still don’t know what to do about Ellie. Perhaps her agreeing to a friendship between the girls will pave the way for our own reconciliation. I know I have to find a way to make an amends to her, however uncomfortable that might be, however disinterested she is, however much she doesn’t want to see me. I put a call in to Maureen, but it goes straight to her machine, unsurprisingly, because I forget it is the middle of the night in England, and I don’t leave a message. I’ve never been much good at asking for help.
If I can figure it out by myself, that’s what I’ll do. The girls becoming friends has to be a way in. Maybe if Ellie meets Annie and likes her, that will make everything easier.
Twenty-seven
Julia phones the next day, and the excitement is evident in her voice. Ellie didn’t say no. Ellie didn’t seem all that interested, which, given how well Julia knows Ellie, means it’s okay for the girls to meet. Trudy, naturally, had no idea she had a half aunt who lives in England, nor a cousin a couple of years younger. Trudy, naturally, has always wanted a big family, brothers, sisters, cousins, and is now itching with excitement at the possibility of meeting Annie.
What a gift we will be giving these girls, I think; the gift of sisterhood. Remembering how much I longed for it at Annie’s age makes me want to weep.
Trudy wants to know when we can all meet, how soon, and might there be any chance that we could all meet up today?
She is working at Julia’s store. Could I bring Annie? Could Trudy meet us properly? And maybe Julia could get someone else in to help for the afternoon so the two girls could go off and get to know each other.
Annie, when I tell her, is just as excited. She’s going to have a cousin! Who knew?! What should she wear? How should she act? Should her hair be up or down? She looks like me? How do you know, Mum? You met her! This is so weird! Tell me everything!
* * *
“Oh my God!” yells Trudy, standing up and running over as soon as we walk in, wrapping Annie in a giant bear hug. “We look like sisters!” She turns to me. “I thought it was strange when you walked in yesterday, that you looked so much like Aunt Julia, but I never would have believed you were my aunt! I never would have believed I have this whole other family I never knew anything about!” She flings her arms around me as I laugh—her joy is infectious. “This is, like, the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me! Can I take Annie to the Juice Bar and get ice cream? They all know me in there, so we don’t have to wait in line.”
I look at Annie, check her expression to make sure she is willing. Boy, is she willing. I can see she has an instant girl crush on Trudy. Frankly, who can blame her? Trudy is so warm, so open, not to mention gorgeous. Piles of dark curls falling well past her shoulder, highlights of gold. Annie’s hair is curly, but she hates it, spends hours trying to blow-dry it straight, or scrapes it back in a clip, as she has done today. But where Annie still has puppy fat, rounded thighs, a peachlike bottom, Trudy has legs that are long and coltish in her denim cutoffs. Both of them have the same olive skin, and as they walk off together, their heads close, Trudy chatting away, I have a pang of regret that this didn’t happen years ago, that I have somehow robbed Annie of something incredibly special by not getting in touch earlier. Not for me, but for her.
“Well,” says Julia, turning to me after the girls disappear into the crowds of people who have recently got off the Hy-Line. “That went well.”
“It couldn’t have gone better.”
“It’s weird, you can tell they’re family,” Julia says. “You can see they feel it.”
I nod, because I know what she’s talking about. It’s exactly how I felt when I met Julia all those years ago. “I’m going to meet my friend Sam and take him on a tour of the island,” I say. “Would you be interested in joining us?”
Julia’s face falls. “I would have loved that. I couldn’t find anyone to help today, so I’m stuck in the store all