My Sister Abby (Part 34)

Abby whirled around. “I know I did not just hear you say that! Don’t you know what that means for my show?”
I racked my brain trying to come up with a way out, but I didn’t get anywhere fast. “Listen to me, big sister,” I tried for a light-hearted mood.
“Oh, none of that. Anytime something awful happens, it’s ‘hey big sister.’ Chad’s gone. You can’t get your permit. Or your license. That idiot social worker is back for an evaluation. Now you won’t perform in my show. Are you out to ruin my life or is it just one of your temporary hobbies?”
“Abby, I’m sorry but Chad was right. I can’t write a song without meaning it!”
“Oh, I’m sorry that my talent show isn’t meaning enough for you. Is it just because I’m in charge of it?”
“Abby, what is the problem?” I finally asked.
She threw her hands in the air. “What is the problem? How little can you comprehend?”
I motioned toward the sofa. “Why don’t we start over before you burn yourself on your temper?”
“Does that even make sense? Yeah, I don’t think so,” she shot back, but she sat down.
“I thought we were friends now, Abby. I have a boyfriend, you have a boyfriend, everyone’s happy, nobody’s jealous. How does my backing out of one little show ruin our relationship? There’s another show in the winter, I can do a song then.”
She looked like she was biting her tongue. “First of all, you have my dream boyfriend, secondly, I’m not happy. I never have been, and you know it. Some people get all the happiness, all the nice boys, and all the protective big brothers. Then there are people like me who don’t have any of that, but once in a while happy people get a little chance to do one thing for us.”
“Are you my sister or a walking book of Chinese proverbs?” I asked.
“One thing, Jessica! When have I even asked for anything before? I asked for one thing. All I want is for you to write and sing one song! Why can’t you do that?”
“I can’t do that because you don’t dictate my life and my songwriting is going nowhere. Maybe you only wanted one thing, but you’ve never asked. The only answer to your first question is that you’ve never asked before. You’ve never asked for anything. You added me to the program for the show.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “You know, I don’t care what the song means. There are already two hundred people who bought advance tickets.”
“Why is that significant?” I asked.
“Two reasons. One, almost all two hundred signed up to hear you sing. Two, when you add up all the different scenarios, do you know how many lives your dad destroyed?”
“Your dad,” I put in.
“Two hundred thirty-nine.” Abby stood up. “There’s more to this than you think. And just for the record, the answer to your question earlier is neither. I’m neither.”