Here it is, my first story. It might come a little slow, but that means I'm trying, really hard! Full Summary: The original Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants--Carmen, Bridget, Lena, and Tibby--are all married and have daughters: Beautifully blonde Carson Richman, rebellious type Jules, sweet and sensitive Sophia, and adventure-seeking Ana. The Augusts, they call themselves. And now their making their own Sisterhood, when they turn 16...


1. Prologue

I can still remember that first summer clearly when all four of us, Bridget, Lena, Tibby, and me, discovered a magic pair of jeans in an old thrift store one day while we were shopping. Crazily, they all fit us: Bridget Vreeland, the tall soccer player; Lena Kaligaris, the petite beauty; Tibby Rollins, the boyish-figured filmmaker; and me, Carmen, the round Puerto Rican. We were a little shocked by how they fit us, but nonetheless, we bought them for $3.49, including tax.

That summer, we passed them around, each wearing them for a week before we shipped them off to the next person in line to receive them. Lena was in Greece visiting her grandparents; Bridget was in Baja California at a soccer camp; Tibby stayed behind filming a documentary and working at Wallman's, and I visited my Dad in Virginia—where I found out he was engaged.

But, of course, that was a while ago when we were 16. Even though it was a while ago, we still remember the summer clearly as if it happened just this past year. But now, it's been 27 years, and we're all 43. (Old, we know.) We've grown up with one another, and even had kids around the same time, which we dubbed, the Augusts.

Bridget Vreeland is now Bridget Richman, married to the soccer coach, Eric, who she met while in Baja at the soccer camp when she was 16. I guess you could consider it love-at-first-sight, but it really wasn't that. Anyway, they met back up and college, and married shortly after Bridget graduated. Their first child, Michael, was born a year later. 2 years later, when she was 26, she had her first daughter, Carson, on August 3.

Tibby Rollins married Tom Quillis, so now, she was Tibby Quillis. They met at an Independent Film Competition held at their college. They met colliding cameras, and that was when true hate started. But, eventually, being around each other more and more, they started dating, and married as seniors. Her first daughter,Juliet, or Jules,was born on August 11—the same year Carson was. From then on, she had 3 other children, all girls—Natalie, Hannah, and Rebecca.

Lena married an Italian-American named Fabrizio Paoli while she attended an art school in Tuscany, Italy. They had a small wedding on the coast, and only invited her family, the Sisterhood, and their families. They had dated for only 6 months, but knew it was love-at-first-meet. Their engagement lasted 6 as well, and their first daughter, Belinda, was born a year later. Another year passed, and on August 20, their second daughter, Sophia, was born—the same year as Carson and Jules.

And I, Carmen, married my step-brother Paul's friend, Rob Harper, who I met at Paul's 20th birthday party. Even though we went to different colleges, we continued to date, and we became engaged a couple months before my graduation. We had a tradition wedding a year later, and another year later, my August 31 baby, Tatiana (which Rob decided on because his family came from Russia), or Ana, was born—completing the four Augusts we four friends had. I had another child, Lucy, four years later, which I happily named after my grandmother.

We all settled in the suburban side of Charleston, South Carolina, and bought houses in the same neighborhood. I'm glad we did, because I couldn't live without my 3 best friends close to me. And so brings forth the story of our next generation, our daughters, the Augusts, and their friendship and love toward one another. Of course, we all take care of one another's children and allow them to call us by our first names, declared by Tibby, who thought the formality of Mrs. Quillis, or Mrs. Paoli, or Mrs. Richman, or Mrs. Harper. "We're all family," Tibby says.

And our four families—the Harper's, Paoli's, Quillis's, and Richman's—took care of one another, helped one another, and loved one another. Because we haven't forgotten—Pantslove. Love your pals, love yourself.

And, even now, we still follow that rule.