Page 101 of Follow My Voice
I smile and then sigh as I approach the mirror. I still struggle with my reflection, with what I see, but I’m learning to love myself a little more every day. I’m ready for the Christmas party my sister has arranged in order to meet my friends.
“You look great,” Kamila assures me.
“You don’t have to compliment me all the time.”
“Yes, I do. Before, Mom…” Kamila’s voice trails off. “Mom always gave you compliments, so now it’s my job.”
“Well, you’re doing a terrible job.”
She laughs. “Believe it or not, I love your cruelty.”
Kamila wears a casual black dress with an apron over it, stained with flour and other mysterious substances. I am immediately reminded of my mother, who used to spend all day in the kitchen around this time of year. It’s the first time Kamila has baked anything since Mom died, and that brings a tightness to my chest.
“What did you make?” I ask, trying to sound calm even though it makes me very emotional.
She dusts some flour off her apron. “Strawberry shortcake.”
Mom’s favorite.
We both fall silent for a moment, not feeling the need to say anything. This is a huge step for Kamila, who has also had a very difficult time, and I’m happy that she’s making progress.
“You’ve been such an inspiration to me, Klara,” she says warmly. “Seeing you take classes this semester and make friends has motivated me to take a few steps myself. So”—she holds up her hands—“we’ll have strawberry shortcake for dessert.”
I walk over and hug my sister tightly. “You’re doing great, Kamila,” I whisper against her hair.
“The cake might be horrible, Klara, don’t congratulate me yet,” she jokes.
I laugh as I pull away from her. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For helping me, for always being there, even while you were fighting your own battles. You’re the best sister in the world.”
Kamila’s eyes redden and she throws her head back, huffing. “No, no tears! Come on!” She loops her arm through mine and we go out into the living room where Diego is standing beside Ellie. “Hoodieeee!” Diego says, wrapping me in a huge, warm embrace. I give Ellie a hug and the doorbell rings. Andy opens the door for Perla, who squeals when she sees us.
“Hey!” she says, corralling us into a group hug. “It’s been five days and I literally feel like it’s been years since I’ve seen you guys, I missed you so much!”
We sit down. Perla introduces herself to Andy and Kamila and jokes with Ellie and Diego. My sister seems charmed as we begin serving ourselves. I sit next to Andy, who is wearing a big smile. He nudges me with his elbow. “Where’s the famous radio host?” he says.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I whisper. “Diego, pass me the salt,” I say, and Andy seems to get the message.
Perla is telling a funny story about New York and some pigeons when my cell phone vibrates with an incoming message. I open it and a feeling of warmth and sadness fills my heart. It’s from Kang:Merry Christmas, K.
I send a Merry Christmas message and then put the phone away. Ellie and I exchange knowing glances. For some reason, she’s the only person I’ve told about what happened between Kang and me. It’s strange how we can develop an instant sense of trust with certain people, unexpectedly.
The truth is that I miss Kang a lot, in spite of everything. He and I used to talk or text every day, even before we started dating.
“It was awesome, wasn’t it, Klara?” Diego’s voice brings me back to the present moment, around the table.
“What was awesome?” I ask.
Perla shakes her head. “Klara has her head in the clouds, as always.”
“I was saying that Kang’s last show before the holidays was great, wasn’t it?”
Oh…
Diego waits for me to respond and it takes him about four seconds to realize that I didn’t listen to the show. “Did you miss it?”
