Purple Finch Press

Molly Wimette —

“One more day!” Bailey said excitedly, drawing a big X through the box on her calendar that read Wednesday. “One more day until I’m back home in my big sister’s arms again! In one swift movement, Bailey scooped up her cat Moose from between her legs and pulled him in against her chest, allowing the warmth of his head to nestle into her neck. “Hope you don’t miss me too much,” Bailey said sarcastically, kissing Moose on the head as he fought to release himself from her firm grasp

Bailey’s older sister, Harper, had gifted her Moose when she graduated from UCONN three years ago – the same school that Harper graduated from five years prior. Harper received her degree in Elementary Education and moved back down south, where they had grown up, having had enough of the cold New England winters. Bailey followed closely behind in her older sister’s footsteps and also received her degree in Elementary Education. Then, for the first time in Harper’s life, Bailey chose a different route than she had. She found a pet-friendly apartment just south of Hartford, Connecticut, and decided it was good enough to call home.

It had felt like forever since Bailey made these life-changing decisions: living farther from her sister than ever before and living alone. However, over the years Bailey had learned to rely on Moose to keep her company, serving as a constant reminder of her sister and the love they shared for cats. And now more than ever, Bailey couldn’t wait to go back home and see her sister.

The two of them shared a very special bond that began the day Bailey was born. As children, they spent every waking moment together, coloring, playing outside, swimming, running, jumping, laughing, and singing with one another. They loved when their parents took them on special trips to the park, to grandma’s house, out for ice cream, to the zoo, and especially to the aquarium. Throughout elementary and middle school, the girls had separate friend groups, but they always made time for one another, no matter the occasion. 

“Swimsuit, digital camera, bathing suit, sneakers, check and check!” Bailey ran through her packing list, reading each item aloud to ensure she didn’t forget anything.

The girls had planned Bailey’s visit back to South Carolina months ago, scheduling her to visit during the summer months, because they both had summers off. On the phone, Bailey had urged Harper to let her stay for an entire month – “we only see each other once a year. Pleaseee, Harper, we won’t have enough time to do everything I want to do. Let me stay a month!” But Harper wouldn’t budge, “two weeks,” she told her little sister. 

Two weeks, Bailey thought to herself, as she struggled to zip her suitcase closed. If I forget anything, I always have Harper’s closet to steal from! Bailey chuckled to herself; she knew her sister would be delighted to have to share her belongings with her, just like old times. 

In the weeks leading up to her trip, Bailey racked her brain trying to remember everything they used to love doing together when they were younger. She came across amusement parks, aquariums, and a number of dolphin boat tours that she vividly remembered doing as a kid. She also took note of the much simpler activities that she and Harper had loved to do – going to the park and eating ice cream on a hot day.

As Bailey continued to organize her belongings, she simultaneously started packing her carry-on for the plane, grabbing the stack of papers that lay neatly on the corner of her desk, she briefly shuffled through them. 

“Amusement park information, got it. Dolphin boat tours, yup. And can’t forget the aquarium details. Perfect!” Bailey said aloud, rolling up the stack of papers that she had printed a couple of days ago, containing every small detail regarding the different locations that she had been researching. 

“This will be my activity for the plane,” Bailey said with enthusiasm, carefully placing the scroll of papers against the inside wall of her backpack. 

That night before bed, Bailey placed her suitcase and carry-on neatly at the foot of her bed, along with the outfit she had picked out to wear on the plane. She lay down, Moose nestled underneath her arm, and quickly texted her sister, “Can’t wait to see you tomorrow! Love you!” before dozing off to sleep. 

***

Upon Bailey’s arrival in South Carolina, Harper had called ahead a taxi to transport her from the airport to her front doorstep – a 15-minute drive that Harper preferred to avoid due to the crazy drivers that often controlled the highway.  

“HARPERRR!!”

“BAILEY HI!!” the two girls shouted in unison as Bailey fled from the taxi and Harper darted across the lawn, embracing one another in the biggest bear-hug. 

“Harper omg yay I can’t believe I’m here; I missed you!” Bailey exclaimed. 

“I missed you too, I’m so glad you’re here!” 

“I have so many fun things planned for us to do, I can’t wait to show you what I came up with,” Bailey said. 

“Funny you say that,” Harper responded, “because I also made a checklist for us, it’s the easiest way to show you everything that’s changed since we were kids.”  

A big smile spread across Bailey’s face. Now we have two lists! Bailey thought to herself, so many activities and so little time. 

“I can’t wait!” was all she responded with. 

To settle her excitement, Bailey retrieved her backpack that she had thrown across the lawn in the midst of running to greet her sister, situated her suitcase in one hand, and followed Harper inside. As the front door swung open, Bailey was immediately greeted by her sister’s cats: Poppy and Mabel, and both of her legs became engulfed with their soft fur against her skin, making Bailey feel right at home.

“I’m gonna bring all my things to the guest room, or as I should call it, my room. I’ll be right back,” Bailey said to Harper, walking down the long hallway that led to her favorite room in the house. 

As usual, Bailey soaked in the familiarity of the guest room, the room that she called her own whenever she visited. She glanced at the row of picture frames that lined the dresser –– each one a different picture of the two of them, starting from when Bailey was a baby, all the way up until her college graduation. 

I miss being young together, Bailey thought to herself before retrieving the scroll of papers from her backpack, tucking it under her arm, and exiting the room. 

As she made her way back into the kitchen, she found Harper seated at the counter and took a seat next to her. She quickly began unrolling the scroll of papers and scattering them across the kitchen counter. 

“Umm, Bailey, what’s all this?”

“This is the list I was talking about of everything I want to do together while I’m here. All of these papers just have additional information for each activity!” she continued with excitement. “We’ll have to make reservations and purchase tickets sooner rather than later, so I figured we should go over everything now.” 

Harper began shuffling through the papers, exhibiting a sheer look of confusion. 

“The amusement park we went to when we were kids? Really Bailey? Don’t you know that rides make me sick? We cannot go there,” Harper snapped, continuing to look through the handouts that Bailey had laid out. 

“Why do you want to go to the aquarium?” Harper inquired, looking at her sister.

“Because we used to love going to the aquarium when mom and dad brought us, so I thought it would be fun to go again now that we’re older,” Bailey replied. 

“Uhh yeah, but that was when we were like five. I really don’t have a need to go look at fish swimming behind glass anymore. I’m 26 years old.” 

Bailey fought to remain strong as she listened to her sister shit on all of the activities that she had planned. We used to love doing these things when we were younger, why does she suddenly have no interest in anything that I like? Bailey thought to herself. 

‘OMG Bailey,” Harper continued, still flipping through the papers. “There is absolutely no way that I will go on a dolphin boat tour. I have seen enough dolphins in my lifetime, and now the ocean scares me.”  

Well, I guess I’ll just go ahead and cross off “swimming in the ocean” as well, Bailey thought. 

“Okay Harper I get it, all of my ideas suck. I was just trying to bring back some of our favorite childhood memories, but clearly you don’t like the same things anymore. If my ideas are so bad, then let’s hear the awesome ideas that you came up with,” Bailey snapped. 

“Okay!” Harper cheered, completely ignoring the change of tone in her sister’s voice. 

“So,” she continued, “first I wanted to take you shopping at this huge mall about two hours from here. It’s kind of far, but they have some of the best stores, stores that New England has never even heard of.” 

“You don’t even like driving, you wouldn’t pick me up from the airport 15 minutes away, and you want to go to a mall two hours from here? I don’t even like shopping,” Bailey responded. 

“Okay, anyway, that’s beside the point. I also want to have a girls day and get manis and pedis at my favorite nail salon. I’m a regular, and they all love me there, so we can get a discount!” 

“Harper, the only time I ever got my nails done was for my senior prom, and I absolutely hated it. So, sounds like you’ll be going solo to the salon.” 

Ignoring Bailey entirely, Harper went on, “I also wanted to have a spa day, but clearly you’re just gonna shut down that idea too, so I’ll just stop there.” 

Bailey was quickly becoming annoyed with her sister’s materialistic behavior, and she was even beginning to question who her sister was. All of Bailey’s ideas were reflective of their childhood, things they used to love doing together, and Harper’s proposals consisted of activities that the girls had never once mentioned doing together. 

Silently, Bailey gathered all of her papers from the kitchen counter into one pile, and rolled them back up – she felt stupid for trying so hard, for the amount of effort she put into trying to make this trip perfect. Her mind raced, trying to understand where she might have gone wrong, or wondering if this was just what happened when sisters started to grow up. Bailey stood up from her chair at the counter and started down the long hallway. 

“Bailey wait, where are you going?” Harper called after her.

“To the guest room,” Bailey replied.