Chapter Four
She wasn't allowed in her sister's room when Cori was meeting her new therapist. But Brianna listened closely in case her little sister got scared by the woman. Bri knew her sister needed the help she was getting, granted there was times that Cori was going to get upset during her sessions but that didn't need to be because she was intimated by the professional. After the session, Ccri told her sister that the lady was nice and "not scary" at all. The therapist, Penny told Brianna she was good sister, she hadn't minded the older girl listening.
"I'll be gentle with Cori, I promise," she said. "I know she has been through a lot."
Sometimes Brianna didn't see the big deal about her sister not wanting to be with kids her own age too often. But if she was going to have to go to school sooner or later and if she was more comfortable around them, life would be easier. Bri asked if there was anything she could do to help Cori more.
"You know it's not your job to fix things, right?" Penny asked.
Bri nodded.
"Just keep doing what you're doing. Don't push your sister, but encourage her to play with children when they're around. If she doesn't want to, that's fine."
That was easier said than done; Cori was chatty little girl at home, with family and Bri's friends but when it came to children her age, she froze and went mute. At the playground, she would play along side with kids her age but not with them. The mention of play dates almost sent Cori into a panic attack.
So much so all of the adults had stopped suggesting it.
The San Antonio Memorial missed Drew; some of the chronically ill patients even asked where he was. There was no way he could have been fired, was he was deployed with the army again? He couldn't be, he just got back not long ago. When people heard Drew would gone for eight months, but he was still stateside, the reaction given was "that long?"
"His poor family," one older lady said. "Must be so hard on his husband and their children."
That patient was relieved to hear Drew's family was with him at his new location,
"I talk to him often. They're happy where they are," Topher said.
"I suppose 'home' is anywhere, as long as they're together," the woman said. "That's a great message for the kids."
Three months later..
Fall in Vermont was cooler than Texas. The family had left Texas just after memorial day. It was now October. Both girls had two new pairs of Uggs, one from their grandparents and one from their parents. Brianna's had almost the same color and style. Cori's were two very different, one pair was blue and one was purple. The first time the preschooler got to wear her blue Uggs and jump in a pile of leaves Drew had never seen a child so happy.
With rosy cheeks, Cori said it was the first time she got to do that. He didn't say a word but he thought that was one of childhood's first outdoor experiences. His daughter told him that she was not allowed to do it before not because she was ill but because "it would make a mess."
What fun was childhood being without that?
Rick and girls were looking forward to winter and snow. They were looking forward to building snowmen and sledding. Bri was excited about learning to ice skate. Some of her new friends wanted to teach her.
Drew wasn't looking forward to winter because he would have to shovel snow.
"I get to pick out my own tumpkin?" Cori asked, excitedly as the family pulled up to the big farm.
"Pumpkin, yes," her sister corrected her. "We're all getting one."
It was Drew's idea they should all get a pumpkin. Rick agreed it would be fun for all of them to have their own jack-o-lantern. There were snacks and face painting at the farm today too. Bri thought it was fun to try to find the biggest pumpkin in the patch. Drew reminded her that this huge pumpkin would have to craved to be a jack-o-lantern. A pumpkin craving kit was only so big.
"I like a challenge," Bri said.
Cori picked out one of the smaller pumpkins. She told the man who sold it to her that she was going to put a scary face with lots of teeth on it. She then helped Drew pick out his, the one Drew was looking at had "too many spots on it," she said. Across the pumpkin patch, Rick and Brianna were arguing—about who picked the bigger pumpkin.
The farmer measured both.
They were the same size.
"That was fun!" Brianna said.
"I'm gonna have fun watching you two crave those pumpkins," Drew said.
"I'm gonna finish first," Rick said.
"Yeah right," Brianna said.
"I'm gonna finish first 'cause mine's the smallest!" Cori chimed in.
The other three laughed.
