Page 132 of Sterling Stone

I turn toward my sister again. The reminder is a cold dose of truth. I am not blood to Trudy either.

“That boy is every bit of mine, as much as your backside is, sitting at that table, young lady,” Trudy snaps. She’s not one to raise her voice as much as strike with a hard tone that makes you rethink your thoughts.

Jolene doesn’t argue.

Trudy turns on me next. “And what do you think I should do with him?” The question is rhetorical. “I have no more mind to turn him out than I did any of you.”

Completely chastised, a heavy pause follows in the kitchen. Her admission is another smack of truth, one that hits as hard as Jolene’s claim that Simon is not Trudy’s grandson.

“You…” Trudy points between my sister and me. “Belong to me.” She jabs at her chest to accentuate her meaning.

“We . . .” she circles her finger to indicate the three of us in the room and then points toward the hallway leading to Simon’s room. “Are a family.”

The moment is a reminder that families can be made. Families are communities and families can be found, built from whoever is present. Broken pieces glued together, forming a whole.

I glance at Jolene, remembering what Stone said earlier.

You can’t be responsible for the people your family have become, you can only love them for who they are.

I still love Jolene, but I’m disappointed in her, and right now, I’m disappointed in me.

Watching Trudy’s chest rise and fall with the tone of her voice, I worry she’s working herself up, causing her ticker to tick too much.

“Take it easy, Aunt Trudy,” I warn, easing compassion into my tone despite the gravity of the words.

She holds up one hand, warning me to shut my mouth, while holding the other hand over her heart, which I can almost see racing beneath her robe.

“I will not send that boy anywhere.” Determination fills her voice. “He needs me. And I need him.”

“He can’t take care of you,” Jolene quietly admits. “He shouldn’t be taking care of you.”

She’s right on that point. A child shouldn’t be responsible for an adult.

“That’s why I’m staying,” I announce, like I promised Simon in the hospital. Like I told Stone I wanted to do.

Trudy looks up at me, slowly shaking her head. “I’m not asking you to do that.”

“You don’t have to ask. I want to stay.”

Those the only people you’re staying for?

No. No. Stone was a big factor as well. Maybe even the biggest factor. I wanted to be with him. I wanted someone for me.

“Baby girl, you’re like those autumn leaves, falling off the trees, preparing to be scattered in the wind.”

“But what if I don’t want to scatter?” I argue. “What if I want to stay put?”

Jolene gasps. “Here? In Sterling Falls?”

“What’s wrong with Sterling Falls?” Trudy narrows her eyes at Jolene, a silent warning to check herself.

But I won’t let Jolene dissuade me from arguing my point with Aunt Trudy.

Autumn always feels like a change of life season.

“What if I’ve changed?” I step closer to Trudy. “What if I want to stay with you?”

Please don’t turn me out. The ten-year-old inside me who never would have asked is coming back to life. The little girl huddled in the back of a police car, holding both her sisters while watching our mama go in another direction, knowing we might never see her again. We didn’t see her again.