***
Several weeks later, we were preparing for a family outing.
I arrived at Nora and Tom’s house just as Ellie came running into the kitchen.
She was carrying two pink ribbons.
“Auntie Claire! Hair time!”
I laughed.
“Good morning to you too.”
She climbed onto a chair.
“Two pigtails, please.”
Nora appeared with a hairbrush.
“Be careful. Her hair was terribly tangled this morning.”
Ellie rolled her eyes.
“Mommy, you brushed it wrong!”
Nora laughed.
“Did I?”
“Yes!”
I began separating Ellie’s curls.
The first ribbon went in easily.
The second refused to stay in place.
“Too tight!” Ellie complained.
I loosened it.
“How’s that?”
She touched both sides of her head.
“One’s higher.”
Nora leaned closer.
“She’s right.”
I looked at my sister.
“Whose side are you on?”
She grinned.
“Ellie’s, obviously.”
We both laughed.
For a brief moment, everything felt wonderfully ordinary.
