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2
Katie had packed light,one bag.Her clothes still hung in the closet in her bedroom the way she left them.Her mom kept her old room much the same way.She didn’t need to bring hardly anything.
As she wheeled her one suitcase to the waiting area, she spotted her sister.
“Katie,” Mary squealed, running to greet her, beaming a warm, welcoming smile.Her arms opened wide.
Katie rushed into them, burying her face in Mary’s shoulder.She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.She had missed her sister.It was almost like old times.
At twenty-nine, Mary was one year older.She was the dependable one.If Mary said she’d be there, Katie could count on her.They’d been close growing up.When Mary got her first job, she was ecstatic.Soon after, she found an apartment about five minutes from her parents’ house and moved in.It was small, but bright and airy.Windows overlooked a courtyard.The backyard had enough room to put up clothing lines.Mary hung her clothes to dry outside.She liked the way the clothes smelled like fresh air and sunshine.She loved her little apartment, and she was proud to afford it on her waitress salary.
Mary had taken classes at the community college while she worked.She could take only one course per semester, but she was in no hurry.Eventually, she’d had enough credits to graduate.Katie had flown home for Mary’s graduation.She was proud of her older sister.Her parents were, too.It was the last time all of them were together, and they had a group picture taken.Katie kept a framed copy on top of her bedroom dresser.
“How was your trip?”
“Good.I could have used more sleep last night,” Katie said, giving in to another yawn.It was unlike her to complain.Yet she felt she had every right.She had given her all to her job.It sucked every bit of her energy.At night, she’d drag herself home with barely enough energy to prepare dinner.The same scene played out every time.Like a rote robot, she’d reach for the frozen dinner in the freezer and pop it in the microwave.By the time she washed up and changed into something comfier, dinner was ready.The tray was more interesting than the food sometimes, as the food tasted as boring as it was nondescript.It was something to stick a fork in and shove into her mouth.The best part?There were no dishes to wash.
To make it easy on herself, she’d rotate the frozen food trays, with the freshest on the bottom.It saved her from checking the expiration date each time; she only had to get the one at the top.Truth be told, she had microwaved food without checking the date when she was too tired to notice and too hungry to care.If it didn’t taste funny, she’d eat it.
Her life was orderly.The only thing that changed was the expiration date on each day’s meal.Katie sighed, thinking how pathetic it was for her life to be defined by the order of packaged frozen food.
