Divided

Ten.

Toni

It's been a fresh wound burying Mom, and I'm slowly regaining strength after all the tears I've cried. Of course this hurt me to the core, but life must truly go on. The communication with both Whitney and Janet is getting there. Realizing that life isn't promised, we had to hash out whatever issues we faced.

"Janet, you've got to let us in. We are your sisters and we both love you." Whitney softly sobbed; her being pregnant made it worse. All three of us sat in the church's gazebo. The guests had left after the repast was finished, leaving us girls to talk about our problems.

"I didn't want to feel judged even if we're sisters. This wasn't supposed to happen to me. The most sacred thing was taken away from me and the end result was paranoia and a miscarriage." It bothered me that I couldn't be the big sister and comfort her in that time.

"I'm sorry that you're still dealing with this." I murmured, drying my face with a Kleenex. In all honesty, trying to mend a relationship with Janet was harder than I thought. Both of us rarely communicated, which bothered the hell out of me. Now family was more important than anything.

"I'm going to admit, I was extremely prideful. Dealing with what I went through, my mind was feeling like I could handle this and all, but my heart said you guys didn't care. Let's be honest, growing up I was never the attractive sister. Being the middle child, I was forgotten. My feelings didn't matter to anybody." Playing with her watch, she looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

"They always did, J. If you felt like you didn't matter, that's all wrong. You're special to the both of us, and I'm sorry that this is all being said now. You've been harboring this for years, and it's not healthy." Whitney got up from her seat, hugging Janet tightly. Jumping up from my chair, I hugged the both of them. It has been a while since we've did a group hug, which was actually meaningful.

"I love you, guys. I'm sorry." Janet muffled. Breaking the hug, I stepped back and wiped my red face. "Nothing to be sorry for, we love you." I smiled.

"Since this is the perfect time, I am announcing to Janet that you will be an auntie, again." Whitney's face grew a cheesy smile. Seeing a live reaction of this was sentimental to me. We were becoming closer and closer by the minute. Janet had hugged Whitney, making me laugh.

"But how? Ain't your husband de-" I immediately shut my mouth. Whitney rolled her eyes and ignored me, which was better than strangling me.

Sitting at my work desk in my office, my son entered the room with a pleasant smile on his face. He was preparing to graduate from high school, and decided to not attend college. He wants to pursue a trade, rather than going to a big university not knowing what to study.

"Ma," Keith grinned. He took out a packet and handed it to me. Reading the heading, I cried in my hands. My son who never spoke of college, got accepted to Morehouse, majoring in civil engineering. He admired his grandmother so much, and wanted to pursue a career that she couldn't fulfill.

"This is for you Mom and Grandma too. I just want to make her proud, that's all." Hugging him, he softly cried into my arms. He never got the chance to properly grieve for his grandmother, due to him being at basketball championship tournament. No matter what, Keith always remained to be a Mama's boy. I didn't mind it though because he is always well-behaved.

"You truly made her proud, Keith and there's no lie about that. You're her oldest grandson, and I know she is elated. I am so proud of you, son and I love you." Pecking his cheek, he hugged me once more.

"I love you, too Mama."