Page 90 of The Wild Man

I focus back on momor. Her eyes are wet, but she has a small smile on her face.

“How you know Cammie?” I ask, my tone deeper than normal.

I listen intently as she tells me how Cammie showed up here and everything my sister told her. She talks about my sister with excitement, and I can tell she’s happy for me. I’m happy too. I thought I was left alone in the world, but then momor showed up and I wasn’t anymore. Having her made me realize how lonely I felt. Without her, I was nothing.

But now I have a sister. Not only a sister, but her two sons. Momor said I am an uncle.

“Do you want to meet her?”

“Yes.”

Momor laughs at how fast I answer. Now that I remember my sister, I don’t want to wait.

“Now. Want to see now.”

She laughs again and her dark eyes glitter like there are stars in them. She tugs lightly on my beard.

“Let’s wait an hour or two. It’s still pretty early. We’ll wait until the sun comes up and then I’ll call her.” She shifts her legs, and I remove my arm from over them. She gets up from the bed. Her naked body tempts me to pull her back down. I don’t like it when she puts something on that covers her body. “For now, I’m going to blow your mind by making you my famous omelet.”

* * *

I can’t stop looking at my sister. She can’t stop looking at me either, so I guess it’s okay.

She’s beautiful. Long brown hair, almost as black as mine. Her eyes aren’t as dark, but the lines of hair above her eyes are the same shape as mine. I only know that because after momor and I were under the falling water, I looked in what she called a mirror for a long time. I stared at every part of my face, studying it closely. It was weird looking at myself.

“You look just like Dad,” Cammie says. Her face is still red from when she cried earlier. “He had the same black hair and was thick like yours. You have his eyes too, and we both got his height, although you’re much taller than me. But it’s Mom who gave us her high cheekbones and full lips.”

We’re on the long thing with padding called a sofa. I’m sitting in the middle with Cammie on one side and momor on my other side. Momor has my hand in hers, squeezing my fingers. She’s had a hold of it since we first sat down.

“Mom and Dad adored you. They adored us both.” She rubs her lips together. “I have some pictures of them if you want to see.”

I clear my throat when it feels like something is stuck inside it. “Yes.”

She grabs a bag she has on the floor by her feet and pulls out a small box. The top is flipped open and she pulls out several small shiny papers. She holds them out to me, and I take them with hands that shake.

I look down at the top one. It’s of a man and a woman who look familiar. They both have wide smiles on their faces. They look like they are looking out of the picture and straight at me. Peepa has his arm around Noeny’s waist and she’s turned toward him a little with her hand resting on his stomach. Peepa has hair as black as mine, just as Cammie said. He’s taller than Noeny, his chin higher than her head. Noeny’s hair is deep red, like the color of leaves when it starts getting cold. Her skin is lighter than Peepa’s and she has little dots of color on her nose and cheeks. She’s more beautiful than I remember. They look happy as they smile at me.

I look at the next picture. This one Peepa is holding Noeny with one arm under her legs and the other around her back. She has one arm around his neck and her other hand is on his cheek. They aren’t looking at me this time. They look at each other, their smile not as big, but still filled with love and happiness.

I move to the next picture and this one holds my attention more. Peepa and Noeny are standing in front of a big tree. One of his arms is draped over Noeny’s shoulders. In his other is… me. The little boy version of me. My legs are hugging his hips and Peepa’s arm is under my butt with his hand on my leg. A little girl—Cammie—is hugging the other side of Noeny. We all look forward with big grins on our faces.

The last picture tightens my chest so much that it’s hard to breathe. Peepa and Noeny are on a sofa. Cammie sits across both of their laps, her butt on Peepa’s thighs with her legs lying on Noeny’s. In her arms is a bundle of light blue blankets, my tiny scrunched up face peeking out of them. All three are looking down at me.

“That was the day Mom and Dad brought you home from the hospital,” Cammie says. “I was at home with a babysitter. I was too young to really remember, but Mom said I couldn’t wait to meet you. She said as soon as they walked in the door, I demanded to hold you right away.” She laughs, the sound coming out choked. “I was so proud to be your big sister and promised to be the best one you ever had.”

“You were,” I say in a hoarse voice.

“You remember me?”

I glance up. Tears slide from her cheeks and drip off her chin. Momor reaches around me and offers Cammie another tissue. She has a small pile of used ones on the table beside us.

“Little. I remember drinking empty cups.” Cammie laughs. “And playing in rain. Holding hand and talking under sheets.”

“We used to have tea parties and build forts made out of sheets in your room.” She wipes her nose with a tissue. “I’d sneak into your room at night after we were supposed to be in bed and we’d huddle under one. We’d try so hard to be quiet so Mom and Dad wouldn’t hear us, but we always ended up giggling and they’d catch us.”

I grin. It’s not really the memories that make me smile, but the sound of childish laughter I can hear in my head.

“Can I—” she stops and her throat moves. “Can I hug you?”