Say Hello, Kiss Goodbye - Jacquelyn Middleton Page 0,77
gave her a kind smile, raised their clasped hands to his lips, and planted a barely-there kiss on her knuckles.
Leia almost gasped at his simple gesture of kindness. Oh, god, no! Please don’t be so great, Tarquin. I can’t fall for you—it’ll end up hurting us both so badly. Let’s pretend that never happened…
She cleared her throat suddenly as their hands returned to the sofa. “Oh, one really weird thing? Sarah came away with a love for blue clothes.”
“Blue clothes?”
“Yeah! She wears blue all the time!” Leia let go of his hand. “She had blue on the day of the accident and decided a month later it was her lucky color.”
“But…she almost died?”
“It’s lucky because she lived.”
Tarquin nodded slowly, Leia’s explanation rousing a soft smile. “Right. Of course.”
“Growing up, Sarah always said, ‘Olympics first, then medical school.’ She hoped to become a doctor, but months in hospital put her off that idea. So, she decided to make a difference another way, and nothing, not even losing the ability to walk, was gonna hold her back.”
“Wow! Pretty ballsy nine-year-old kid.”
“Tell me about it. Even now, if anyone uses the words ‘wheelchair-bound’ or ‘confined to a wheelchair’ in her presence, she schools them without mercy. She’s never felt stuck or restricted—her chair makes it possible for her to explore and live her life—but some people don’t see it like that, for some strange reason. Anyway, she doesn’t let their small-minded, ableist bullshit hold her back or change how she feels about herself. She’s absolutely killing it at work, has an awesome boyfriend, plays in a wheelchair basketball club, does marathons twice a year—”
“The London marathon?”
“Yep. Maybe you’ll see her at the finish line this year.” Leia smiled wistfully. “She loves being active. When Dad was here, he tried to get her to go skating with him at the Tower of London. It’s accessible, but she wasn’t ready. Maybe next Christmas.” Her heart leapt into her throat. “Ah, I’m going to miss her. I can’t believe it’s time to go. This trip flew by.” Two more days and then we’re back to talking on the phone, messaging, Skyping. It’s not the same as being here. Her fingers toyed with the gold band on her right hand, their mother’s wedding ring. “It’s been great bingeing pizza, sharing the excitement of her job promotion, celebrating my birthday—all things we can’t do with an ocean between us.”
“When was your birthday?”
“Christmas Day.”
Tarquin’s eyes lit up. “Someone got cheated!”
“Yeah, but Saz always makes it special.”
“I think it’s wonderful how close you two are,” said Tarquin. “Take it from personal experience, not everyone has that.”
Leia nodded. “Yeah, we were never like the other sisters we knew—the ones who barely tolerated each other. If I was at a hockey game, the movies, Saz was, too. My little sister, my shadow. But don’t get me wrong—it wasn’t all Beanie Baby parties and dressing up as Spice Girls. We drove each other crazy, too. Still do—like last night. Saz thought she was helping, I thought she was overstepping, and—dun, dun, dun, storm clouds!” Leia chuckled. “I bet you thought we hated each other.”
“I wouldn’t say hated, but it did feel like I walked right into the middle of something.”
“But that’s just it. Saz and I can be yelling at each other one moment then cooing over a puppy the next, like nothing happened.” Leia smiled. “I won the sister lottery. I’ll always have her back and she mine.”
“I love that.” He squeezed her forearm softly and let go. “Thank you for telling me, about the accident and everything. You’ve been through so much.”
“Yeah.” Leia looked down. “At the pub, you asked why I started sewing…”
“You said you were bored…your mom roped you in, right?”
He remembered. “Yeah, but that’s not the real reason. Sarah is.”
“Oh. How come?”
“She really struggled with getting dressed on her own after the accident. Clothes were difficult to get on and off, and hard seams, rivets, and pockets pinched or dug into her skin. Mom scoured the mall for anything that would make Sarah’s life easier but always came home frustrated and empty-handed. That’s when she began upcycling Sarah’s clothes.”
His smile crept up to his eyes. “And you helped?”
Leia nodded. “It was a huge learning experience—for all three of us. Mom had to figure out which materials were soft but still strong enough to withstand wear and tear. She played with pieces Sarah loved, repurposing them into something better. Jeans and pants were altered to be higher in the