A Cabin For Thirteen (Sequel to 6G5G1S)

Chapter 12: Siblings Counseling

Simone

 

After Lizzie and Michael’s fight, the cabin was awkward for everyone. It was uncomfortable for me in particular to be in the same room with one or both of them at the same time, because you weren’t sure whether something you’d say would strike a nerve.

Admittedly, I hated it. I hated seeing the two of them unhappy. She hadn’t seen him in months, and now they were feuding. It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair.

But, how could I fix it? It’s not like I had a good effect on any of them. Lizzie was the most independent person, and Michael was stubborn. When I say stubborn, I mean really stubborn.

So, how was I supposed to even be able to fix this sibling relationship if it was between these two people? How was I supposed to make this all work out? I guess I at least had to try.

I decided to start out by making “peace offerings”. I knew what kinds of cookies they both liked, so I chose to bake them each a batch of cookies and pretend the other baked them. Yeah, it wasn’t right to do, but it would get them at least in a good mood, right?

Lizzie and Michael had both migrated to their rooms by the time I started, so I was clear to do this without their questioning. I pulled out two cookie sheets, one for each of the batches, and started to get out the ingredients. I hummed softly as I did this. I found music to cause this to go much faster, which was helpful.

As I pulled the mixing bowl out, I found that I was being joined by Louis in the kitchen. He was getting himself a glass of water. I greeted him quietly. “Hey, Louis,” I said softly.

“Hey Simone,” he replied, giving me a small nod. He took a small sip of the glass of water in his hands.

“So, great birthday, huh?” I asked him, just to make a bit of conversation as I poured out the right amount of each ingredient for the first batch of cookies.

“Yeah, sure is.” Louis let out a sigh and turned to face me at the island. “What are you doing, just out of curiosity?”

“I’m making cookies.” I spoke plainly, looking down at my work.

“Why? We made our Christmas cookies two days ago. We’ve been snacking on them all weekend,” Louis reminded me.

I sighed. “I’m making two batches. One’s for Lizzie, one’s for Michael. Hopefully they’ll get them in a good mood. I might be able to lie and say that the other sibling made them, which could help them start to warm up to each other again.”

“I see,” Louis said softly. “So, you’re going to try to get them to talk to each other again?”

“Yup. I just can’t stand the fact that the two of them are fighting. They are just such nice people, you know, and they don’t see each other nearly as often as they should. They should be happy together, instead of fighting. They probably won’t see each other again in person in months after we leave here anyway. It’s just not right.” I sighed after I finished my little speech and started to mix up all the ingredients in Michael’s batch. He really liked M&M cookies, so that was the batch I was making for him.