October 2020

Sisters- Scream

"Well. We did it, ladies." Tatum looked proudly over the three girls, standing in front of the mirror in their graduation caps and gowns.
"Yep," Devin whispered.
"I'm gonna go make sure everything is in the car," Tatum said, kissing Devins cheek and hurrying out of the room. As soon as graduation was over, the three girls were taking off on a month long road trip across the southwest United States, but Devin knew that wasn't really why Tatum was leaving. She was smart, she could see the way Sidney and Devin kept glancing at the picture of their mother on the vanity.
"She would've been so proud of us, you know," Sidney said as soon as Tatum left the room, picking up the picture and sitting down on the bed with it.
"She really would. Especially after all those times neither of us thought we would make it this far." Sidney nodded. Devin flopped back on the bed next to her, staring up at the poster covered ceiling. Sidney tossed her graduation cap onto the floor and laid next to her sister, handing her the picture frame. Than she began counting off on her fingers.
"We survived middle school. Breakups. Boys. Murder. You came out."
"I think she really would have been happy about me and Tatum."
"I do too." Both girls turned to look at each other, and they started laughing at how hard they were both trying to hold back tears. "Let's go graduate," Sidney said after a second. Devin nodded her agreement. When they made it downstairs, the girls father was standing next to Tatum in the kitchen, holding two envelopes.
"Here," he said, handing one to each of them. The envelopes were labeled with each sisters name, in their mothers neat cursive. They traded pointed glances, than opened them both at the same time. Inside each was a letter, written by their mother, dated the day they were born. Devin moved her lips as she read over hers, as if she were speaking the words her mother had written. It was a reminder of her love, as well as her hopes and dreams for both of her daughters as they grew up. It was the second of these letters the sisters had received, the first was on their 16th birthday. The letters, which were similar for each girl but not identical, were only about a page and a half long, but they were invaluable tokens of their mothers memory. Devin and Sidney were both teary eyed as they finished their readings, and they safely tucked the papers back into their envelopes.
"You ready to go?" Tatum asked quietly. Sidney and Devin nodded.