Free What My Sister Remembered by Marilyn Sachs

picked it out,” Aunt Helene said. “She picked the same one out for herself, only in a larger size.”
    I hesitated and felt my mother’s expectant look directed at me again.  “Thank you, Beth,” I muttered quickly.
    “I got a size 12 for her,” Aunt Helene was explaining to my mom. “I think it may be too large.”
    “Better that way,” said my mother. “She’ll grow into it. It’s stunning, and I’m sure she’ll love wearing it.”
    Right now, in all the heat, I felt sweaty just holding it, so I dropped it back into the box and covered it quickly with tissue paper.
    Aunt Helene now held out another box toward me, a small narrow one. “Beth picked this out for you too, Molly.”
    “Thank you, Beth,” I recited as I unwrapped it. There was a watch inside. It had a black leather strap, and on its face was a picture of a girl with long hair wearing an old-fashioned dress.
    “It’s lovely,” I said. “Thank you very much.”
    “Alice in Wonderland was always one of Beth’s favorite books,” said Aunt Helene.
    I smiled politely and wondered who the girl on the watch was.
    “Whose picture is that on the watch?” my dad asked, leaning over my shoulder.
    “Oh—well—it’s Alice, Alice in Wonderland,” Aunt Helene said quickly. “Of course, it doesn’t really look anything like the Tenniel illustrations.”
    “I wouldn’t know if it did.” My father laughed uncomfortably.
    “Go ahead and put it on, Molly,” my mother urged.
    I put it on, smiled, and said I liked it. But I thought it was dorky. I really preferred my digital watch, even though I usually forgot to wear it.
    “And then, one for good measure—just a little something,” Aunt Helene said quickly as my mother began to protest.
    This box was in between the big one and the small one in size. I quickly unwrapped it and pulled out a pair of bright blue socks with lots of foreign words in bright colors.
    “We bought them in Paris,” said Aunt Helene, “All the words mean I love you in French. See—here it says Je t’aime, and here it says Je t’adore, and here it says Mon petit chou —that means my little cabbage."
    “Did Beth pick them out?” I asked. The socks were cute, and I knew I’d wear them.
    “Well, she and I did all our shopping together, so ... ”
    “No,” Beth said, “I didn’t pick them out. I think they’re stupid.”
    “Well, I like them,” I said. “I think they’re real cute.”
    “You would.” Beth yawned and walked over to the window. She looked out and said, “That house used to be white. Now it’s tan.”
    My dad laughed out loud. “Beth has some memory,” he told Aunt Helene. “She’s been reminding us of all sorts of things we’d forgotten. I think it’s wonderful to have a memory like hers. She must be a great student.”
    “Yes, she is,” Aunt Helene said, “Of course, it takes more than memory to be a good student. Beth works hard, and she reads a lot.”
    “I wish I could say the same for Molly,” my dad said. “She never sits still for a minute.”
    “I do so, Dad,” I protested.
    “And I never see her reading.”
    “Well, Molly does just fine in school.” Now it was my mom speaking. “And she has lots of friends. Everybody likes Molly.”
    “I guess that’s true,” my dad said.
    Beth pointed out the window and said, “You know something else? There used to be a tree in that yard. It wasn’t much of a tree, but I remember it had green leaves in the spring.”
    I picked up my boxes and muttered something about putting everything away in my room. I carried the gifts back and saw that my mother had straightened out my room. The trundle bed was back under my bed, which was covered again with my pretty pink spread. Everything was turning back to normal. I laid the boxes down on the bed. Tonight I would be sleeping in my own bed, and Beth would be gone. I couldn’t wait.
    “Molly!”
    She was standing behind me.
    “What?”
    She came into the room and sat down on