Black to the Past

Chapter 16

Meredith woke up before Halle did. She felt nothing but comfort at the little elbow and knee jabbing her on her side. The warmth from sleeping with other bodies, reminded her that somewhere, families existed, even though she didn't have much of one at home. Meredith wondered how she'd sneak out of the house. Last night, true to Halle's word, her father had changed his clothing and left the house. Halle had run her mother's bath and settled her into bed before coming back up to go to bed herself. Neither one of them had finished their homework and were now far behind on their project.
Meredith was stretching when she heard someone coming up the stairs. She quickly and quietly got to the floor and under the bed.
"Halle?"
"Hmm," Halle said with her eyes still closed.
"Is Maya up here," her father asked.
"Oh, hey, yeah dad," Halle said, jumping up in bed quickly. She looked to where Meredith had been and almost let out a loud "phew" when she realized that she wasn't there but Maya was still in bed next to her.
"Here she is. Still sleeping. Don't wake her. I'll bring her down after I'm up and dressed," Halle told him.
"Okay, and hey. Sorry if you heard me and mom fighting last night. It was just a big misunderstanding. Mom's not been feeling well. She's better today," her father told her with a sternness he only used when he didn't want anything questioned.
"Oh, okay. No problem," she said, nodding her head and yawning. She didn't want to be discussing anything she'd heard last night. She wanted to put it all out of mind. She had no idea where her dad had gone or what he was up to but it couldn't be good.
"Okay, well. Don't forget and leave her up here. You know how scary she can be," he reminded her as he turned and left the room.
Meredith waited until she heard the door close before popping up from under the bed. "Phew," Halle said with a laugh. "Quick thinking."
"Remember when I "ran" away from home and practically lived under your bed every time one of them came looking for me," Meredith reminded her.
"Oh yeah! You're so crazy with that. I could never think that fast especially if I was just waking up. I'd better get up and dressed first so that I can make sure the coast is clear. Although, he usually leaves before I even get downstairs."
"No problem. My heart is racing a bit too fast right now," Meredith said as she leaned her head back against the bed.
"Keep an eye on Maya."
Halle showered fast but not having taken the time to perform her nightly ritual of picking out her clothing she took a long time in her closet. She was staring at all the clothes she had. It reminded her of all the times she'd shopped with her mother. All those loving moments her father had reduced to nothing. Her own mother had died in a car accident when she was coming home after a late shift from her work as a nurse aide. The accident had killed her instantly when Halle was just one year old. She remembered nothing of her mother. Her grandparents had practically raised her while her father worked hard to become a partner at his law firm. He was now a federal judge.
Sitting on the velvet bench in her closet deep in her own thoughts she didn't hear Meredith walk in with a towel wrapped around her body.
"I need stuff," Meredith told her. "Where's your head at?"
"Here, there, and everywhere. How are you going to explain to your clique your renewed friendship with me?"
"I don't have to explain anything to anyone," Meredith told her. Although she'd thought the very same thing herself while she showered, being best friends with Halle, was worth ten friendships with anyone else in school.
"Okay. Check that drawer closest to you. I made a Vicky's run just last week. There's brand new stuff in there you can have," Halle told her. She was wearing a new PINK sports bra and the matching boy shorts herself. Finally standing up to put on a denim mini skirt that still had the tags on it and an oversized off the shoulder sweater in blue. She slid a pair of knee high socks on in the same color blue with a pair of tall black riding boots.
"Clothes?" Meredith asked. They weren't close in height at all. Halle had a good five inches over Meredith's 5'4" but they wore practically the same size since Halle was so thin and Meredith was so short.
"All you wear is black leggings," Halle said jokingly.
"Ugh, don't remind me! It's all I have time to buy. Besides, black leggings match everything," Meredith added.
"Okay, so grab a pair and a sweatshirt," Halle told her, nodding to her drawer with the leggings.
"Everything's still the same."
"Creature of habit," Halle shrugged. She walked out of the closet just in time to find Maya waking up.
"Come on, babe," Halle picked her sister up and let her snuggle into her neck. "Time to wake up. You have school today?"
"No," Maya said.
"No school?"
"Not Tuesdays," Maya reminded her.
"Oh, you're right. This is your day with mommy," Halle smiled.
"She still crying," Maya asked.
"No baby. And do me a favor. Look at me," Halle held Maya up to the mirror so she could see her face. "Don't remind mommy about last night okay? Be a big girl and make her smile today."
"Okay."
"Okay, pinky promise," Halle held up her pinky for Maya to add her little pinky to. She'd taught her about pinky promises when she explained that sometimes sisters had to stick together and not tell their secrets.
"Pinky promise," Maya liked having secrets with her sister. It was something they shared and not with the little boys.
"Okay. Let's get you downstairs to mommy," Halle hoped her mother was in a better mood this morning.
Peeking into her parents bedroom, she noticed the bed was perfectly made as it always was. Halle turned and went towards the nursery. She peeked in there and saw that the two little ones were still asleep. She waited for the rise and fall of both boys' chest as she always did since the first time she'd ever heard of SIDS. Both boys were sound asleep. Not knowing what she'd walk into if she went downstairs she carried Maya into her bathroom and set her up to use the bathroom and to brush her teeth and wash her face.
In her opinion, Maya was perfect. She had golden brown skin with hair the same color. Her eyes were large, round, and hazel. She was petite and cute and quiet. A parent's dream child. She was exactly the opposite of Halle who was tall, brown, skinny, and otherwise boring. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm an expert with a makeup brush and had impeccable style with arranging clothes, I would disappear into wallpaper, she thought to herself.
Halle loved picking out clothes for Maya. Little kids clothing was so cute. She could make her look like a miniature version of herself, or she could make her cute as a little doll baby. Halle chose a matching dress/legging combination in a cream color for Maya. She didn't know how she did it, but Maya could wear white all day long and not get a stitch of it dirty. If Halle wore black, she'd get dirty right away.
Halle hoped that she'd given her mother long enough to get herself together. She headed downstairs with a fully dressed Maya. One less thing for her mother to do. Halle just couldn't get it out of her head that her mother no longer wanted to be a full-time mother. From the outside looking in, hell-from the inside looking in, Sherry was the perfect wife and mother. Who would have thought that her mother wasn't enjoying her life. But maybe it was just postpartum depression. Or maybe it was something more.
Popping her head into the oversized kitchen before letting Maya's head go in, Halle saw her mother staring out the back porch doors overlooking the backyard. "Mom," Halle started with a small smile on her face.
"Hi kiddo," her mother replied with a small smile of her own.
It was embarrassing to have her eldest child, a baby really, see her on the floor, crying and dejected because of the pain that her very own father had inflicted. But Halle had grown up last night. She'd stripped her mother of her clothing. Held her up in the shower when she would have sunk to the shower floor beaten and feeling abandoned. It was her daughter that had carefully dried her off and lovingly applied a nourishing oil mixed with the very scents that she used when she wanted to calm her own loved ones for the night. Halle had dried her hair and braided it down her back and put her to bed in the gentlest of manners that she hadn't felt since she'd been a child with her own mother there to coddle her.
"Hi mommy," Maya said happily. She hopped off of Halle's hip and ran into her mother's arms.
Sherry loved the smell of Maya. She was such a sweet baby and it came through in all of her little pores. Maya snuggled against her mother and held on to her. She couldn't betray her sister's pinky promise but she could hug her mother until the tension ran out of her.
Sherry looked over Maya's head and thanked Halle. Halle nodded her head once before heading back upstairs.