All My Love

“Mum we got it!” Elizabeth said rushing into the room followed by her twin sister Victoria and younger sister Katherine. Caroline smiled weakly at her girls from her hospital bed. “I’m so proud of you my babies,” she said her voice raspy due to her dry throat. Katherine picked up the glass of water from the bedside and helped her mother take a sip. “Do you know what you’re going to do with it?” Caroline asked looking at each bright-eyed young girl in front of her. Victoria smiled and nodded her head. “We’re going to open a bakery on one floor,” she started. “And a book store on the other floor,” Katherine finished for her. Caroline smiled at her daughters as a tear slid down her face. “Don’t worry Mum,” Elizabeth said carefully sitting down on the bed and wiping the tear away. “I’m not worried Beth, just so proud. You three are doing what you always said you would. Now all you need is a handsome man each and you’ve completed the dream,” Caroline said with a chuckle thinking about them as children. “Well Mum you know that the picky twins will only date hockey players but look how well that worked in college,” Katherine said making her older sisters stick their tongues out. “We want guys who will love the game to the same extent we do. That’s why hockey players date hockey players you little shit,” Victoria said with Elizabeth next her nodding head in agreement. Their bickering was interrupted by weak laughter from behind them. “Mum this isn’t funny!” Elizabeth protested but soon found herself laughing with tears streaming down her face along with the other three. “Nothing makes me feel more alive than when you three come in and act like children,” Caroline said. “Don’t say that you are alive,” Victoria said as Elizabeth wrapped an arm around her waist. The twins struggled the most with their mother’s cancer. “Yeah and we’re all out of college so we aren’t children!” Katherine chimed in trying to lighten the mood. “Honey you’re a senior, you’re still in college,” Elizabeth said with mock pity. “All right fine but we’re twenty-two and twenty-four so we aren’t children,” Katherine said sticking her tongue out. “I beg to differ,” a voice from behind them said. The three sisters turned their backs to their laughing mother and saw their brother standing the doorway. “Jon!” they exclaimed in unison before being pulled into a group hug. “How are you doing little sister?” Jon asked sitting in the chair beside Caroline’s bed and looking at Katherine. “Jonathan cut the shit, you’re older than me by less than a minute. Right Mum?” Katherine said looking for confirmation. “You know she is right Jonathan,” Caroline said laughing and looking at all her babies together again. They spent the rest of visiting hours sitting and talking with their mother, leaving her in better spirits than when they arrived.

That was the last time all four siblings were together with their mother at the same time. A week later the cancer took her from them and just like that they each lost the most important person to them. When Caroline’s last will and testament was read they discovered their mother had left them everything she owned. “I think we should call our shop Caroline’s,” Elizabeth suggested as the four of them sat at a café in the late summer sun after the funeral. “I think that’s a great idea Beth,” Jonathan said making her wrinkle her nose at the name. “How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?” she said trying to sound intimidating. “Mum called you that and so I’m going to continue to call you that,” he told her leaving no room for discussion. “So you’ll come visit the shop when you come home for the holidays?” Katherine asked changing the subject since talk of their mother sent the other twins into depression for the rest of the day. “Of course I will. I can’t wait to see how you make the sports theme work in a cupcake shop,” Jon said. “Oh we will. The building where we’re putting the shop is roughly halfway between the Garden and Fenway so we’re going to make it Boston sport’s teams and see if we can harass the team management and owners enough to make us the official cupcake of the Boston Bruins and/or the Red Sox,” Victoria explained. Jon whistled, “I wish you girls luck with that.” His sisters just laughed, they didn’t think they needed luck. “Don’t you have a flight to catch?” Elizabeth said after checking the time. “Yeah, I don’t suppose any of you ladies want to drive me to the airport so I can go back to school?” Jon asked knowing full well they would drive him.

“Good luck in college! Don’t get kicked out,” Victoria said giving Jonathan a hug and only half joking. “I promise, be good and take of each other,” Jon said looking at each of sisters in turn. “No dumbass we’re going to throw Katherine out on the street and starve Victoria,” Elizabeth said her voice dripping with sarcasm. “All right bitchy pants I’ll see you at Thanksgiving,” Jonathan said with a salute before turning and heading to his gate. “Damn I’m going to miss that boy,” Victoria said turning around and colliding with a body causing her to fall over. “Oh I’m sorry,” the boy said extending his hand to help her up. “Damn right you better be,” she said getting up and swatting away his hand. “Next time look where you’re going,” Victoria said looking up at him and being startled by recognizing him. “I will, I don’t like knocking pretty girls down,” he said with a cute smile. “That’s cute. If you ever want to see this pretty girl again visit Caroline’s,” Victoria said with a smile and walked away her sisters by her side. “Holy fuck Tori,” Elizabeth said unable to form any other words. “Where did that come from?” Katherine cried, both of them looking to their sister for an answer but she seemed unable to form any words herself. “Did that just happen?” she asked when they got in the car making her sisters burst out laughing. “Come on, let’s go check out how the crew is coming along at the shop,” Elizabeth said starting the car and heading towards Caroline’s with the replay of Tori's encounter with Dougie Hamilton in all of their minds for the rest of the day.