realized that I had forgiven him. He has bigger problems than my hating him, and he’ll probably never have a decent life in a mental hospital or in jail. Hating him was too heavy a burden to carry, and I realized then that I wanted to see you, and I couldn’t blame you forever for becoming a nun. You weren’t part of what happened at Saint Blaise’s. I can’t blame you for that. And if you’re happy with the life you’ve chosen, I don’t understand it, but I’m happy for you, and I’m okay with it.” A tender look passed between them, as Hattie reached out and touched her hand.
“I’m a nurse too, don’t forget that. I love the hospital work I do. My best years were at the orphanage in Kenya. Maybe it was a little bit like this house is for you. Being there healed a lot of my old wounds. I’d like to go back again one day, if they’d send me. But for now I’m satisfied with what I’m doing. And maybe we can see each other from time to time.” Hattie really hoped so. She had missed her so much.
“Do you want to spend the night?” Melissa asked her gently, and Hattie answered with regret.
“I can’t. I promised I’d be back tonight, and I’m on duty at the hospital tomorrow. They’re short-staffed and I can’t let them down.” Melissa nodded, and understood. She was grateful for the time they’d had.
“Next time. I want you to come up again,” Melissa said. “But I’m never going to turn this into a convent retreat,” she said, and they both laughed. It had been an important day for both of them, and explained some things that Hattie had never fully understood before. She was horrified by Melissa’s story about the convent in Ireland where she had given birth to her first baby and given her up. Hattie suspected that it would haunt Melissa until her dying day. She wished that she could do something about it, but it was too late. Melissa had lost both her children, and she had to find a way to live with it. She seemed as though she had, but it had marked her deeply, just as events in Hattie’s life had marked her. Life was like that, and they both knew it. The old wounds healed eventually, but the scars remained. And Melissa was deeply scarred by the baby she had given up at sixteen. There was no guilt involved in Robbie’s death, they had done everything they could for him and it had been a cruel turn of fate. But she would feel forever guilty for giving up a baby girl named Ashley, and allowing the nuns to take her away and sell her to strangers. Her mother had made it happen so she wouldn’t be embarrassed with her friends. There were some things Melissa could never forgive, and Hattie had paid a price for it too. Melissa’s profound hatred of nuns as a result had separated them for years.
They spent the rest of the day walking around the property, and sat at the edge of the stream, with their feet dangling in the cool water. Melissa served her a hearty lunch, and packed some fruit and snacks for her, and a sandwich for the drive back.
They hugged each other and meant it for the first time in years. They had cleared the air, as much as it was possible, and no longer blamed each other for the choices they had made and things they hadn’t done. Some of it just couldn’t be helped. In different ways, their mother’s zealous Catholicism had marked both of them. But in spite of all of it, they still loved each other.
Melissa stood in the driveway and waved as Hattie drove away. It had been a perfect day for both of them, and some old mysteries had been explained and ghosts laid to rest.
Hattie saw her in the rearview mirror as she headed toward the road and waved. Melissa was standing there, still strong and tall and beautiful, as she always had been, no matter how badly she had been injured, or how scarred she was as a result. In all the important ways, she hadn’t changed. They were still sisters. There was only one thing Hattie wished that she could do for her now. It seemed impossible, but maybe it was feasible. As she drove back to New York, thinking of the sister