Page 8 of Broken

Sinclair

Todaywasthefirstday of kindergarten. Mom made me wear the dress Granny sent to me. It was ugly, and I didn't want to wear it. But I didn't want mom to be mad at me and spank me.

There were so many kids my age here. I hoped to make a friend today. A lot of kids were already playing together. Some played with blocks, and some played in the corner where a pretend grocery store sat. It even had a cash register!

I tried to decide where to join in the fun when I heard someone crying. I glanced around the room, and at the classroom door a girl about my size with blonde hair with the prettiest curls everywhere, begged her mom not to leave her, she said she didn't have any friends.

"Hi. I'm Sinclair, what's your name?" I said walking up to her. "I don't have any friends yet either. Do you want to be my friend?"

"You have a friend now, Mia." Her mom told her, giving me a kind smile. I liked her mom right away; she had a lovely smile and a soft, soothing voice. She didn't sound mad or tired like my mom.

Mia smiled at me, tears still rolling from her eyes. "You want to be my friend?" Her question was soft, and simple.

"Uh-huh. We can be best friends too." I wasn't sure what best friend meant, but all the cool people on t.v. had best friends, so we would be best friends.

"Okay. I'm Mia." She hooked her arm with mine, and we walked away and joined the other kids in the class.

For the next thirteen years, we would be inseparable. A year after Mia and I met, Kai would join our little duo, with Noah always around to keep us out of trouble. Tess and Callum, their siblings, would be in our shadows, always trying to keep up with us.

I had no idea what to expect when I walked inside Sola Luna, the hippy gift shop Mia’s parents owned. They'd opened the store when they first moved to town with Mia and her sister Tess, the year we started kindergarten. Mia and I had been in the same class. We saved each other from sitting alone on the first day and every day after. She was my salvation back then, always easygoing and loving, quick to forgive. The light to my dark, day to my night.

I wrote to her once a year, assured her I was alive, and all was well in my little world. We have also talked on the phone a couple of times over the years. Coming home this time was different, a reckoning of sorts.

I prayed to every god in the history of religion for another small blessing. "Let Daisy or Orion be here, not Mia" I let out a breath and pushed open the shop door.

"Give me a minute, we just opened." an all too familiar voice called from the back of the store.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. So much for small blessings. My heart tried to beat its way out of my chest. Even my heart wanted no part of my broken soul. Nothing prepared me for the inevitable confrontation. Mia knew me better than I knew myself. I'd never been able to lie to her. From day one, she could read me like a book.

I turned around, ready to walk back out the door. I needed some air. I was about to open the door and leave when I heard her voice again.

"Like hell are you walking out that door, Sinclair? You owe me over ten years' worth of explanations and coffee." Mia's voice was as light and happy as the day we graduated from high school, but this time, it had a hint of anger laced within.

I turned to face her. Her radiant smile always made everything better. But what was up with her hair? The Aurora Borealis exploded all over her head and it took my breath away.

"What did you do to your hair?" All the tension left me momentarily, as I lifted beautiful green and fuchsia, and blue strands. I couldn't contain my laughter when the little splashes of yellow hidden in all the dark colors peeked out. It was very Mia.

"One fucking letter a year and all you can say is 'What did you do to your hair?' How about what you did to yours?" She laughed and threw her arms around me in a hug only Mia could give.

"I'm so mad at you." Mia cried into the crook of my neck. My best friend, my home, my sister. Everything was right in the world at this moment. Things were going to be okay. I would get through this week and go home to my daughter and put this life behind me. Maybe Mia would come to visit us in Southern California.

"I'm sorry. It was the only way to heal, to move on. I didn't know

what else to do." I told her. "And what's wrong with my hair?"

Mia released me from her hug and shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore. You're home, I know you don't plan to stay, you have this amazing life in the business world. But, for now, I have you. Come on, let's sit. You need coffee."

I followed her to the back of the shop, playing with my hair. What was wrong with it? My color was natural. A change from my teen years when I went through my black hair and heavy eyeliner phase. We settled in the room where her mom used to read customers' tarot cards. The little shop still smelled like patchouli incense and coffee. The way I remembered their house always smelling.

"So, where are your parents? To be honest, I expected to find them here, and not you." I said, taking a steaming mug of coffee from Mia’s offering hands. I missed Mia’s mom, Daisy, almost as much as I missed Mia.

"That's why I asked Kai not to mention my parents. They bought a van a few years ago and hit the road. They're enjoying retirement and

seeing the sights." Mia's face lit up with pride as she went into detail about her parents' adventures across the country, and how they had hoped to stop by and visit with me on their way home this winter.

I was happy for them. They were doing exactly what they wanted to do when their girls grew up. But why keep it from me?

That sneaky smile of hers peaked over the rim of her mug. I rolled my eyes. She read my thoughts the minute I thought them. "So, you figured I wouldn't show up knowing I had to face the reckoning from you first thing?"

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