The Difference Between Getting and Needing

t h i r t e e n

i know you won't stop so i guess
i'll love you till your g r a v e . . .

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Four days later and Sutton still wasn't speaking to me. It was the least bit shocking because we were sisters, after all. We had certainly gone a lot longer than that without communicating before.

Although now, the days of being physical were over for us. Hair pulling was replaced with tailor-made expletives and pointless blame games became vows of bitter silence. We'd bitch and bicker, and eventually come through like nothing ever happened.

I guess it was sort of like Gus and I. They were still two very unrelated worlds.

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I knew I'd have to face her sooner than later. I knew she'd have to talk to me for the sake of the holiday and our family being together. My mother wasn't going to tolerate any animosity at her dinner table. Much like Sutton, she thrived when she was in the spotlight, even more so when it was for familial functions. The thought of her children feuding in such a setting was unfathomable.

Gus and I were supposed to be at his parents house all day with his family. We were eating with them, and then planning to end up at my parents house for more food and a place to sleep. The weekend was supposed to be split up between the two homes; them only being twenty minutes apart made the whole ordeal a lot easier.

Gus being in an entirely separate state made this much more difficult.

He flew out to Minneapolis before the sun even rose on Monday morning for a short work trip that I'd totally forgotten about. He was up and out of our apartment by four A.M., promising to be back late on Wednesday.

It was fine with me, but promises seemingly meant nothing to Mother Nature.

I studied a dozen weather forecasting websites and watched the morning and nighttime news since he left, anticipating any updates on what was deemed one of the worst blizzards the Midwest would see in years. The storm started Tuesday morning on the edge of Colorado and was on track to head north, directly to where Gus was until it trickled off into Canada. It seemed like a joke; unfortunately that was just my luck and my life.

A little part of me believed there would be some miracle that it would get thrown off course and avoid him. That he'd be home in time for Thanksgiving instead of being stuck in an airport for who knew how long. That maybe things would work in our favor for once.

And so it was Wednesday. By the time I left work an hour early at four o'clock, Gus was supposed to be boarding his plane. He wouldn't be home until almost midnight, but I'd be fast asleep by then. He had a direct flight to Philly and his company hooked him up with all the transportation to and from the airport. It was one less thing I had to worry about.

Or so I thought.

Right when I got home, during my internal celebration at the fact that I was free from work for the next four days, Gus was calling me. The door shut behind me and Ziggy came bounding over as I was trying to pluck my phone from the pocket of my leather jacket, acting like he hadn't seen me in a month.

"Jesus, Zig," I breathed, pushing him down while he tried to climb up my legs. I swiped the screen of my phone and managed to answer excitedly, though slightly confused with, "Hey!"

"Hi."

The halfhearted greeting had me pursing my lips.

"You haven't boarded yet? I thought you would've been in the air by now," I said, setting my bags down at the island and taking a seat on one of the stools. I let Ziggy put his front paws on my knees now and rubbed his head with my free hand.