"I can't play Nicole, c'mon let go." Haley, my cousin, was desperately trying to get our little cousin to stop hugging her leg. Nicole was crying and didn't show any signs of letting go.
"No, don't go Haley!" Nicole cried, still holding onto Haley. Giving in, Haley picked the little girl up, and held her on her hip.
She fixed Nicole's hair, "Why don't you want me to leave?" Nicole rubbed her swollen eyes.
"I like you being here, mommy doesn't play with me anymore, you're my favorite cousin." she played with Haley's short red hair. These words didn't sting me, Haley was the favorite of a lot of our younger relatives, and it was easy to see why. She knew how to deal with little kids, how to talk to them.
"I have to go to work, I need money. You understand? When I get back, we'll play together for the whole evening. We can play on the Wii or take a walk in the field, would you like that?" Haley wiped away Nicole's tears. Nicole nodded, and Haley gave her a kiss on the head. She put Nicole down, grabbed her purse, and left to get a ride with one of her co-workers.
I took Nicole's little hand, and we went through Haley's closet. We were here to help with renovations of their house, but Haley decided to go on to work. Everyone was out for lunch or making lunch, so we were free to do whatever. I found stuffed animals, Nicole found some of Haley's old Barbies, boxes of baby clothes, sewing stuff, her acoustic guitar, her crossbow, and tons of boxes stuffed with keepsakes. I thought some of this stuff would be interesting, so I pulled down a beaten and colored on shoe box. I sat down with Nicole in front of me, the box in the middle.
"What's in here?" Nicole asked, patting the box. I opened it to reveal a bunch of photos. Some looked like they've been through a lot, and some looked brand new. There was a picture of our great, great grandfather and grandmother at their wedding. They were both frowning and grandfather was in his military uniform.
"They look like pictures Haley's kept." I replied, pulling a whole stack out. The next one was Haley, maybe about five, giving a boy her age a kiss on the lips. I knew his name, Mason, and they were inseperable for years. Then Mason moved out of state, and they didn't stay in touch. Haley and Mason, he was giving her a flower after her ballet performance. Haley and Mason, under a tree reading a book. They didn't know the book was upside down or they were just being goofy.
She had a few of her brother Shane in the hospital, in this one she was beside his bed showing a thumbs-up as if to say, "Looking good." Asleep on the floor at the hospital in Shane's room, eating McDonald's at the hospital, there were many that took place with her brothers. It was like they were the apple of her eye, and no one else could take away her love for them. They were almost as big as her when they were born, and when she held them you could tell she was uncomfortable.
Sometimes it was hard to tell the girl in these pictures was Haley. The girl in these pictures was happy, smiling, and didn't look tired. Nicole was in awe at the pictures of Haley in ballet attire and performing. She was too young to remember going to her performances. She may be different, but these pictures remind us of who she once was. They remind us that maybe, just maybe, she may be the same once again.
