Strength in the Weakest Places

“I’m going out, ok?”

“Fine,” I sighed, turning away from Katie, my twin sister, “just be back by eleven, ok?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure Liz.” And with that she was gone, leaving behind the smell of too-expensive perfume.

“Lizzie, honey,” my mom called from her room where she was resting from a long day of doing nothing, “Could you help me with something?”

“Coming,” I called back, hurrying to her bedside, “What is it?”

“I just need a hand getting out of bed,” my mother said, smiling weakly. New wrinkles seemed to appear on her face everyday. She was hunching over and using her cane more and more. She sometimes stayed in bed all day, too weak to get up. These changes scared me. Katie didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she just didn’t care. “Mom’s old, Liz. Face it, she’s gotta go someday.” I would nod like I understood but I knew that when my mother’s time came, I wouldn’t be ready. Maybe I never would. I was only thirteen after all. My mom was seventy-three. I’d never known my dad. Mom never talked about him.

Helping my mother out of bed, I asked, “Did you like your dinner?”

“Dinner?” she asked, furrowing her wrinkled brow.

“Yes,” I said nervously, motioning to her empty plate, “dinner. I left it here an hour ago.”

“Oh, right, dinner.” She said, as if she remembered. But I knew se didn’t. She just didn’t want to scare me. She’d become more and more forgetful lately.

“You’re late,” I muttered, as Katie flounced into the room we shared.

“Whatever,” Katie muttered, collapsing onto her bed.

“Katie,” I whispered after a moment, “I’m worried.”

“Worried?” she replied dazedly.

“About Mom.”

“Not again,” my twin groaned, “C’mon, Liz, you need to worry about your own life. Stop worrying about Mom so much!”

Plopping onto her stomach and stuffing her head in her pillow, Katie indicated that the conversation was over.

“Hey Liz,” Harry greeted me, draping a dangly arm around my shoulders.

“Hi Harry,” I said, smiling up at my friend.

“You okay?” he asked when we got to our lockers which were side by side.

“MmmHmm,” I replied distantly.

“It’s just…well,” Harry paused, as if making up his mind, “Is it your mom?”

My calm mask crumpled, leaving me on the verge of tears. Harry knew me too well.

“Oh, Liz, I’m sorry,” Harry murmured, pushing back hair from my face, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’m fine,” I choked out, gathering my books for Social Studies, “Everything’s fine.”

He didn’t follow as I hurried away down the crowded hallway.

When I got back home, after checking to make sure Mom was ok, I went straight to the kitchen like any other day. Mom made dinner when she was feeling up to it, which was rare, and Katie was usually either at a friend’s house or at another party, only arriving home late at night or early in the morning. I didn’t mind, though. Cooking calmed me. Tonight I was tired so I just popped a couple Smart Ones in the microwave. Katie probably wouldn’t be home by dinnertime. If she did come, she could fend for herself.

Like every other night, Katie was home late. Like every other night, I’d waited for her.

“He-e-y Luhzzie,” Katie mumbled.

“You have got to stop doing this,” I sighed, putting an arm around her and leading her to her bed.

“Don’t-know-why-you c-a-are s-so much,” my twin slurred, as I helped her into bed.

“You’re my sister,” I whispered, leaving for a moment to get a bucket and a glass of water for her.

The next day, I slept through my alarm after a long night of watching my sister. Mom had told me that after a night of drinking, her friends had dropped her off at her dorm and she’d almost drowned in her own barf. “I could’ve died,” she’d said, shuddering. I didn’t want that to happen to Katie.

When I woke and saw the time, I decided that it was pointless to go to school. Other than Harry, no one would miss me.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” I murmured as my sister woke with a groan.

It couldn’t hurt to skip a day of school to take care of Katie and Mom. It wasn’t the first time.

“Hey, where were you yesterday?” Harry asked, catching up with me on my way to French class.

“I stayed home.” I said, smiling slightly. Seeing Harry always put me in a better mood.

Nodding knowingly, my friend asked, “So, want to go to that new pirate movie tonight?”

I grinned, “Love to! Is anyone else going?” I asked, referring to the kids we sat with at lunch. I guess we were friends with them, but Harry and I had always been a separate group. We’d both been at Drewberry Academy since kindergarten, which was when we’d met. We’d been best friends ever since.

“Nope,” Harry said, wrapping a hand around my waist, “just us.”

I didn’t go out often, and the few times I did, I was always nervous about leaving Mom alone. After making sure she had her dinner and a phone on her bedside table, I pulled on a pair of worn jeans with a hole in the knee I’d gotten at a thrift store and an oversized black sweatshirt with my school’s initials inscribed on it.

“Oh,” I jumped, surprised as Katie walked into our room.

Before I could ask why she was home so early, my sister said, “I’m staying home tonight.”

I had to catch myself before my jaw dropped. “But—“

“You go have fun,” Katie urged, practically pushing me out the door, “I’ll take care of mom.”

Settling in beside Harry with my diet coke and super-sized popcorn, I whispered, “Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem,” he whispered back, “this sucks anyway. Wanna cut out early?”

“After I eat my popcorn,” I agreed. The movie was looking a little too bloody for my taste.

After leaving the theater, Harry and I walked to his house. We always hung out there because he had T-Vo and an X-Box.

“Hello Elizabeth,” Harry’s dad greeted me. He was the only one who called me by my full name.

“Hey Charles.”

I spent so much time at Harry’s house that it was a second home. His dad was the father I never had. I wished my mom could have been like a mom to Harry who had lost his mother when he was very young. But she was more like a grandma.

When I got home, I was surprised to see Katie still up, sitting on the edge of her bed, reading a book.

“Did you have a good time?” she asked, marking her place in the book and closing it.

“Yeah,” I said, smiling, “how have you been?”

“Good,” my twin said, twisting her hands in her lap. I could tell that there was something she wanted to tell me.

“What is it?” I prodded, concerned.

She hesitated for a moment before answering, “I haven’t been a very good sister lately. Or a good daughter. I just wanted to say,” Katie whispered, as I stared, wondering if this was really happening, “that I’m…” she paused, taking a deep breath, “I’m sorry, Lizzie. I’m sorry.”

After a moment of shocked silence I smiled. “Katie,” I said, pulling her into a tight embrace, “I forgive you. It’s ok,” I continued as my twin buried her face in my hair, sobbing, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

I smiled, knowing my words were true.