes. Before she could get too worked up about it, she slammed the photo album shut, throwing it back into the box. She picked the box up, got off of her bed, and pushed it to the back of the closet where it had been collecting dust since the last time Jadey had asked to see it.
As she fell asleep that night, Lucy couldn't push the image of Michael and herself, his arms wrapped around her waist and her head on his chest in embarrassment as he joked to her about something only his 17-year-old boy mind could find funny, out of her head.