“Mommy, can you hear me? Can someone get me out of here?” A deep silence surrounded me. Why was nobody answering me?

Photos: Menachem Kalish

Was her hair bushy or simply unkempt? Were her curls orange or just dirty?

Brenda was my new sister, by choice. Though actually, I didn’t have a choice. I was not asked or even introduced to her. I was just forced to empty some of my dresser drawers and offer them to her, and the same with the bed next to mine.

It was a snowy Monday in December when my mother married Mr. Newmark. No way was I going to call him Daddy or even Uncle, ‘cuz my father was going to return to my life one day.

Brenda was two years younger than me. She was 11 years old but she acted like she was eight. She was everything except smart, which included: funny-looking, annoying, and an intruder into my life. Or so I decided.

We spoke to each other only when necessary. “Pass me the milk,” or sometimes, “The shower is available.” Those types of conversations. And that was where it ended.

Luckily, she didn’t seem bothered by the cold shoulder I gave her.

***

It took a nice amount of nagging until my mother decided that it was finally the ideal week to shop for winter clothing. I dreamed about refilling my closet with fashionable burgundy sweaters and wool skirts and couldn’t wait to dispose of all my faded summer skirts.

My mother was generally kind and generous when it came to shopping or after-school extracurricular activities. She really wanted to make my life a happy one. There was one thing, however, she could not give me for any money in the world and that was acceptance of her new life. She never breathed even one single word to me about him (Mr. Newmark) or her (his daughter). She just watched and waited and hoped I would make it work and accept my new situation.

So I was shocked by her sudden announcement. “Leah, I will be taking both you and Brenda out together to Goods Shopping Center tomorrow evening.”

I had never gone out with my mother and Brenda together, and I was totally mortified that she would be joining us. But I wasn’t being given a choice. Again.