A Shattered Glass, My Life Without Her

About Them Ladies

'SURPRISE!!!' Everyone yells so loudly, my palms instantly come to my ears. Kat jumps from her spot at the threshold of the front door, gasping a giant and incredulous smile gracing her face as her eyes traverse the room, unable to focus on all the happy faces before her. She turns to look at Ray.

'You! You planned this didn't you?' She chided Ray happily with a slap to his arm. He couldn't stop smiling as the pair embraced with laughter.

'With Iev, Melanie and Dom,' he proudly rats us out, 'and Bernie too.'

'I can't believe this! You are all sneaky, sneaky squirrels!'

'Happiest birthday Katherine!' Melanie approaches Kat, handing her a glass of champagne. 'Salut!'

'SALUT!' Everyone follows clunking their glasses together. Dom, ever the Earth protector, had asked everyone to bring their own cups so we wouldn't have an excess of plastic to discard. The clinking glasses harmonizing with the thuds of water bottles.

'The sound of a safer ocean?' I whisper to Dom. She clashes our vessels together.

'Cheers to that!'

I walk up to my sister, who had only made it a couple steps into the apartment, everyone swarming impatiently to greet her there in the little entryway.

'Caeh fuh some tortilla?' I ask offering her the platter of bite-sized tortilla cubes with toothpicks carefully set into each one. She smiles at me with an accusatory eye having spied Ray and I whisking an entire crate of one dozen eggs earlier.

'And you!' Kat purrs looking into my eyes. 'You're my favorite sneaky squirrel of all!' Ray quickly rescues the platter from my hands before Kat engulfs me with the biggest big sister hug ever. I nearly choke from the pressure but at this moment, I am also the happiest I have been in years.

'I'm so happy I get to be heah to celebrate you Kat! You're the bestest sistuh in the world!' I choke into her ear. Kat only kept her grip on me, not saying a word. I know she has her eyes closed and her biggest dimpled smile on, her chin digging slightly into my shoulder from the need to get closer to me. My eyes betray me now with a tear or two escaping.

She finally parts realizing the queue of cast members waiting their turn to greet her. 'You Iev are the bestest sister in the world.' Kat's hands come up to embrace my jaw. Her thumbs wiping my joyful tears away. 'You have no idea how happy I am that I get to spend my birthday with you! Here with me!' I can see her eyes glistening as she sniffles.

She looks up at Ray and the others, 'I'm sorry guys, I just miss my sister sometimes.' We have never been competitive siblings, Kat and I, but we definitely toggle for the lead in missing each other. It's called a healthy sibling rivalry I think, as I overhear several people aww-ing behind me.

***

I walk out of the kitchen spying a very happy lady whose laughter above all others is thoroughly contagious as both Melanie and Emily sitting to Kat's left and Dom and Tim sitting to her right are all deliriously enjoying the afternoon. At the center, Kat is holding court, her drink in one hand, the other on Dom's knee. Happy Dom has also fallen prey to the giggles emanating from her delicate frame, slapping her other knee to emphasize the hilarity of whatever they are discussing. I can't help but smile at their glee.

I watch as Varun hands another glass to Dom which she retrieves. And then the group of them explode in laughter again. Melanie nearly falls out of her seat while Dom is feigning offense, pouting with the two glasses in her hands while trying to swallow her own laugh. Heroic Kat leans in and consoles her, whispering something in her ear that immediately brings out the smile that comes with an appreciative tilt of Dom's head.