Page 57 of Burned

Chapter Nineteen

The woman Sadie assumed was Joyce Brown, burst into tears at Sadie’s question. “Oh, you poor sweet baby girl.”

Sadie shot her sister a questioning glance.

Lily shrugged.

The woman came forward and enveloped Sadie in her arms and held her close giving Sadie no choice but to hug her back. The older woman stroked Sadie’s hair and rocked her making the moment extremely awkward.

“Joyce, let the poor girl go. You’re crushing her,” The man who’d identified himself as Uncle Clinton chided.

Joyce pulled back with a sheepish grin. She brushed away the stray tears that ran down her face. “I’m so sorry. But you just…she looks like…”

Clinton nodded. “I know. I thought so too when I saw her.”

Sadie had no idea what or who they were talking about so she continued to smile politely.

Joyce turned her attention to Lily. “Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. You’re just as pretty as you want to be. Come give your auntie a hug.” Without waiting for Lily to respond, Lily was pulled into Joyce’s embrace although the other woman didn’t hold her for as long as she had Sadie.

“Let me take your coats, ladies and get you something to drink. We got some sweet tea, soda, coffee, and water.” Uncle Clinton helped Sadie out of her coat first and then Lily.

Sadie nodded. “Water would be great, thank you.”

“Nothing for me, thank you.” Lily smiled graciously.

They were ushered into a large yet comfy looking living room decorated by various pictures that Sadie assumed were various family members. As she took a seat on a suede sectional couch, her gaze landed on a picture of her. Or at least she thought it was her at first, but there were subtle differences. When Sadie first saw Joyce, she thought the two of them looked a lot alike, but not as much as her and the woman in the photograph. Was that Mama Brown, who Uncle Clinton had mentioned when he’d greeted them at the door? She made a note to mention it as soon as everyone was seated.

Uncle Clinton returned with a glass of water for Sadie and took a seat in the recliner across from Sadie and Lily, while Joyce sat next to Sadie, staring at her almost as if she’d seen a ghost. “I’m sorry, baby, it’s just....it’s like she’s been brought back to life. I feel so guilty for staying away. I wish I had been apart of your life…of all your lives, but we didn’t want to cause any disruptions.”

“I’m confused here,” Lily spoke before Sadie could. “I’m not exactly sure how we’re related exactly. Our father only had one brother who passed a few years ago. Jackie as far as we know didn’t have any other family.”

Joyce raised a brow. “Jackie? Don't you call her mother? Figures,” she ended on a snort.

“She never liked us to call her that but it doesn’t matter because we barely acknowledge her as our mother. But that’s a whole other story. Could you please tell us how we’re related and why I was left a sum of money and not my sisters?” Sadie asked finally finding her voice.

“I’m sorry. I guess we should have made better introductions when you first came inside. I just didn’t expect you to look so much like her.” Joyce wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye.

“Who?” Sadie wanted to know.

“How about we start from the beginning, Joyce is getting a bit choked up here and understandably so. We’re Jackie’s brother and sister.”

Sadie frowned. “Jackie said she didn’t have any other family.”

Joyce pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. “Is that so? Figures. She always thought she was better than everyone else. I swear if she didn’t look so much like Daddy and Grandma Flora, I’d swear she wasn’t one of us. Jackie has always been a bit…special.”

Sadie placed her glass on the coffee table and grasped Joyce’s hand. “I don’t want to be rude, but I need answers. Jackie just told me that she wasn’t my mother. And then I see you and we look so much alike I could be your daughter, but then I see that picture over there of a woman who could be me. The resemblance is eerie. Who is she?”

Clinton and Joyce exchanged a look before Joyce turned her attention back to Sadie. “That was our sister, Sadie. She was your mother. Trust me, baby, if she were alive, there’s no way she would have let you go, but she never made it out of the hospital when she had you.”

“I don’t understand any of this. I’m the youngest of my siblings, and all this time I thought Jackie was my mother. I don’t think I would have found out otherwise had it not been for the lawyer's letters. I think you guys need to start from the beginning.”

Again another look was exchanged between Clinton and Joyce before Joyce spoke. “It’s a long story.”

Sadie chuckled, “We’re in no rush to leave.”

“Well, I guess you can say it started from the time we were kids. It was me, I’m the oldest, then Clinton and Bobby who passed when he was a baby and then there was Jackie followed by Sadie. Jackie came out of the womb a diva. She always had to be the center of attention. It didn’t help matters that she was this little skinny thing in a house full of big-boned women. The boys took notice of her early on and it went to her head. Sadie was the exact opposite. She was sweetness and light. She always had a smile on her face and just loved people and loved life. People liked her because she was just one of those people that couldn’t do enough for you, even as a little girl. And Jackie….” Joyce shook her head, “Jackie couldn’t stand her. Jackie would break Sadie’s toys and lie on her and get her in trouble. I don’t know what she was trying to accomplish, but Sadie always forgave her and I think that bothered Jackie. I knew what was going on and tried my best to protect Sadie as best as I could because she didn’t have it in her to fight back.”

“I always figured that Jackie was jealous of Sadie because everyone liked her so much better,” Clinton added. “Yeah, Jackie was a good looking young woman, but she was mean-spirited and nasty. Couldn’t keep a friend to save her life. She was loose with the boys and eventually, even they got tired of her petty ways. Mama and Daddy couldn't do anything with her. She eventually left the house with some boy she met when she was seventeen. We didn’t hear from her for years.”

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