Anna
"Airplane stench, pizza and Miss America"
I stepped off the plane in a new country with only one thought on my mind, my aunt. Where is she? I know she wouldn't forget about me, we've both been counting down the days until my summer visit since she got her promotion and found out she was moving to Vancouver. I searched the crowd again knowing there is no way I could have missed her the first time. There was no missing Sam, she had a way about her that commanded any room she was in, with her long auburn hair that always flowed perfectly over her perfect pale skin. Then I saw her in the corner with a long blue sun dress on that hugged her in all the right places. Her hair was up in a mess of a bun on the top of her head. Sam looked beautiful with her up but me I would've look like my mother after one of her week long benders. Sam was lucky that way, she got all the good genes while my mess of a mother seemed to get the short end of the family stick. Sam was blessed with the curves of a goddess, she had pale skin that never seemed to have a blemish, soft pink lips but the thing about Sam that always stuck out the most was her long auburn hair and violet eyes that no one else in the family had. Sam looked like she could be a supermodel if she wanted while I looked more like her slightly above average cousin instead of her niece. Sam stood five feet eight inches flat foot while me on the other hand stood five feet four inches on my tiptoes in heels. I had plain dark blonde almost brown hair, temperamental skin and blue eyes.
Sam was 10 years younger than my mother but she was always more of a mother to be than Sandra ever was. Sam was only three years older than I am now when Sandra dropped a snot nosed toddler off with her and never looked back. That was fifteen years ago now and now that snot nosed toddler is seventeen and has never been so happy to see her aunt.
I could tell from the tears that started to fall over her smile that she saw me too. I clutched my bag to my side and ran into her outstretched arms. It's hard to believe that it has been four whole months since I've seen her. It has been the longest we've ever gone without seeing each other since my mom dropped me at her door but here I am now for the whole summer.
"I've missed you so much Anna" she whispered into my ear while pulling me into the world's tightest hug.
"I've missed you too" I said trying to pull free from the hug while still able to fill my lungs with air.
"You look so grown up" she said while pushing me away to take in my early morning plane ride mess of an appearance.
"Sam...it's been like four months and I look the same as I did when you left."
"It may have only been four months but you do look different"
"Do I look like someone who has made it through their first year of college and is ready to take the summer off with their aunt who they've missed like crazy?"
"That could be it" she said with a smile as she pulled me in for another hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Sam and I talked every night on Skype but we still had four months of life to catch up on that couldn't be crammed into our nightly chats about our day. We talked the full 45 minutes it took us to get to Sam's place from the airport. As we pulled up I could feel the tension in Sam rise. Has she gotten used to not having to take care of a child that wasn't hers? Did she not want me here this summer? Did she have her own life here that she didn't tell me about? Was she seeing someone? No that couldn't be it, she would tell me if she was and I knew she didn't regret taking me in when my mom dropped me off. So what was wrong with her now? I opened my mouth to ask her when she turned to me and smiled her 'I'm sorry smile'.
