Two Sisters

“I gotta go, Grammy. Thanks for breakfast!” Natalie yelled back, on her way out the door. “I’m late for class already.”

“See you later,” Rose responded, pushing away from the table. She let out a long sigh. Mumbling, she wheeled her way over to the far wall, adorned with pictures on either side of the fireplace.

“You’d think someone would have called me on my birthday,” she said aloud to the sea of faces smiling back at her from the mantle. She had five children, several grandchildren and her sister, Lilly.

The clock chimed and she waited for the silly cuckoo bird to pop out. Her sister had given her that for a wedding present and depending on the day, she could love or hate it. Today she hated it. His annoying sounds irritated her more than usual.

She made her way over to her easy chair. Grabbing the remote, she turned on the television and half listened to the news. She picked up her knitting. She was quite fast, remembering that it was Lilly who had taught her. After their accident, several years ago, she was left confined to her wheel chair. “You’ll need some hobbies, Sissy, to keep yourself busy,” Lilly reminded  her on her weekly visits.

Grammy was as bitter as the day it had happened and many times told Lilly, “It’s easy for you to say. You still have your legs and your freedom.” Two years ago, her sister had stopped coming around. She said she had enough of the guilt habitually placed on her. She called and wrote periodically, but it was always one-sided.

Rose watched the breaking news on CNN of the devastation that Hurricane Irene had recently brought along the East Coast. The Red Cross phone number drifted across the bottom of the screen asking for donations. She changed the station to The Price is Right, wishing she could win the new red car. She continued to knit; waiting for the afternoon mail.

After the cuckoo bird popped out again at noon, she saw the flap open on the front door.
Before she could get there, she watched her mail drop to the floor. He could have rung the doorbell!

She tipped an oblong woven basket over and used her cane to push the mail into it. Putting the cane through the basket’s handle, she lifted it onto her lap. Wheeling her way back to the dining room table, she sorted through the mail.

There were several birthday cards, including one from her sister. The front cover read: Happy Birthday, to my Twin. The inside of the card read: “I’m sorry that I haven’t heard from you and there is no need for me to stay any longer. I will be moving up north, to be with my children.”

Word Count, including title: 469