your words came back to me,” she said. “This thing has even more steps than alcoholism, and it’s tough to change.”
“Good for you for realizing you have a problem,” Jayden said.
“Thank you. It’ll be a long process, but Ray Don says I’m making progress already. He’s my rock. I just didn’t know how much until these past few weeks.” She paused so long that Jayden held her phone out to be sure that she hadn’t lost the connection.
“I didn’t get the job at the private school or at the place where you taught, either one,” Skyler finally spoke up again. “At the time, I whined to Ray Don, and he told me the same thing you did. He told me it was past time for me to grow up. I got mad and stormed out of his house. The next day, he came by with a pint of my favorite ice cream, and he gave me a ‘come to Jesus’ talk. He told me that you can kick any bush between here and New York City and find a dozen friends, but family can’t be replaced, and that I needed to open my eyes and see what has always been right in front of me.” She stopped and took another long breath. “He reminded me that I had thrown away the best sister ever, and I had taken him for granted. Then he gave me an ultimatum. Either be with him all the time right out in public, or it was over.”
“Did you believe him?” Jayden asked.
“Yes, I did, and the thought of never being able to see him again terrified me. I realized right then that I’d been in love with him for sixteen years. I also know that the reason I’ve treated you so horrible is that I was jealous. You’ve always been what I wanted to be. Tall, confident, and you have such a big heart. I’m sorry about everything. If you’ll let me have it, I’d like a second chance,” Skyler said.
Did Novalene put liquor in Jayden’s coffee that morning? Surely, she was hearing things. Skyler just paid her the first-ever compliment, and she wanted a second chance. Jayden frowned, and something the preacher had said the previous Sunday came to her mind: forgive your brother seventy times seven.
“I forgive you.” Jayden realized in that moment that forgiving her sister had little to do with Skyler and everything to do with herself. Looking forward to the future depended on her letting go of the past—forgiving was part of that.
“Thank you,” Skyler whimpered.
“Are you crying?” Jayden asked.
“I don’t deserve to be your sister, but I’m glad you’re going to let me be. I should also tell you that I’m not going to teach next year. I started to work here at Ray Don’s construction company last Monday. His secretary plans to retire in a couple of years. She’s training me to take her place, and . . .” Skyler hesitated.
Jayden sat down and waited.
“And what?” she finally asked.
“Ray Don has been here for me since high school. He’s the one I run to for booty calls, and he’s the one who offers a shoulder to cry on when I break up with a boyfriend. He held me while I cried my eyes out the night before I made the decision to take Mama off life support. The one I was always meant to be with right there before my eyes all this time, and I was too proud to see it,” Skyler admitted. “The rest of the story is that we went to the courthouse yesterday and got married. I’m three months pregnant, and my baby needs her aunt Jayden to keep her feet on the ground when my DNA gets too strong.”
“What does that mean?” Jayden still wasn’t sure she wasn’t dreaming. David would have been shocked at the surprise “preemie” born six months after the wedding. She couldn’t begin to imagine Skyler pregnant or as a mother. Poor Ray Don had a hard row to hoe, as Gramps used to say.
“It means that this narcissism has been part of me my whole life. It won’t go away in a day or even a few months. I pray that my child . . . our child . . . mine and Ray Don’s . . . don’t get our genes, like the spiteful ones or the bad boy ones we had when we were young, and that you’ll be there for her like you’ve been for