The Phases of the Moon

The night before

Bree

I press my forehead to the railing, looking at the two women under me. "I can't believe him! I can't believe that son of a bitch!" Mom is screaming. She's gone through a tirade of boyfriends after the breakup with Dad. The other woman lays a hand on Mom's shoulder. Erica, Mom's best friend. The force of calm in our house. "Shhh, you'll wake the kids." says Erica. Mom keeps on ranting. "He chose her over me! The bitch! He wants her over me!" "I'm sure it was a misunderstanding, Polly," says Erica, brushing some stringy blond hair away from Mom's face. Mom grabs a half-empty bottle of beer and takes a long swig. "A misunderstanding? He flat out cheated on me! I saw him out with Martha Penner!" "Oh, Polly. You two will sort it out soon enough. Don't worry about it." Erica soothes. "She is a bitch. An ugly bitch!" Mom rants, here face redder by the moment. I hear a creaking on the stairs next to me. I turn around and my little sister Lucy is standing there, looking concerned. I release the railing, and blood flows back into my white knuckles. "I heard a noise." Lucy says quietly. "Oh Lu, come back to bed. I'll tuck you in." I whisper. I lead her back to her bed and get into my own. A single tear slides down my cheek as I try to sleep. So much for a nice, calm, back to school dinner.

Macey

Nonna sits on the edge of my bed, a book in her lap. I'm curled up under the covers. "Nonna, I told you, I'm not a baby. You don't have to read to me anymore." I mumble, feeling a twang of remorse as I speak the words. "Ah, Nipotina, you have grown. But your old Nonna wishes to read you a story one last time." she sighs. "Fine." I mutter, not totally against it. She opens the book and reads me the story, a Wind in the Willows. I'm too old for it, but its the only English book that Nonna approves of. She reads me a chapter, then closes the book. Nonna scoots closer to me. "Nipotina, my Macey, tomorrow you enter a realm that you have never seen before. I am so proud of you. I never went to high school, and here you are in the top one in the city, an elementary schooler." she says, wiping a tear from her eye. Then she gets serious. "Remember, you come to me or your Mama if anything happens, without delay. Now get some sleep, you have a big day tomorrow." Nonna kisses both my cheeks and stands up. "Goodnight, Macey." she says. "Night, Nonna." I reply, burying myself in blankets. She flicks off the lights, hesitating at the doorway, and leaves, closing the door behind her.

Kate

I'm literally wading in school supplies. Pencils, notebooks, binders, planners, are strewn everywhere. Mom has this huge checklist that she made and is chanting it like a haiku. "Pencil case!" she yells. I take it out. "3 mechanical pencils!" "Yes." "4 pre-sharpened pencils!" "Yes." "3 black pens, 3 red pens." "Yes." And so on. To make it worse, baby Missy is running around yelling "Hah-sko! Big sissy going ha-sko! Katkat got pen, pencow, maker? Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Cute, but annoying. I cover my ears. "Jeez, Mom, can't you get her to stop?" I grumble. Mom ignores me and continues to rant. I've packed my backpack halfway to the brink when the front door swings open and my big sister Nina lets herself in. She's doing her gap year, and got home from her summer job. I scream in mock agony. "Ah, Nina, help! She's killing me!" I moan. Nina comes over and ruffles my hair. "She did that to me, too, when I started high school. Don't worry, she makes you pack 99/100 as much before sophomore year." I snort and resume packing. No help here. After dinner, Nina comes to me. "Kate, I just want to tell you that you can do it." she says, then someone calls her and she goes away to answer it. That is all I see of her for the rest of the day. After dinner Mom pours Champaign for herself and soda for Missy and I. She raises her glass. "To Kate." she says.

Lara

I'm snuggled up on the couch with Mom. It's from Ikea, as of most of the other furniture in our tiny apartment. But it's full of years of love, like now. I sigh and turn my gaze to the TV, where my favorite movie is on. I feel Mom slide and arm across my shoulders, and I lean against her, feeling her warmth spread across me. Abruptly, Mom grabs the remote and pauses the movie. I flinch from the sudden silence. "What'd you do that for!" I ask. "Oh, sweetie, I have something to tell you." Mom says. "Bring it." "Lara, you're adopted." I snort and reach for the remote. Mom holds it away. "Lara, I'm telling the truth." Mom says urgently. I turn to stare at her. "And why do you tell me this now, right before school? Just heaping it on to my pile of stuff to worry?" I snap angrily. Mom sniffles and grabs me in a hug. I pull away. "Oh, of course not. It's just that- I'm having a baby and I thought you should know." I gasp, and all that she said comes to me in full force . "I just want you to know that I'll always love you. I knew I wanted you from the moment I saw you lying in that crib in the adoption agency. And I'm so proud of you for going to high school." she says, then tries to hug me again. I melt into her.