✍︎ @cara-mrrsn
“Today is Aunt Clémentine’s birthday, in case you forgot.” He said, not bothering to greet her as she finally walked out of her class. She likely hadn’t remembered it. She and Greer never did. Too many siblings on their mom’s side. 6 in total – Clémentine, Camille, and Caroline. Then Léonard, Lucien, and Lazare. “I already sent her a card from the two of us, though. So, you don’t need to worry about texting her.” He doubted that she would, even if he hadn’t taken the initiative to wish her a happy birthday on her behalf.
It was a first for him – doing something like that for her. She wouldn’t care much for it, he imagined. But it was a shift. A gesture of goodwill. Usually, when special dates rolled around – birthdays, anniversaries, graduations... – he would send cards and presents by himself. Intentionally forgetting to mention it to either of them, even Greer. Take all the credit. Be the family’s little trésor. Every few weeks, a new commendation. A new 5-star Yelp review for the best nephew in the world. ‘T’es tellement attentionné, Edy.’, ‘T’es vraiment gentil, mon chouchou !’, ‘Ça me touche ❤️’ While Cara and Greer… Well, you know how they are… – he would hear their mother whisper on the phone to a sibling or a grandparent, door of her study ajar.
He didn’t have much to say to her, really. But he wanted to see her. Also a first for him. Another shift. Something had changed on the morning of January 1st. “So… Are you finally joining the Morisson Capital Summer Internship Program this year or…?” He asked, a bit unsure if that was a decent conversation starter. Not like she was his twin sister! Well, at least it was better than How was class?! or How's your week going?