The Middle Child (27 page)

     I ask only one thing of you both.  Stick together and take care of each other.  It is my only wish as I leave you both that you will always take care of each other and will be separated by nothing again.

     My love to you both, always.

             
                                                                                    Beth

     Catherine’s hand shook as they reached the end of the letter.  Her sister’s tears matched her own as they understood Beth’s words.  Even at the last her thoughts had been for the both of them and not herself.

    
"She did it, didn’t she?" Catherine asked, folding the letter.  "She brought us back together?"

     Alex nodded, wiping viciously at eyes that had barely been dry during the last week. 
"It was always her that got us talking again when we were kids.  She hated it when we fought and always took responsibility for making the peace between us."

    
"She was such a generous person.  I’ve often wondered from where she inherited that trait."

    
"Maybe we should have done more."

     Catherine reached for her hand. 
"We did everything we could.  We tried to get her to see someone but she refused.  I think she had already made up her mind.  The memories of our mother were much harder for her to bear.  Not only because she had buried them for years but also because she took care of the woman until she died.  Her brain gave her the memories back when it thought she could deal with them but it would never have been the right time.  The enormity of it was always too much for her to bear."

    
"We have to make her proud."

     Catherine nodded and squeezed her hand tightly. 
"We will."

     Alex knew that life was not going to be easy.  There were still the memories of their childhood that she had to come to terms with without the assistance of alcohol. 

     Her insatiable need for a drink was something she would have to battle every day.  She also understood that she had to let her barriers down.  She had lived too long behind the safety of solitude and misunderstanding.  She had to take risks and open herself to the world and all it had to offer.  But somehow, Alex knew that she would make it.  Her life was not being handed to her on a plate but she had been given the tools to forge it. 

     It would be hard to put the past behind her and learn to trust the people she loved.  She had to leave behind the safety of having nothing in case her mother returned to take her life away.  It was within her control now and she would get there because she would do it for Beth and she refused to let her sister down.

     "Beth deserves to be remembered," Alex said, staring down at the coffin covered with handfuls of dirt.  "I’m going to write about her loving nature.  I’m going to tell our story, her story.  I shall write about The Middle Child".