Jane Morgendorffer (Part 37)
The rest of the Christmas vacation seemed to fly by. Everyone loved going to Times Square to watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve. Two nights before they were supposed to leave, Daria woke up from a bad dream. She wandered through the hall until she saw that one of the bedrooms had a light still on. Quietly, she knocked on the door. Thinking that whoever was in the room didn't hear her, Daria turned to head back to her room. A couple of moments later, the door opened and Amy stepped out.
"Is everything okay, Daria?"
Daria shook her head back and forth.
"Did you have a bad dream?"
Daria gave a slight nod.
"Do you want to come inside and talk about it?" Amy extended her hand.
Daria took Amy's hand and went into the bedroom. Both of them sat down on the bed. Still holding Amy's hand, Daria scooted over so that she was sitting right beside her "aunt". Amy gave the ten-year-old's hand a gentle squeeze.
"So, tell me about what this dream was about."
"I got in a fight with Jane and she said that she didn't want me as a sister anymore. She tried to have Helen and Jake send me back to my real mom and dad," Daria said as her eyes began to fill with tears.
"You know that would never happen, right? For one, Helen, Jake, Jane, and Quinn love you very much. So, do I. Yes, there will be times that you and Jane will get into arguments with each other. That is something siblings just do. Helen and I used to argue all the time, now look at us - we are good friends. Now, what did you have the argument about?"
"I didn't like a story she had written and she said that she hated a picture I had painted."
"Not everyone likes the same kind of books or art. With the both of you being artistic, an argument like that might happen to you someday. It won't mean that you two love each other any less. Just keep in mind, you can an the artist or writer and not like every work of art or story they wrote."
Looking up at the older woman, Daria nodded. "Why don't you and mom get along with Rita?"
"Rita never respected mine or Helen's thoughts on anything. That is why we try not to see each other."
"You don't think Jane, Quinn, and I will end up like that?"
"No, Daria. I think you three are going to be good friends because you respect each other's feelings."
"Good," Daria said through a yawn.
"It looks like someone is getting a little tired. Do you want to go back to bed?"
"Can I stay in here with you? I don't want to wake Jane or Quinn up."
Amy could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She stared down at her daughter and tried to will her voice to speak. "Sure thing, Daria. Let me get another pillow out of the closet."
While Amy was rummaging through the closet, Daria crawled under the blanket and fell asleep. Amy returned and gently lifted the girl's head onto the pillow. She could feel her eyes burning as the moisture built up inside them. Lying down beside her daughter, Amy kissed Daria's forehead, and drifted off to sleep.