Living in the Past, Chapter One Part Two

By the time Sandra arrived at the house, Caroline had already started dinner. As soon as she entered the house, she was assaulted with the smell of garlic and marinara. She took a deep breath and smiled before wandering into the kitchen. She saw her sister positioned by the stove, stirring a large, red pot. Seeing her little sister preparing a family recipe warmed her heart.

                  “Making Gram’s spaghetti?” Sandra wondered, sauntering over to her. Caroline jumped a little, throwing her hand to her heart.

                  “Sandra! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Caroline turned to give Sandra a hug. Wrapping Caroline’s smaller body in her arms, she sent a silent prayer, thankful that she was given another day to spend with Caroline. Ever since the accident that killed Caroline’s husband and left Caroline in the hospital for several weeks, she was sure to count my blessings and truly appreciate the time she was given to spend with her, the last of her family.

                  “Sorry,” Sandra said sheepishly before grabbing the spoon and lifting it to her mouth, in attempt to taste the sauce.

                  “Oh no, don’t touch that until it’s done,” She exclaimed, grabbing the spoon out of Sandra’s hand and narrowing her eyes at Sandra in disapproval. Before Sandra could blink, she was rushing her out of the kitchen. “It should be done in about 20 minutes, dinner will be at about 5:30,” she said.

                  “Okay,” Sandra shouted over her shoulder, already on her way up the stairs. She couldn’t wait one more minute for her pajamas. No matter how many times her mother urged her, she was never able to wear anything but her Pj’s at home. She was among family, why not be comfortable at ll times?

                  After a spectacular dinner, she settled on the couch with the remaining glass of her wine. Sydney, her # month old niece had a spot on the floor, surrounded by her toys and other objects meant to hold her attention. Within a few minutes, Bella, Sandra’s 5-year-old blue Staffordshire terrier was settled against her side, thankful to have some cuddle time with her momma.

                  After taking care of the donner dishes, I had told my sister to go have an hour or two to herself. I could watch Sydney while Caroline got a break from being a full-time mother. Watching Sydney wasn’t much of a chore. Other than the little girl’s refusal to sleep for more than two hours, she was an excellent baby.

                  When Sandra’s sister made her way into the living room, Syd was in Sandra’s lap, completely enthralled by a game of peekaboo. Caroline’s laughter filled the room while she watched her child light up with glee. When Sandra looked up at Caroline, she could see Caroline had finally made it into her pajamas, her short brown hair was still wet from the shower, leaving damp spots on the shoulders of her nightgown.

                  “You know,” she said, placing herself on the couch beside Sandra, “you are going to be Syd’s favorite aunt when she gets older.” Sandra frowned at bit at Caroline.

                  “What do you mean? I’m not already her favorite,” Sandra asked, giving her sister a cheeky smile. Swatting her knee playfully, Caroline laughed.

                  “You know what I mean,” she said. Sandra picked up Sydney and handed her to her mother.

                  “I know, but I had to tease you,” Sandra replied, Bella picking up on the opportunity to worm her way onto her lap.

                  “I know,” Caroline said, turning and giving Sandra a serious look. “But seriously, you are the best aunt. Everything you have done for Syd and me, moving in, helping with bills so I could be a stay at home mom for a while. It’s more than I could have asked for,” She said, tears pooling in her grey eyes.

                  “Oh hush,” Sandra replied. “You’re family and my little sister, there isn’t anything I would do for you,” Sandra told her gently, grabbing her smaller hand and giving it a squeeze. She just nodded before turning to the show Sandra had been watching Dateline. Caroline chuckled to herself.

                  “Really,” she scoffed, “Don’t you get enough of this at work?” Sandra just narrowed her eyes at her sister and pursed her lips a bit.

                  “Hey, I actually enjoy this,” Sandra said, pretending to throw a temper tantrum. Caroline just laughed.

                  “I know, and the world is better off because of it,” She responded as Sandra leaned over to tickle Sydney.

                  “Did you hear that Syd? Auntie Sandra is making the world a better place for you! Doesn’t that earn me at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep tonight?” Sandra pleaded to the child. She just stared up at her and blinked. She sighed. “Well, at least I tried,” Sadra puffed. Caroline giggled.

                  The next morning, cup of coffee in hand, Caroline met Sandra in the kitchen.

                  “It was good try,” She offered, trying to soothe Sandra’s ego. Sandra glared at the baby. With pursed lips she replied, “Not good enough.”

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Mika Franolich]

Hey-o! My initial observation- be aware of word usage. In the very beginning you have that Caroline is, "stirring the red pot," which would suggest she is literally stirring the pot itself around. It should read that she was stirring something within the red pot, or stirring something red within the pot. There's a few of those problems throughout this chapter, such as the last sentence in the third paragraph (it's very confusing to read because of colloquial mistakes). There are also similar punctuation and spelling errors like in the last chapter. Otherwise I have no complaints. This chapter was just as cute as the one before. You allowed for just enough character building. :) I can't wait until this story really starts to unfold.