Brynn cringed at Amy’s voice. She knew she wouldn’t be
happy. The contents of Carrie’s room was stacked haphazardly in the living
room. Brynn knew that Carrie did it to piss off Amy and it was working. Carrie
did nothing without malice of some sort. Brynn looked at Carrie who was acting
as if she did not hear Amy and continued to unpack lunch.
“What…the…hell…is…this?” Amy asked again slowly, trying to
control her anger. Brynn didn’t think it was working.
“Lunch” Carrie said innocently “I brought your favorite,
Chinese!”
Amy signed “You know I can’t eat Chinese.”
Carrie looked at her with fake shock “Oh no! Since when?”
“It doesn’t matter. What happened with all your stuff?”
“It’s packed like you said.” Carrie began dishing out the
food.
“Why don’t we sit down to lunch and we’ll fix the packing
later?” Brynn asked, trying to defuse the time bomb that ticked loudly in their
heads.
Amy continued without acknowledging Brynn’s question. “That
is not packed. This is absolute mess, as usual. I knew better than to ask you
to help. I tried to tell Mom that you wouldn’t help.”
“I am helping and now I’m hungry. Are you hungry? Brynn?” Carrie
continued nonchalantly.
“Yes, I’m hungry. Amy?” She looked at Amy, hopeful and
somewhat pleading her not to start the fight that Brynn knew was coming.
Amy sighed, turned and walked out of the room. Carrie smiled
as if her evil plan worked. Brynn sat down and accepted the plate from Carrie.
“That was cruel, you know. She only wants to get the job
done.”
“Cruel? She’s uptight and needs to have a little fun.”
Carrie replied as she stuffed her face with chow mein.
Brynn shook her head and stared at her plate. She was always
in the middle, the buffer between her sisters. Sometimes she sided with Carrie
and sometimes with Amy. She hated the fact that Amy was the automatic “little
helper” as Mom always called her. She didn’t like being called her little movie
star either. It was a cute nickname but Brynn knew that her mom didn’t mean it.
Amy was the apple of Dad’s eye and Carrie was the center of Mom’s world. That
left Brynn, the typical middle child to find ways to get attention. That
attention usually meant getting trouble at school and with friends. Brynn did it
a little different. She became the fixer in the family. She helped Dad with
repairs around the house. She learned how to sew in order to fix the clothes
that became ripped and torn. She used tried to fix the rift between her
sisters. Her “fixer” skills as she likes to call them is probably the reason
why she is a great contract negotiator. She can help both sides feel like they
were the ones that came out on top.
“Hello! Anyone home?” Carrie waved her hand in front of
Brynn’s face. She shook back to reality. “Where were you?” Carrie said
jokingly.
“Just thinking” Brynn replied. She got up from the table and
walked to the closed door of Amy’s room. She knocked softly. “Amy?”
“Come in” came the muffled reply.
Brynn opened the door to find Amy faced down on the
mattress. “Are you ok?”
“I just want to get this over with.”
“I know. I…” Brynn didn’t get to finish as she felt Carrie
behind her.
“What’s this? Are we being a lazy bones?” Carrie joked.
Amy shot out of bed like someone poured ice water on her.
She was immediately in Carrie’s face. “Lazy bones?!?! I’m been working my butt
off trying to get this house in order so we can sell it and you have been
nothing but a pain in the ass.”
Amy pushed Carrie out of the way so that she could leave the
room. Carrie was quick on her heels. Brynn took a deep breath. Here we go
again, she thought as she followed the storm into the living room.
“What are you doing?!?” screamed Carrie as Brynn entered the
living to see Amy begin tossing items in various piles.
“I’m doing what YOU should have been doing hours ago.
Obviously, this stuff means nothing to you, so what do you care what I do with
it.”
“Get your hands off my stuff. I will take care of it, you
control freak!” Carrie ordered.
Amy spun around to look at Carrie. “Oh, you’ll take care of
it. Just like you take care of your children. And where are they today? Oh,
that’s right, their fathers have them. You were too unfit.”
Both Brynn and Carrie gasped. Amy stared at Carrie, daring
her to continue. Brynn stepped in. “Amy that was a little uncalled for.”
“No, Brynn, it was called for. She’s so judgmental and
critical. She cares for no one but herself. I never understood how Mom thought
you were the moon and stars. Her Care Bear, yuck! You never could do anyway
wrong in her eyes. Even after you got caught in high school drinking in the
principal’s office. At least, I now know where she got it.”
“What do you mean?” Brynn asked slowly as she was afraid of
the answer.
“Mom. Hello! She was such a snob.”
“No, she wasn’t” echoed Brynn and Carrie together.
“Yes, she was. She would be nice and friendly to people’s
faces but the minute their back was turned, she would criticize everything from
their choice in clothing to their career. The sky was the limit to her
judgment. Dad kept his distance. She didn’t care when I was having problems
getting pregnant. She didn’t care when Brynn lost her job and had to struggle
to find a place to live. She only reluctantly let you move back home after Dad
pleaded with her. Oh, Brynn, don’t look at me like that. You know it’s true. Aaron
always said there was something fake about Mom.” Amy choked on the tears that
began to pool.
“Well, you want to know something. Mom didn’t like that you
married Aaron. She thought that you married down when you picked him” Carrie
spat down with a look of satisfaction, thinking she just delivered a blow.
Brynn was shocked at Amy’s whispered reply.
“I know”
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