The summer my cousin Georgia came to visit was the best. I had been waiting for something to happen that would help start my transformation from an awkward girl into a young woman. And when Georgia came she brought with her all of the parts to the puzzle I was missing. It’s not that I got to do the things she did or have the same friends as her, she was 17 and I was 13. But I got to hear her talk to her friends and watch her dress up and she taught me how to wear makeup (for whenever I was allowed to).
It seemed like her presence brought a light airiness into everyone. Me, my little sister Jenna, even my father. Only my mother still seemed unchanged by Georgia. She even occasionally seemed less agreeable.
When Dad brought home the blue t-bird, Mom about fell over. She kept shaking her head and saying “I don’t know, I just don’t know.”
“Come on, Aunt Lois, it’ll be fun!” Georgia insisted. But when the rest of us went for that first ride, Mom stayed behind.