I've always been an early riser. Even way back to my childhood I'd regularly awaken before sunrise, but always be content to lay beneath the covers, with my own thoughts or listening to the crickets or birds outside. Even today as a woman in her early 30's, I often lay in the pre-dawn hours, sometimes running through my daily to-do checklist, but often lately I find myself reminiscing. It must be a symptom of having spent a year now of social distancing and quarantines. I find myself longing for intimacy, for spontaneity, for adventure, for fun, for...just sensing a connection to someone who feels like my other half.
For me, that other half is my sister Emma.
I think part of what makes me feel like she completes me, is that we have such opposite personalities. She is gregarious, outspoken and commands attention. I am quiet, introverted and happy to blend into a crowd. Growing up she was a jock and excelled at sports, especially ones that featured physical contact like field hockey and basketball. She has carried this aura of confidence that is downright palpable and I find it easy to follow her lead, even though she is 18 months my junior.
While she was at practice I would often be in the library studying, or just reading for pleasure. I still love to read (and not surprisingly, here I am writing!). When she was competing in a game, my eyes would follow her every move. Keeping score was unimportant to me, I just wanted to watch my sister. I am her biggest fan and cheerleader. While not necessarily being a troublemaker, she wasn't one to back down from anything (nor is she today). I still recall one day in school when someone in my class came up to me and said, "You'd better tell your sister to stay away from my sister." Without looking up to make eye contact I very matter-of-factly replied, "I have no control over what she does." While being true, it also underscored the sanctity of our bond. Whatever was going on with his sister, she probably brought on herself and had it coming to her. As a sign of unspoken solidarity with her, I never even mentioned the confrontation until years later, and we shared a good laugh. Even though we would occasionally, as all siblings do, and she would call me a "nerd" for staying in on Saturday nights while she went out to parties, my loyalty to her was unequivocal. Sisterhood is sacred.
It is also timeless. Who else can I be separated from for weeks, or even months, and once I see her face it's like we've never been apart? I've been thinking about her a lot lately...just this morning in fact.
The moment in time I often go back to is the summer I came home from my freshman year of college. She had recently turned 18 and I was well past 19. A lot had changed, including the house we lived in. Our parents had separated during my senior year of high school and while I was away the divorce became final during the fall semester. The house we grew up in was sold during the spring semester and my mom and sister moved into a smaller town home in a different neighborhood. While the surroundings would be unfamiliar to me and require a lot of getting used to, I couldn't wait to be with them again. My first year away was hard for me, I don't make friends easily and felt lonely often. I needed to reconnect badly.
The moment that persistently comes back to me was one of those early mornings where I lay awake in the predawn haze, as images, not so much thoughts, scrolled by, often stimulating acute emotions. That was happening a lot, as the ice had already been broken between us and this new relationship we were adjusting to was still a somewhat tumultuous reconciliation for me. I mean, I was actually fucking my sister!
It came about late one Saturday night. I stayed in and baked with our mom before we watched a movie together. Em went out with her friends. When she came home, I was sound asleep, it was after midnight. We had not only always shared a room, we also shared a bed. It was an antique bed that was originally our grandmothers. It was queen size and usually comfortable accommodated two, as long as one of us wasn't tossing and turning during the night. My mother and aunt shared it too, then it was passed onto us. It was just how things were, and though friends would usually raise an eyebrow when finding out my sister and I slept in the same bad for the first time, it wasn't a big deal for us. We never thought about it twice.
So that night, being awoken by her stumbling into bed, the scent of beer on her breath and pot smoke in her hair, wasn't uncommon for me. Normally she'd be passed out in a moment's time and I'd drift off soon after.
The feeling of someone's hands on me was completely foreign. I was still not only a virgin, I'd never even kissed another girl (I'd always known I liked girls, boys were never an option for me). Such is the life of the quiet wallflower. Although I didn't yell or try to push her away, the feeling of her cold hand moving up my shirt caused me to panic. I squirmed and whined "What are you doing? Are you wasted?" She didn't say anything other than a long, deep moan as she threw her heavy, muscular leg over me. I tried to turn my back to her and curl up in a fetal position, but one hand on my shoulder had me on my back in seconds. She leaned on me, wrapped her hand behind my head and kissed me deeply.
I spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling asking unanswerable questions. "Did that really just happen?" "Am I crazy?" "Did she know what she was doing?" "Will she even remember?" "Did Mom hear anything?"
I ended up leaving our bed and sitting on the downstairs love seat watching the sun come up over the shadowed mountain while sipping a hot cup of Italian coffee. I was too ashamed to face her and spent the day hiding in far corners of the house beyond her sight. Anytime I had to be out in the open I was at our Mom's side, ensuring no uncomfortable subjects could surface. I happily spend the afternoon preparing dinner for all of us.
After cleaning the kitchen I went upstairs to shower. I like it hot and steamy and let the water run while I undress and select my night ware (not particularly fancy or elegant, just a comfortable nightshirt, panties and pair of fuzzy socks). Once in the solitude of the shower I let out an audible sigh as the hot water sprayed my skin and melted the tension of what had been an anxious day. Sweet relief!
Or so I thought...
I gasped as the shower curtain snapped open and Em stepped in the tub with me! "What are you doing?" I exclaimed.