Hurt Me Twice

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Anyone who loves in the expectation of being loved in return, is wasting their time” Paulo Coelho

A couple of weeks later, we were hosting an extended family dinner. We always do that once a month. My parents invite everyone, from my aunts and uncles and their husbands and kids to my grandparents.

Everyone in our small family helps out. This year thought, we have a new addition… Brian!

Meaghan’s never in the kitchen, she’s always in my room going through my closet, to help me put on something appropriate. To put it in her own words “No sister of mine should look torn up”

Yeah, that’s Meaghan Clark for you.

This dinner, on the final week of March she decided to help out in the kitchen, with the rest of us.

“nice to have you here… for once” mom said

“please, Bethany. You know I don’t belong here.” Meaghan shook her head. She calls our parents by their first name as opposed to “mom and dad” and to continue proving my point what she said next was “where’s Richard? Is he with Brian talking business… again?”

“I’m right here kid.” Dad walked in

“wow, I thought I passed the torch of that nickname to the kid over there, almost 15 years ago.”

“don’t be mean. You’re a mean young lady. I don’t raise mean children.” Mother was clearly annoyed. “I hope your sister doesn’t learn that from you.”

“she probably did. Since I raised her.” She stressed on the “I”

They were gonna have an argument, and it would have ended ugly. But it didn’t. Brian stepped in to save the situation. He’s so charmed by my sister to ever see anything wrong with her. In her attitude I mean, cause she’s so perfect to look at.

“please, Mrs Clark, do not insult my wife in my presence. And you, my wife, come take a walk with me.”

When they left the kitchen, I spent what seemed like a minute or so processing what happened.

“that was…” I started to talk but mom cut me off

“embarrassing.”

“no.. amazingly awesome.”

“what was so awesome in that, huh?”

“why so defensive mom? He stood up for her the way a man should! What was he supposed to do? Leave you two to argue and then who know what next… like pull each other’s hair?”

“oh please, if anything I’d slap that senseless child.”

“you’d what?” I put down the knife that I was chopping tomatoes with down harshly.

“I’d slap her.” She repeated.

“she’s 22 years old and you’re gonna slap her? She’s an adult! Going on 23!”

“she’s still my daughter and when I see something in her that needs to be fixed, I’ll fix it.”

“you think slapping her will fix it? What kind of person are you? Some freak who time travelled from the medieval era?”

“keep going and I’ll slap you instead!”

“oh yeah?” I ran out of the kitchen to the salon and got a vase, a very important vase to my mother, she got it on her wedding day from her mother, and it had belonged in their family for hundreds of years.

“what are you doing?” her eyes widened when she saw me holding it. “put that down now!” she yelled at me

“see, that tone won’t work with me. Since Meaghan eloped you didn’t give it to your eldest like the traditions say you should, and there’s no sense in giving it to me, so it’s useless to keep it right?”