This evening, as I was standing in the kitchen with Lily, my sister called. We were trying to organize ourselves to run out on an errand; my sister was in a silly mood and was attempting to conduct the conversation as her cat, Elvis. Lily, whose phone etiquette leaves quite a bit to be desired, was not holding the phone up to her ear or her mouth, causing my sister to meow at the other end even louder. Finally, I took the phone and said, exasperated, "We can't do this now. We're trying to get out the door."
"Why so grouchy?" she asked, cheerfully. I did not say, "Because we really need these lampshades and you're 37-years-old and the cat voice thing isn't funny after the first line and Lily isn't even listening to you."
Instead, I said, "Look. I'm not in the mood. I'll call you back." And I hung up the phone. When I set it down, I realized Lily was looking at me with interest. "What is it?" I said.
"Mama? Are you the oldest or the youngest sister? I forget." Ouch.
"Which do you think?" I asked, knowing full well which she thought.
"The oldest," she said.
"Why?" I asked, under the grounds of: If you're already caught in a flash flood, you won't mind a little more rain.
"Because you acted like Aunt Alison was bothering you," she said.
"Like Annika bothers you sometimes?" I said, apparently seeking an ally.
"Annika can't talk on the phone," she said. Which has its own kind of logic. But I think I'll call Alison back in the morning.
1 comment:
Eek. Thanks. Or not. I kind of needed this reminder about the power us older sisters wield. As the middle sister, I'm both the younger and the older but in both roles I'm always aware of the role of the omnipotent older sister. Haven't you learned so much about the Holden sisters in the past few months? Personally I'd like some Hardings to weigh in. xo
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