Left Behind(32)

“What do you expect it to be?”

“I don’t know. Special. Emotional, I guess.”

“Well, what you wear has nothing to do with any of that. So I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Aunt Claire knocks on my door to tell me it’s time for dinner. “I have to go,” I say to Ash. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Right after you fornicate.”

“Fornicate? Someone’s been reading the dictionary.”

“Do you like riding the baloney pony better?”

“Stick with fornicate.”

“If you insist.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Can’t wait.”

***

The smell of Belgian waffles wafts through the air the next morning, the corners of my mouth turning upwards before I even open an eye. Aunt Claire knows they’re my favorite. I’d never had homemade waffles before coming to California. Honestly, I’m not even sure I realized you could make them at home, no less make them taste as incredible as she does.

I pad through the house, my feet shuffling sleepily on the floor, even though my senses are wide awake from the smell.

“Happy Birthday, sleepyhead! And Happy Valentine’s Day!” Aunt Claire smiles as I enter the kitchen.

I eat one waffle, then half of a second, poking with my fork at the rest. It hits me how strange it’s been to have someone cooking all the time for me. A stove in a trailer isn’t quite the same as the one Aunt Claire has. Plus, Mom wasn’t much of a cook anyway. She never ate much, she thought if we had unexpired milk and Cheerios all was golden. Dinners generally consisted of frozen food thawed in the oven or fast food. None of it good for Mom’s diabetes, but she was always stubborn. Even when I started working in a supermarket in the months before she died and I’d bring home fresh fruit or vegetables, Mom would say she wasn’t hungry.

Aunt Claire must spot me drifting into a sad place thinking of Mom because she jumps up from her chair like a puppy that spotted a treat, exclaiming, “I almost forgot your presents! Stay right there!” and disappears to her room in a flurry.

I’m hit with a pang of guilt when she rushes back in with a pile of beautifully wrapped presents— more than I’ve ever received at once before. She’s rushing to cook for me and give me gifts before school, and I’m keeping a major secret from her. Today I feel more guilt than I have in the past few months. Maybe it’s because I’m wondering if someone made my sister a special breakfast for her birthday. A sister I pretend to know nothing about to Aunt Claire. Each day my dishonesty gets harder and harder.

Aunt Claire piles the boxes at my feet. They’re dripping with curled ribbons and bows and wrapped in red shiny paper covered in pink hearts to commemorate my Valentine’s birthday.

“Open them!” she insists as I’m inspecting the beautiful packages. She shoves the first of the larger boxes onto my lap. Somehow she always seems to know when I’m overwhelmed with emotions that make me uncomfortable, drawing me back into a conversation and away from the awkward mental space I’m stuck in.

There are three boxes of the same size and then one very small box that has me the most curious. I want to rush at the small one first, but instead I open them as Aunt Claire hands them to me. Clearly, she is building drama.

Inside box number one, I find a beautiful teal green dress I had stopped to look at on a mannequin at Bloomingdales when Aunt Claire and I were shopping at the mall last week. The color drew my attention at first. The shade of teal looked like water in a Caribbean beach photograph. Beyond the color I fell in love with the row of tiny white shiny pearls lining the scoop neck of the dress. I’m not a particularly “girly girl” but this dress was stunning and I couldn’t help think about what Zack might think if he saw me in it.

“Aunt Claire, I didn’t even know you saw me looking at this dress.” I’m kind of speechless. I’ve never had a dress this expensive before. “You shouldn’t have. You do so much for me already.”

A tear wells in Aunt Claire’s eye and without thinking I spring to my feet and hug her. “Thank you. I love it. It’s the most beautiful dress I have ever seen,” I say running my finger over the precious pearls that had caught my eye.

I hold it up examining the plunging back that is also lined with little pearls. “It’s like something off the cover of a magazine,” I say still staring at it with disbelief that it’s really mine.

“You’re going to look like you belong on the cover of a magazine, Nikki. You’re a beautiful girl and this dress is going to be sensational on you. It’s a little dressy but I thought maybe you could wear it tonight for your date with Zack— you only turn 18 once. I know how much you’re looking forward to it.” She winks. “Not that you’ve given me too many details.”

I grin. “Zack will be speechless. Well, at least I hope he will.” I say. “He has plans to take me to a special dinner. I’m not sure where. He wants it all to be a surprise.”

“Well it must be a little overwhelming for Zack with your birthday and your first Valentine’s Day together all at once,” she muses. “I bet he’s worried trying to get everything just right.”

“I didn’t tell him it was my birthday,” I admit, realizing how crazy that actually is.

“What? Why?” Aunt Claire asks with sincere shock in her voice.

I lie. I really want to confide in Aunt Claire, but I can’t tell her our plans for tonight are enough pressure on us. “I don’t want too much pressure on him, Valentine’s Day is hard enough.” I shrug, trying my best to come off casual.

I open the next two boxes to find new running gear. Three light-weight, bright, fun colored Nike running shirts in box number one and three Nike running shirts and a sports bra in the other. Aunt Claire really is thoughtful. She’s learned my taste precisely. The gifts are exactly what I would have picked.

As I’m holding up my new shorts to feel how feather light they are, Aunt Claire hands me the tiny box I have been eyeing all along.

“This one is special. There’s a story to go with it. Open it,” Aunt Claire says quietly.

I peel the shiny red paper off to find a tiny white quilted jewelry box. Feelings overwhelm me once again. “Aunt Claire, you shouldn’t have…I mean it.”

She cuts me off before I can express that she’s done too much. “Open it, Nikki. That’s an order,” She smiles, her eyes excited with anticipation.

Inside the box is a beautiful white gold ring with two heart-shaped sapphire stones abutting one another. The sapphire hearts are lined completely with tiny round diamonds. I’m speechless. I’ve never even been this close to such an exquisite piece of jewelry, much less had someone give me a gift this expensive.

I don’t remove the ring from the box. “I can’t, Aunt Claire. I really can’t,” I say, my voice trembling with emotion. I’m overwhelmed by guilt. I don’t deserve a gift like this. I used her, coming to live with her only to find my sister. I don’t deserve this generous gift. I don’t deserve any of it.

“I told you there was a story. The ring was my mother’s. Your grandmother Anne’s ring. My father had it made for her as a gift and gave it to her the day your mother was born. I was born on September 15th, three years before your mother was born. Your mom was due on September 18th. When your grandfather learned he was going to have a second September baby he had this ring made to celebrate the two babies. Sapphires are the birthstone for September. Your mother always loved this ring. When we were little, she and I used to take it from our mother’s jewelry box and try it on, pretending we were princesses.”

Aunt Claire continues before I can find any words to speak, “You never got to know your grandmother, and your mother loved this ring. I thought it would be something special for you to have. They are both watching over you now from heaven, Nikki. I thought you might feel like you have a piece of your mom’s memories with this ring.” She’s still smiling, but a tear runs down her cheek.

“I don’t know anything about my grandmother. I’ve been afraid to ask too many questions,” I admit without thinking, my own tears falling to match hers.

“You don’t have to be afraid to ask questions. I’m just afraid to overwhelm you with too much information. We have plenty of time for you to learn about the family you didn’t know. There’s no need to rush.”

For a moment I forget the ring box still sitting gingerly in the palm of my hand and worry Aunt Claire somehow found out about my plans to find my sister. Her words seem to be a plea not to push for information too fast. Or maybe it’s just my own guilt.

“I’m sorry, Nikki. We don’t need to be so serious on your birthday. It’s a happy day. You’re eighteen, it’s Valentine’s Day, you have a beautiful new dress and a big date!” She turns the mood from somber to light— one of her best pseudo parenting skills.

Aunt Claire takes the box from me and removes the breathtaking ring. She places it on my right ring finger in one quick slip— so fast I can’t even resist. She holds my hand out and says, “Perfect. I knew it would be.”