Mending Bridges
By
Rebecca Anna Coleman
Part III

Sometimes miracles fall out of the pockets of God. In this case I think two miracles had fallen out of the pocket of God. The first miracle was that Jamie had taken me out to eat, and the second miracle was the ice cream machine of McDonald's was working. Jamie though was just smiling as she placed three boxes of warm apple pies down in front of me along with a dish of soft serve ice cream.

“So.” Jamie said, taking a deep breath as she once more settle down in her seat and peered across the table at me. I quickly noticed that she too had three boxes of warm apple pies and dish of soft serve ice cream. “I owe you an apology.”

Something told me it was my turn to sit back and let Jamie talk. So I focused on my apple pie. McDonald's must have been having a good day. Not only was the ice cream machine working but the apple pies were well warm.

“I've been a bitch.” Jamie said, taking a deep breath. “First off, I kind of lost my cool at the pie toss. I was so focused on making money. I never once considered what your feeling were. Heck I never even considered what you were going through. I guess I was too caught up in my own little mellow drama to really focus on you.”

“And maybe I was wrong.” Jamie said again. She seemed to be building a good head of steam, so I decided to just let her roll on with what she was going to say. After all, I had a warm apple pie and a dish of sweet, soft serve ice cream to enjoy.

“No, I was wrong.” Jamie quickly corrected herself. “I mean the last three volunteers to play 'Dotty' have all been transgender. And if I was you, I would volunteer to feel included. The Pie toss was my idea and I forced you into that. But I should have known something was up when you said you wanted 'breast'.” Jamie paused.

“And it was my own hubris that caused our little tea date to go off the rails.” Jamie quickly added.

I thoughtfully nodded my head and took another bite from my warm, apple pie.

“And I kind of went off the rails when you broke your arm too. I mean your arm is still broken.” Jamie said pointing toward my arm that was in the cast.

“They're going to break things again soon.” I said sighing. “It is not healing like it is supposed to. So there going to go in, rebreak it, and then operated on it, and put it back in a cast for like a week.”

Jamie shuttered and all the color drained from her face.

“When did you find this out?” Jamie said as she took another bite from her apple pie and spooned a spoon full of ice cream into her mouth.

“Last week.” I said with another sigh. “So I finally got your wish.”

Jamie tilted her head to the side. If this was an anime I guess a large, red question mark would appear floating around her head right about now.

“My career as a cheerleader is over.” I said finishing off my apple-pie.

“Daisy...” Jamie said, taking a deep breath as she peered toward me. “I'm sorry. I was being a bitch that night. I've been a bitch since you came out of the closet.”

I nodded my head.

“I guess it all happened so fast. One morning you appeared at breakfast and mom just casually said you would be living with us till you finished at Benton Academy. And I mean nobody told me, Lily seemed to clued in and I guess that kind of boiled my blood a little. And then a week later you broke your arm.. and while I should have been worried sick, I was just annoyed. And well when the nurse called you back, she called you 'Potter' and that hurt me, cause nobody told me.. I felt like I was being left out of the loop. Like nobody really trusted me anymore.”

I nodded my head.

“But all that in the past.” Jamie added.

I raised an eyebrow.

“I can't take back how nasty I was to you. I can't take back how much of a shitty person I've been. But I would love the chance if I could make that up to you. Because we're family now.” Jamie paused. “And I'm going to be honest with you, I've never been a big sister before, I know there might be a steep learning curve.. but I'm going to make a go of it.” Jamie said, sighing.

I blinked.

“You're my little sister now. I mean you're always going to have your family in Vicksburg.. but I'm going to be your new big sister. And I'm going to do my best to teach you everything I know about being a girl. And then I'm going to support you, stand by you and help you when you go out into this world.”

I blinked again.

“Being a sister is a lifelong obligation. You gotta be there, you gotta be there for the good times, and the bad times. The happy times and the bad times.” Jamie said. “And for me being a big sister, means I'm being invited into your life. It means I get to share in all of your special moments. Like I know you might be toasted at a debutante ball and that means I get to help you pick out the gown and help you get ready! And I get to help you pick out your prom dress! And your wedding dress! Those are all special memories that only big sisters get to have with their little sisters.”

I blinked again.

“What I'm saying..” Jamie seemed to be fighting back tears. “Is Daisy Isabella Potter.. Would you please accept me as your big sister? Even though I have done terrible things to you. And I don't deserve to call you big sister..

I smiled and reached across the table and hugged Jamie. A bridge was mended that day, a bridge that I thought was forever burned. A bridge whose ashes had been carried downstream and swallowed by a huge catfish. Was a crowded McDonald's the best place for this to happen? I guess.

The End.