Cherish Every Moment Book 4: A Walk In Love

Sister My Sister

"So, what are you saying? That we just let this girl break Avi's heart?" Ester nearly snapped at Scott as she rounded on him. He set Mitch down. The goofy would have to wait after all. He looked at Ester with warm blue eyes, full of love patience, understanding, and wisdom beyond his years. How could he deny her fears when he shared them? Mitch slid out of the way. He had no place in this and didn't want one.

"No," Scot said as gently as he could. "that is not at all what I am saying." He watched Ester's face for a long while and held his breath while he searched for the words that he needed to calm her. He didn't falter when he spoke again. "I am saying that we can't know that she will. We don't have the power to predict the future no matter how much we want it. I know you want to protect your baby brother. I want to protect him too, but are we really protecting him if we deny him the chance to find the one thing that he really wants? Are we helping him in any way if we tell him that he's wrong or try to stop him from learning the life lessons that will shape him as he grows?" Scott led Ester over to sit on the edge of the bed. The conversation that needed to be had was not a standing up kind of conversation. He sat and patted the bed next to him.

"Sit with me. Let's talk." Ester was close to tears.

"I would tell you not to worry, but that would be foolish. We are all worried about Avriel. It's not a hard thing to do when you love the guy." He hugged Ester tight and went on.

"But, Avi has to make his own decisions, his own choices and we have to be strong enough for him and trust him enough to let him do it. Do you understand so far?" Scott's tone was softer and gentler than Mitch had ever heard it. It was like he was coaching a small child, but not condescending in the least bit. His voice was soft and smooth and full of the love they both felt for the sister of their hearts. Ester nodded wiping at the tears that were in her eyes. Scott continued to explain.

"Avi wants. No! Avi needs to be loved by someone that doesn't have to love him, someone other than his family."

"We love him." She interjected hopefully.

"That is true. We do love him, but we are his family. We both know that the love of your family is just not enough. It simply isn't. Like all people, he craves a connection to another person that we have no right to give him or try to deny him. That whole other level to love that runs under it all, a connection deeper than the love of our mothers and fathers, sisters, and brothers, that connection that is all things, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, physical and sexual. He wants to be connected to that someone in every way that he can." Scott checked Ester's eyes to make sure that she was following before he continued. "We love Avi. That is so true. In loving him we have to trust him and we have to let him find his own path even if it scares us." Ester smiled a bit and sighed.

"She's a fan, Scott."

"I know. They don't all want the same things. I am certain that Avi knows that and is more aware now of the dangers than before. I would be worried over that too if he hadn't seen the heartache some of us have dealt with after getting physically and emotionally involved with fans." Ester looked at Scott the worry still planted in her eyes. She didn't want to think of her little brother being hurt by anything or anyone. She spent her life protecting him. She was only a few years older than Avi, but she remembered his first steps. She remembered every tumble and every tear. She hated it when he cried then and she would always hate it. She looked first to Mitch, who nodded his agreement with Scott's assessment of the situation so far, then to Scott who smiled at her reassuringly. He encouraged her to share her thoughts by raising one barely visible brow.

"It's just scary you know when you've been watching over someone your entire life, protecting them, lifting them up when they fall, and pushing them back on the right path when they falter. He was in high school the first time he seriously kissed a girl. I remember the little smile that was on his face that day. I also remember that the girl broke his heart a week later when he caught her kissing another boy. We're on tour. They will be apart more than they are together. How is he supposed to manage a relationship and be on tour at the same time? What if she..." Scott placed a finger on her lips.