His Best Friend's Sister

Epilogue

Summer

In June, Robin and I were delighted to have attended a senior prom together. We sat at a table with our dates, Alexander and Heather, and Valerie and Denis. No longer holding the bias of having a crush on Alexander, Robin and Heather actually had a lot to talk about. Denis and Ricky had some good conversations about guitar and Alexander grudgingly accepted my presence at his senior prom, even agreeing to let mom take nearly a hundred pictures of us together. Rex and Robin, who were always the life of the party individually, reveled in the fact that together, entertainment would always ensue. Ricky and I slow-danced any chance we could. All we wanted to do was be close to each other and for the first time, we were happy to show off our relationship to the world. Also, I ended up passing math with flying colours since Ricky became my math tutor for the remainder of the semester.

When I had ended things with Jonathan, he asked me if it was because of Ricky. I told him the truthful answer, which was that, it wasn't about Ricky. It had nothing to do with Alexander's disapproval, either. It was a decision that I had made for me. Luckily, we were able to stay friends, which Brad was happy about, since he and Bianca had decided to get back together again, and he enjoyed a male presence in our lunch group.

I made a  habit going forward of only doing things I wanted to do, and not things I felt like  I should do. Because of this, I grew even closer with Valerie, I was more honest with Robin, and Alexander began to see my actions and decisions as being genuine. The day that my mom and I drove Alexander to his new dorm, he warned me to be careful in my last year of high school without him. He said that I no longer had anyone to protect me – not him, not Rex, not Ricky. When I cocked a brow, he then went on to say "Okay, okay, I get it. You're a smart and mature girl... but you're still my baby sister!"

The summer going into senior year, I told Robin I wanted to do something crazy. So, she came with me to get a nose piercing. Except, I decided at the last minute that, actually, I didn't want a nose ring. I got my upper ear cartilage pierced instead and I am pleased to say, it looks great.

When Robin and I became seniors, we were amazed to discover that... it really didn't feel all that different from being juniors. "Why were we trying so hard to impress them, as if they were alien celebrities with immortality?" Robin had asked. Although I have to admit, we did feel a bit of indignance when juniors would show up unannounced to senior-only events.

Ricky had gone away to Oakley, but we talked on the phone every single night. Since it was only two hours away, he often came back on weekends. While we did miss Alexander, it was also refreshing to get some uninterrupted alone time. The boys continued to keep in touch, to visit each other's universities, and even attend each other's hockey games. Allowing himself to play more freely and not crack under the pressure of thoughts of dad, Alexander grew better and better at hockey. Meanwhile, Alexander and Ricky realized that communication was key in any friendship; something that Robin and I had learned, as well.

Everyone came home for Thanksgiving in the fall and the Heinrich's threw their largest party in years. The whole neighborhood came and a bunch of Alexander and Ricky's friends who had graduated, came back as well. All except Elliot Bowden, whose record was now smudged with a DUI.

Ada Heinrich threw a party for the books. Her extravagant German foods and desserts nearly sent Rex and his dad into a coma. My mom and I made a Galaktoboureko Greek cake to bring to the party and it was a massive hit. Robin's little brothers and sisters came too and it was amusing to see them attack Rex, who was stuck being "horsy" the whole night. Music blasted through the house and the decorations were colourful and vibrant. Most importantly, there was something different about the Heinrich house now. In almost every room, there was a picture of Adam. In fact, one of Adam's drawings was framed and placed above the fireplace mantel.

Ricky had told me that, because of me, he began talking to his parents about his feelings over his brother's death that had been sitting with him for years. Ricky had never processed his brother's death before, and it had been harming him to pretend like it had never happened - to pretend as if Adam had never existed. He said that it was difficult at first, but that eventually, it became easier to talk about. Ultimately, conversations about Adam started to bring about only happy memories and the painful feelings subsided to the background.

In junior year, I thought that everything I wanted in my life was to be popular. I came to recognize that, that wasn't what mattered anymore. What mattered was that in discovering what I wanted, I was discovering who I was. As I walked into senior level Sociology for the first time that semester, I realized that I was on my way to completing a new journey - and I knew that I was going to have a great time doing it. 

After all, I was a Morales.

The End