Imperfect

E I G H T E E N - C Y N T H I A R U S S E L L

Confusing weather aside, I wore my jacket just in case the hotness would've disappeared on me.

My cousin finally reached out to me after months ago—not even inviting me to the wedding.

I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I reached into my pocket and grabbed my phone, ready to text Abigale, but there was no need to text her—she texted me.

"I'm on my way downstairs." the text message read.

  I guess she heard me knocking.

From outside the house, I could hear some loud footsteps coming downstairs. I saw all of her posts on Facebook—so Abigale must've gotten big, big to be making those loud footsteps downstairs.

She unlocked the door, opening it to let me in.

"Hey Abigale..." I smiled.

"Hey Cynthia," my cousin smiled back, showing me inside, "come on in..."

As I walked into her house, everything looked as I expected it to look—very clean. Abigale was a very clean girl and she kept her house the exact same way—very clean.

I heard music playing upstairs. I didn't remember the artist's name or the song's name, but I knew the lyrics by heart; the song quickly reminded me that today was a Sunday, it was a church day.

"I'm just a nobody..." I sung, feeling it...

"Trying to tell everybody..." Abigale sung with me, feeling it as well...

"About somebody..." I continued...

"Who can save..." she continued...

"ANYBODY..." we synced.

We let the song finish on it's on as we took a seat on the living room couch.

"I miss the old church days..." I told her, remembering the old times.

"Yeah," Abigale shook her head, "I know..."

"You've gotten big..." I told her, looking at her stomach in awe.

"I know," she rubbed her stomach as she was laughing, "I know... but, that's why I wanted to talk to you in person..."

Abigale looked at me straight in her eyes.

  I knew she was about to tell me some real stuff, like some real shit—she always kept it real, she never kept it fake.

She sought halfway on the couch, continuing to look at me, "I'm sorry for not inviting you at the wedding."

"I was mad at first," I explained to my cousin, "but I get it. I get why you didn't invite me and I understand why..."

It was wrong and childish for what I did to my cousin, I tried to sabotage her relationship with Lawrence, and I completely apologized for that.

  Through the posts that I see both her and Lawrence post, they are perfect together and they shouldn't be messed with—they are couple goals.

"But it was also petty for me as well for not inviting you," Abigale explained to me, "so I want to apologize for that..."

I was happy that we could get over the petty mess and finally hug it out like true cousins should.

"So," Abigale said as she sought back, fully on the couch, "I wanted to ask you something in person..."

"What did you want to ask me, Abby?" I asked her.

In my mind, there were so many questions that I thought that she was going to ask me.

  One of the questions that I thought was that she was going to redo her wedding just for me, but that was a big guess that I KNEW wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to my baby shower?" she asked me.

"Of course I want to go," I said overjoyed, "what's the little baby's name?"

"Amara," Abigale told me, "her name is Amara Mullins."