However, this bond does not need blood lines to exist…
Jo has a daughter. All- American good looks. Feisty. Loyal. Affectionate.
Oh, and opinionated.
Maria and I immediately claimed her as our friend and she did the same with us. We were always together…talking, playing “college girls”, spying on our parents, talking, bossing the boys around, talking, performing dance recitals, and fort building. And did I mention talking?
We solved so many problems when we were together…just talking. We solved our parents’ problems, the boys’ immaturity issues, mean-teacher syndromes, bullies’ emotional repressions, and so on. We voiced our solutions regularly. I don’t know why no one ever listened to us.
Usually, creating a sisterly bond with someone who doesn’t live with you takes time. This one did not.
No matter how long we are apart, when we see each other again, we pick up right where we left off. Maria, Wendy, and I are blessed to have her.
She is a definite mix of contradictions. She would play outside in her best dress, prance around like a princess and then climb trees in the blink of an eye.
She loved make-up. And nail polish and jewelry. She had boyfriends by the time she was in the fourth grade. (And that was plural, by the way.)
She is wickedly smart, didn’t get grossed out when Jack split her finger in half, is not ashamed to show a little skin, and most of her favorite movies almost always have two guys fighting over one girl.
There is so much more to say, but instead of telling you, I will hopefully show you. Until then, here is a little dialogue for you:
“Let’s play college girls,” I say. “I’ll be Victoria!”
“I’ll be Maria!” my sister declares.
“I’ll be Hot Lips,” says our new sister. “No, just Hot.” A thoughtful look crosses her face. “No, just Lips.” More thinking. “No, Hot Lips.”
(She only used this name once. So, I’ll be nice and not change her name to Hot Lips.)
Usually, she was…Roxi.