Invisible String

37

I stood still in front of the mirror, arms slightly raised while the seamstress moved around me, pinning the skirt of the cream silk gown. It was the kind of quiet moment that wasn’t actually quiet — the soft rustle of fabric, the subtle creak of pins, Tree sipping an iced coffee on the couch, and Lily chattering to herself on the floor with a marker in each hand.

Then I heard it.

“Mommy?”

I turned my head carefully, not wanting to move too much and ruin the seamstress’s focus. “Yes, baby?”

Lily looked up at me from where she sat with her legs crossed, Mira beside her gnawing peacefully on a plastic bracelet.

She blinked. “How did you and Dada meet?”

Tree grinned at me from behind her phone like, oh this is gonna be good.

I smiled back at Lily. “Well… you know how I write songs?”

She nodded. “Yeah, like the one where you say ‘make the friendship bracelets.’”

“Exactly,” I said, carefully lowering myself a few inches to crouch — the seamstress paused mid-pin, clearly praying I didn’t ruin the hemline.

“Your daddy made me a bracelet once. A real one. I still have it.”

“You do?” Her eyes lit up.

“Mmhmm. And that’s how we started falling in love.”

Lily tilted her head. “Then you had me and Mira?”

I paused. My eyes met Tree’s. She gave me a soft, knowing smile and a little nod. This was one of those moments.

I sat down fully, ignoring the dress for a second, and reached out my hand to Lily, patting the floor for her to come closer. Mira looked up at the movement and started crawling over, clumsy and determined.

“Well,” I started gently, brushing a wisp of blonde hair behind Lily’s ear, “I didn’t grow you or Mira in my belly like some mommies do. But you know what?”

Lily’s eyes widened slightly. “What?”

“I still carried you both. Just… not in here.” I touched my stomach, then moved my hand to my heart. “I carried you right here. Always.”

“Forever?” she whispered.

“Forever and ever and ever,” I whispered back. “You and Mira are the most special kind of gift. We waited for you. We hoped for you. And then one day… we found you. And that’s when everything made sense.”

Mira plopped into my lap and let out a little noise, smacking her chubby hand on my chest like yes, this.

Lily looked at her sister and then at me. “So you picked us?”

“Every single day, baby,” I said, pulling both of them close. “Every single day, I pick you. Me and Daddy both.”

Tree sniffled behind her iced coffee. “Okay, well now I’m crying in the bridal suite.”

Lily grinned and looked at Mira. “We’re the same. Like real sisters.”

“You are real sisters,” I said quickly, pressing kisses to both their heads. “Real, forever, built-by-love sisters.”

Lily nodded once and went back to her drawing like she just needed that cleared up.

Mira? Mira burped and wiped her drool on my dress.

Tree laughed. “She’s definitely yours.”

The zipper gave a soft zzzzp as the seamstress tugged it up my back. I adjusted the silky lilac strap on my shoulder and turned slightly in the mirror. It was a bridesmaid dress — simple, elegant, off-the-shoulder — for Selena’s wedding next month, and I’d promised to show up polished, on time, and not pregnant this time. Miracles do happen.