My Sister's Prayer Read Online Free Page B

plant some grass and watch it grow. Maybe hold turtle races down at the nursing home.”
    Despite her sarcasm, I couldn’t help but smile. “What do you think, sis? Do we have a deal?”
    Nicole was quiet for a long moment, and though I couldn’t read her expression, I had no doubt what was going through her mind. This line I had drawn in the sand made me both her dearest friend and her greatest enemy.
    â€œMaybe,” she said at last. “But I want it on record that you’re a big meanie.”
    I chuckled. “I am. And I’m so sorry. But that’s how it has to be for now, you know? Boundaries and all that?”
    She shrugged, looking away.
    â€œSo is it a deal?” I cajoled, reaching out and taking her hand in mine. “I’ll get you all your favorite foods. Pop-Tarts. Strawberry milk. Macaroni and cheese.” Leaning closer, I added, “You can pick the board games. You can control the remote. You can even eat the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms, and I won’t say a word.”
    Again she met my eyes, but this time I could see she was trying not to smile.
    â€œOkay, I accept. I’ll be a good girl,” she said.
    And in the moment, at least, I believed her.

    Convincing Nana to go along with the plan ended up being not nearly as difficult as I had expected. A part of her seemed relieved, and that made me nervous. If she felt overburdened by Nicole’s care in a mansion this big with a full staff and everything, how much harder was it going to be for me in my tiny carriage house with just a single daytime aide for help?
    Then again, Nana wasn’t exactly a spring chicken. Perhaps at her age just the responsibility was burden enough—and that was something I felt fully equipped to handle. My new job as an individualized education program coordinator had turned out to be a lot less demanding than the one I’d held for the past year in my postdoctoral internship at a children’s clinic. That internship had kept me running from morning to night. In comparison, this new job was a walk in the park, a true nine-to-fiver that had felt almost like a vacation thus far—which was something I sorely needed after the craziness of the past year. But I knew that once I finished catching my breath, this new job would likely grow less than satisfying. I wanted to work with children, but these days I spent most of my time with reports and papers and other adults. Eventually, if things didn’t change, I would need to move on.
    Right now, however, this current situation might prove to be a real blessing because it freed me up as much as possible to focus on my sister. This time a year ago, no way could I have taken care of her. But now, I would be available from five in the evening till nine in the morning and all day Saturdays and Sundays, no problem.
    And wasn’t that just how God worked? Here I’d been concerned about my employment not being challenging enough when, in fact, that was exactly what I needed in order to care for Nicole.
    By the time Nana and I finished hammering out the details, including Inez’s continued employment for the time being, I was feeling good about everything.
    â€œOne last matter,” Nana said as she settled comfortably into her chair. “Do you remember how much you girls enjoyed reading the journal of Catherine Talbot?”
    â€œOf course.” The journal had been written by my eleven-greats grandmother in 1685 when she was just eighteen years old, during a time that Huguenots were being persecuted in France for their faith. It told of her courage and determination and had made for a fascinating and inspiring read.
    â€œWell,” Nana continued, “it recently struck me that there’s something else you really should see that is related to Catherine. Information about her daughters.”
    â€œHer daughters?” Ithought for a moment. Though Catherine’s journal only covered