My Sister's Keeper

Chapter 7: A Run For Your Money

Walking out of your apartment complex and on to the sidewalk, you pushed past the crowd of people on their morning commute. You were extremely nrevous, and could only dream of a peaceful first hangout. Blue tugged on her leash as the two of you maneuvered through the crowd, causing you to bump into a few people while apologizin profusely. Being too preoccupied to correct her, you let her head you until you got to the entrance of the park. You walked through the gate, unclipped her leash and tapped her as a way of letting her run around.

You scanned the area outside of the gates and noticed Jennifer approaching, coffees in hand. You smiled and waved, not being able to help looking reserved. She returned the gesture and headed toward you.

"Bec," she greeted, touching your arm softly. "Hey."

"Jennifer," you replied, nodding.

You glanced over to make sure that Blue was doing her laps. You held the ball in one hand and the leash in the other.

"My friends all call me JJ." She said, handing you your coffee. "Medium iced coffee with oat milk."

"Thanks." You sipped on your coffee when Blue came bolting toward you. "Blue, heal."

She did so, as her tail waged so erratically that her butt was moving too. Her excitement was far too hard to be contained while meeting a new person.

"And who's this little one?" JJ asked, crouching down.

"Release." You commaneded, as she approached JJ. "This is Blue. She's my new puppy, my little menace."

JJ giggled as she pet Blue. She gave JJ slobbery kisses, and you laughed. You were trying to socialize your puppy while also setting rules, but this was one moment where you let loose. Sucking the coffee through the paper straw, you grinned and chuckled.

"You're so cute, Blue-Bear," she said in a baby voice.

This made you laugh out loud, thinking of how that was the nickname you gave her. "She's a treat, really."

JJ stood back up, and you threw the ball. Watching Blue take off, you turned to JJ, still with the biggest smile on her face.

"She's an aussie, isn't she?" She asked. "My favourite breed. But my god, they have so much hair."

"I'm vacuuming every free second I have. But at least it gives me something to occupy myself with." You commented.

JJ glanced at your coffee. "It's only thirty degrees out, you're really brave with the whole iced beverage situation."

Looking over at her and sipped on it. "It's the only way I like coffee. Well, I'll drink it hot, because im not going to give up a chance to have coffee, but iced is a preference."

"I see where Blue gets his bravery from." She said with a slight chuckle ending her sentence.

"I'm surprised you wanted to meet before work. It's a bit early, isn't it?" You said, making small talk.

"Oh, my husband, Will, is on a business trip so I had to bring Henry and Michael to the sitter's before work, anyway."

"Henry and Michael?" You asked in return.

"Oh, yeah, my boys." She pulled up a photo on her phone, zooming into their faces. "This is Henry, he's ten, and Michael's six."

You smirked and took the phone to get a closer look. You zoomed up closer to their faces and your smile grew. You looked back up at JJ and kept the smile on your face.

"They're adorable," you replied, looking back down at the phone.

"I was looking at Henry last night and thought of how he looked like a mix of you and Ros."

You remained silent and thought about how important this moment was. Not only did she take the chance to share a picture of her boys with you, but she acknowledged your relationship. She mentioned Roslyn, and that, to you, was bigger news than ever.

"You think so?" You asked as tears gathered in your eyes. You refused to let one fall, but it was tough, hearing that you were just put on the same playing feild as Roslyn.

"Definitely. I mean, Michael looks like a mini Will, but Henry... he's all my side."

You pulled out your phone and opened it to reveal your lock screen. You had forgotten who was on your display screen and smiled.

"And who is this beautiful girl beside Blue?" She asked, inching in closer.

You looked away and then back at your phone. "Her name's Danielle, my daughter."

"She's gorgeous." She said, looking at the brunette and green-eyed girl crouching down beside your puppy. "How old is she?"

"Danielle's twenty and the light of my life." You answered. "But a she goes by Dani. Hates when she's called Danielle."

"Where's she now? If that's not too personal." She asked again.

"Cambridge, actually. She's there on full scholarship for medschool." You replied with pride. "But she also dislikes it when I brag about her, so I won't do too much of that either."

"Wow, that's amazing. You should be proud, she's a genius."

"Considering that I was sixteen when I had her, I'm glad she was able to make the most of it. Teen moms don't exactly have the best reputation when it comes down to it."

"I'm sure you're an amazing mother, Bec." JJ commented, grinning at you.

You needed, not yet allowing yourself get carried away with the idea of having a sister as one of your best friends. You tried to distance yourself from the thought and instead thought of this meeting as becoming acquainted with JJ.

You crouched down once more and threw the ball. Hearing Blue's paws smack against the dry dirt under the grass blades, you giggled. The sound of his paws hitting against anything almost threw you into hysterics.

"So, um... can I ask you something?" JJ asked, still staring over into the gated area with her arms crossed.

"Sure," you answered nonchalantly.

The slight hesitation she displayed before asking is what drew your nerves out. "Do we have any other siblings that I should know about?"

You audibly laughed and shook your head. "Yea, actually we have four brothers and two sisters. Sally, Jim, Roger, Fred, Johnny, and Dalia."

Looking over at her to catch her reaction, she was staring at you slack-jawed. "I'm kidding, we have ten siblings all together."

"You're lying," she said in disbelief.

"Of course im lying, do you think I would be alive if I had that many siblings? At that point it's survival of the fittest." You laugh again and drink your half done iced coffee.

The two of you giggled some more as you watched Blue torment the other dogs, chasing them until she was able to outrun them. "To answer your question, we do actually have a younger brother, Carter. He's twenty five, and a pain in my ass."

"Really," she stated, appearing slightly more interested. "Where's he now?"

You didnt want to answer this question, because it wasn't something that you were sure of. He was your baby brother, but you haven't talked to him in a while. Thinking of a response, you threw the ball again.

"I don't really know."

JJ remained silent, calculating her next move. "Oh?"

"I'm going to level with you, JJ." You replied, ready to confess. "Carter isn't as presentas we are, per say. I-"

Before you could speak any more, you felt your phone buzzing. You slid your phone out of your front pocket and turned to JJ, also looking at her phone. You called for Blue, who was immediately at your feet. Clipping on her leash, the two of you walked out of the gates while being bombarded by the sound of commuters on their way to work.

"How bad?" You asked her, walking toward the sidewalk.

"Florida."