For the first time in thirty-five years, Alexis envied the beautiful simplicity of her sister's life. She had a loving husband, three children, her own business and she managed it all. Alexis wondered why she'd overlooked her sister's good qualities for so long.
"Ta da," Betsy said, giving her sister's head a quick spray to keep the stray hairs in place. "What do you think?"
Alexis examined the result in the oversized mirror. Her long, brown hair was swept up in a lush, chocolate swirl that made Alexis feel both sexy and elegant. "It's perfect."
"Tyler will die," Betsy said, without noticing the wince that followed.
"Thank you," Alexis said softly. "I'll see you on Thursday, if not before."
Chilled by the winter breeze, Tilly wandered down the hall into Alexis's bedroom to retrieve a blanket from the bottom drawer of the dresser. She knocked out of habit, even though she knew that Alexis wasn't there. When she opened the drawer and moved the blanket, unfamiliar items caught her eye. A velvet box and a flash of red. Tilly eyed the box more closely. Her maternal instinct kicked in and she opened it. A beautiful wedding band sparkled inside. Had she left him? Tilly wondered. Maybe he cheated. She watched a few reality programs and she knew how slimy those husbands of successful wives could be. All those hours Alexis worked at the firm, any man would feel like a second-class citizen.
Her attention moved to the red item underneath. Curious, she unfolded it on the floor and gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth. An infant Santa suit. Tilly smoothed out the wrinkles of the suit.
"Oh, Alexis," she said sadly.
In that moment, all of Tilly's anger and resentment toward her younger daughter dissipated. She'd been so busy justifying her own hostile feelings that she hadn't been willing to consider her daughter's, not even after her earlier tirade. Tilly was ashamed of her behavior. She should've known how difficult it was for Alexis to return home after all these years, not to mention how desperate she must have felt. No one could argue they had a close relationship so for Alexis to take time from her important job to travel across an ocean...Tilly shook her head woefully and carefully placed the items back where she found them. She remained on the floor of the bedroom, clutching the blanket and feeling like the worst kind of failure. Her daughter had seen fit to exclude her own mother from her life, to experience major life events without her family. Maybe it was high time that Tilly took a good, hard look in the mirror. She'd never considered herself a bad mother before, but she was beginning to see herself from Alexis's point of view and, she had to admit, it wasn't a pretty picture.