Sisters Part 1

Mary sat at her dinning room table with her cell phone pressed against her ear. Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the glass of the patio doors, danced across the oak table and bathed the floral arrangement in the center of the table in a warm glow. Her laptop sat open on the table in front of her, the screensaver cycling through pictures of her family while she gazed out at the birdfeeder mounted on the deck railing.  The sight of a rotund squirrel sitting on the railing with a sunflower seed in its paws captured her attention, letting her sister’s voice fade into the background. His whickers quivered as he cracked the shell and devoured the nut inside. At the approach of another squirrel he charged, scolding it with a loud chattering. Mary grinned at the antics thinking how like her older sister the squirrel was. 

“Did you get your Flu shot?” The sudden question brought her back to the conversation.

“No, not yet. I have been really busy with work and the kids.” Mary said.

“You should, you know. The main strain going around this year is reported to be serious.”

“I know. I just… I don’t know… I’m not sure. Is it really necessary to get one? I mean I haven’t been sick in years and, well, how safe is it? I’ve heard stories about people getting the shot and not being the same afterwards, having reactions that were life changing.” Mary said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. Dead silence from the other end of the phone was her sister’s typical response to her resisting her sister’s advice. She could see Helen tapping the toe of her stylish shoe and tightening her lips as she waited for Mary to give up arguing. “I’m just not sure I want to risk it.” She continued in a fading effort to stand up for herself.

Through out her life Helen had corrected her, her grammar, her style of dress, even the way she walked. Now with the aggressive ad campaigns promoting an annual flu vaccination Helen had added one more item to her list of things she should be doing.  Mary clenched her teeth together in an effort to avoid an argument with her sister as Helen launched into another lecture. Instead she focused on the riotous cacophony of fall color beckoning to her, calling to her to come out and play in the sun before the night settled in.

She felt a deep longing to bathe in the warm sunshine, filling her senses with the dusky fragrance of slowing growth as the yard and gardens settled in for the winter ahead. She lost track of her sister’s voice flowing from the phone in a seemingly non-stop prattle about how important it was to take better care of herself. She wondered, how much better care could she take of herself than spending time outside, breathing in the crisp, clear air of autumn, putting her flower beds to rest and listening to the faint rustle of small creatures under the fallen leaves as she raked them off the lawn? Get more exercise, eat healthy and by all means get a flu shot. She had heard it all before, it made sense and yet, she found herself resisting the pressure to change her habits, not convinced any of it would make much difference in the long run, not buying into the hype.

Mary straightened up as she realized the voice on the other end of the phone had gone silent. She thought back to what she last remembered her sister saying and with an effort to appear as if she was paying attention she spoke with the last thought she had.

“Besides, aren’t there others that need it more than I do? They only make so much of the vaccine.”

“Not really paying attention, are you?” Helen said with a laugh. “Still the same old Mary lost in a world of your own, unwilling to conform to the rest of society, unwilling to listen to anything I say. You should think of those around you. The easiest way to stop the spread of the flu is for everyone to get vaccinated each year and besides, there is enough this year for everyone. It is safe and those stories are just stories, if there was any truth in them it would be all over the news.”

 “I’ll think about it. I suppose it isn’t such a big deal. It does sort of make sense. I, just, well it’s not a hundred percent protective and I’m not big on getting vaccinated when it might not work.”

“Not going to give it up, are you? Okay I’ll let up on you.” Helen said, shifting the topic to a more neutral area. “How are Tom and the kids? What’s happening back there in the Midwest?”

Mary found herself opening up with the shift to neutral territory and started sharing all the trials and joys of having a teenage daughter, a soon to be teenage daughter and a young son obsessed with football, bringing laughter back into the conversation.

All too soon Helen started making the ‘I need to get going, I have too many things to do and not enough time to do them in’ statements that heralded the end of the phone call.

“Say, why don’t you come out for Thanksgiving?” Mary asked before her sister could make her final good-bye. “It’s been a few years and the kids would love to see you.”

“I’m not sure I can get away. There is a lot going on right now. We’ve identified a new mutation of the flu virus and are scrambling to find out how virulent it is and how effective the current flu vaccine is.” 

“Oh come on, a break will do you good. Come out for Thanksgiving. We can go to the Mall of America on Black Friday, hit all the sales, like we did before you moved to the coast.”

Silence instead of further argument told Mary that Helen was considering the invitation.

“Helen, come out for the holiday. It will be just the six of us. Nothing big, but with all the trimmings.” Mary paused waiting for her sister’s response. “It’s been, what, five, six years since you were last home. Come out and take a break. Isn’t that part of what you are always lecturing me about, how important it is to exercise, eat right and get enough rest.” Mary tried to make her comments light hearted so as not to raise her sister’s ire, but underneath her words was a real concern for her sister. Throughout the conversation Helen hadn’t sounded as much like Helen as usual. She sounded tired and not as enthusiastic about her life, even her lecturing had been softer and not as forceful.

“Okay. I’ll book a flight out.” Helen said. “It will be good to see you and your family, to catch up on life in the Midwest and yes I do need a break, I have let work consume me these last couple of years and could use time away.” The sound of her voice had regained a bit of the spirit Mary was familiar with and she felt her worry fade. After all Helen would have told her if something was seriously amiss. They ended the conversation and Mary clicked off her phone. She gazed out the window without seeing anything, her mind racing about all she needed to get done over the next two months.