EPILOGUE
It was the beautiful evening of a beautiful day, and Chilli felt immensely relaxed while going through the ritual of preparing tea, this time with the help of her sister. Bandit was upstairs, trying to get the girls out of their onesies.
"Brandy… you never told me what had upsetted you so much the last time you were here… what happened back then, before our fight?"
The older sister smiled ruefully, and a bit… ashamed?
"There's no need to tell me if you don't want to…", said Chilli, perceiving her sisters mood.
"No it's ok… Do you remember that we went to a park with the girls that day?"
"Yeah"
"Well, Bluey was playing a little far from us and you had to run to her because she had grabbed something from the floor and was about to pop it into her mouth", said Brandy smiling at her older niece's antics despite the sad memory she was recollecting.
Chilli chuckled, remembering all too well how a handful of a toddler was her firstborn.
Classic Bluey, she thought.
"Well, you handed Bingo to me for the meantime, and just when you were away an old lady passed by and complimented me for my beautiful baby daughter, saying she looked just like me…and well… my heart broke…"
Brandy sighed and fixed her gaze on the plate with pastries she was arranging, feeling a little lump in her throat.
"Ohhh Brandy, and when you came in today I said… Oh, please forgive me…!!", said Chilli aghast.
"No worries, you didn't know, I should have opened myself to you that day… Besides, thinking about it, I might like that Bingo looks like me, because ya know what that means?"
A grateful smile crept into Chili's mouth.
"It means that she looks like Mum…"
"Yeah, she does, in a very Bingo way!"
And with that they keep up their work in a wholesome kind of silence, golden and calm, like the sundown light that entered into the kitchen.
The evening went away uneventfully, they all shared stories and catched up for the lost time, and soon it was time for Auntie Brandy to return home. The sisters parted with grateful smiles and the promise to see each other soon, their tails wagging softly while they inhaled deeply each other's scent, the scent of their childhood and home.
Once the stars were high in the sky, Bandit called to Chilli from atop the staircase.
"Hey babe, the girls are asleep… are you coming?"
She wagged her tail in a calm way.
"I'm coming soon, I… I just need a moment here, love".
Bandit smiled softly, understanding her need for time alone. "No worries", he said while leaving her to it.
Chilli smiled at the retreating form of her husband, and with a sigh went into the backyard, alone in the night, accompanied just for the sound of the crickets, she entered the shed and, with a small smile on her lips, she returned to the hall carrying a long box under one arm.
She left the box atop the table with the white lilies vase, her mum's lilies, and with teary yet content eyes, took from it a new pair of flowers to replace the ones that were withering.
"Now, my family is complete again…" she sighed. "Thank you Mum", she said while caressing lovingly the crisp white petals.
Saffron's picture smiled at her from its place in the wall
