A Sister's Heart

Chapter 14

The sound of the front door slamming echoed throughout the house, letting everyone know that Ivy was taking the kids to school. It would probably have woken Veronica up if she hadn't already been awake.

After climbing out of bed and pulling a robe on over her pyjamas, she figured it would be clear to head downstairs and grab herself some breakfast. Diana had ventured down about forty-five minutes earlier and Veronica assumed she would find her sister in their father's old study, so that was the first place she went.

As expected, Diana was sat in the reclining chair behind their father's desk, staring at the computer screen. "Hey." Her sister glanced up acknowledging her presence but didn't say anything. "You had anything to eat yet?" Diana shook her head. "Want some? I'm making scrambled eggs!" Veronica watched as her sister's lips curled into a smile, which she took as a yes. "I'll give you a shout when they're done." She turned and made her way back through to the kitchen leaving Diana to stress over whatever was on that computer screen.

The sisters sat down to their eggs fifteen minutes later and just as Veronica was about to dig in, Ivy arrived home. "Finally made it downstairs, sis we?" she quipped. They said nothing, continuing to eat their food while Ivy poured herself a coffee.

When they were done, Diana called Alexis in so that they could discuss the next steps. Thanksgiving was only three days away and the funeral was eight. "Hey sleepyhead!" she called out as her daughter trudged into the living room in sweats and a hoody.

"What's going on?" Rubbing her eyes, Alexis made a beeline straight for the coffee. She was one of those people who couldn't function properly without caffeine.

"We need to talk!" The way her Aunt spoke made it clear that it was to be an important discussion, no doubt about what needed to be done before the funeral. Alexis reached for a mug from the cupboard; one with the Hufflepuff logo from Harry Potter on the side. It was Lauren's, she knew this because they both had a love for the magical books and film series, and so she figured that her cousin wouldn't mind if she used it, even if she herself was a Ravenclaw.

She must have poured her coffee on autopilot because as she came face to face with her Mom and Aunts, she realised that they were staring at her, which is when she in turn realised that she had been stood still, staring off into space, coffee in hand. "What?" She asked, holding her own, and staring them down.

Ivy was the first to cave when she giggled. "She reminds me of you at that age." Her Aunt stated, turning her attention to her eldest sister. At that, all four women burst out laughing and it took a while for them to stop themselves as each time they tried someone would say something else and the laughter would start all over again.

Finally. Diana got them to stop. Her laughter turned to tears and one by one, the rest of them began to cry too. "It's Thanksgiving on Thursday and it's the first one without her!" Apart from the occasional sob, the room fell silent as the realisation hit them.

"I hadn't thought about that." To say Ivy's expression was riddled with guilt would be an understatement; she spoke almost as if she felt she had betrayed their Mother by not realising sooner.

"Okay, so let's make this a great day for the kids, or better yet for all of us." The three sisters were once again staring at Alexis as if she were an alien. "I'm serious! Not only will this be the first Thanksgiving without Grandma, but it's also the first one where we have all been together in a long time and I for one am thankful for that."

"You're right. It may not be the best circumstances, but we should make it special. She may be gone, but she did bring us together and who knows when we will all be here like this again?" Her mother was making a dig at the fact that none of the sisters were particularly that close anymore, but all Alexis could focus on was the fact that her Mom had agreed with her; something she was sure would take a lot more convincing. Diana Hart was not one to give in easily.

Over the course of the next hour, it was agreed that today Alexis would work on the video montage for the wake while her Mom and Ivy would go to the printers sort out the Orders of Service. Then tomorrow, Veronica and Diana would go to the florists and Ivy would prepare for Thanksgiving the day after. Alexis was also tasked with working with Lauren on her song for the funeral. There were still plenty of other things to be done, but they could wait until the weekend; for now, the decisions they had made would get them through Thanksgiving and that was enough.

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