Finding Family, Part Four: My Constellation

It was time for endings, beginnings, and a season of change.

Will I recognize them? And how embarrassing will it be if I don’t?

Despite having seen my sisters on Zoom and in photos, those were the thoughts in my head as I hurried up the jetway and followed signs from my gate to the terminal. What if I started off the weekend with a case of mistaken identity and rushed toward the wrong people?

I had nothing to fear: my sisters looked exactly as I imagined…at least, facially. Physically, they were shorter than I expected, which is to say shorter than me. I was suddenly the tall one, which is quite a statement, considering that I am not even 5’4.” Even as the middle child, it made me feel a little like the big brother.

They were warm, funny, and beautiful. My nerves were thoroughly calmed in a blur of hugs and chatter, as we made our way from the airport to lunch.

Ensconced in a cheetah-print booth at a Miami restaurant inexplicably decked out like a bordello on Fantasy Island, the conversation flowed like a stream, interrupted only by the occasional appearances of a handsome waiter with an unplaceable accent built to distract from his ineptitude. Our food was slow in coming, but it hardly mattered, as the conversation stretched into a second hour.