The Moment

The Moment

“Guess what happened!” Alice said, coming up behind Henry.

“I’m not interested.”

Alice had opened her mouth to talk before his words hit her ears. She stopped, mouth open, “What?”

“I’m busy. I don’t want to listen to you babble about something silly right now.” He didn’t even look up, failing to see the happy, surprised face turn quickly into squinty eyes, raised eyebrows and a mouth that snapped shut, like a trap.

“Oh, that’s too bad. I thought you’d be interested too…”

“You always think I’ll be interested. I wasn’t interested in the fact that Jeremy lost his baseball down the sewer drain, I wasn’t interested that the Bateman’s dog got loose, and I wasn’t interested that Mom bought strawberries.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know how boring I was…” Alice said with almost gritted teeth.

“Alice I just want to be alone!”

Suddenly Alice heard a different note in Henry’s voice. Suddenly, and for the first time, Alice saw her brother as a person, a friend even, who was hurting.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, quietly.

Henry looked up, surprised. “What?”

“Why are you upset?”

“Who are you, my mother now?”

“No, I’m your sister, forever.”

“Big deal, you’ve always been my sister… forever…”

“Yes, but now I understand things I didn’t understand before. I’m older. It’s about Judy isn’t it.”

Henry turned a little red.

“Her next-door neighbor, Cynthia’s in my gym class. I heard Judy just broke up with Tom. I’d say… just say hi, but don’t try to ask her out for at least a week. Just pass by and say hello, and smile! That smile of yours that will cinch it.”

That was the moment when Alice changed from an annoying kid sister, to an actual friend.

It lasted too, for the rest of their lives.