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like an oversized hooded sweatshirt.
    “I was voted Junior Class President,” she said with pride. “I didn’t even run. It was all write-in ballots.”
    “That isn’t surprising,” I said. “Your personality is contagious and bubbly like…like…the fizz in a soda.”
    I cringed as soon as the words left my lips. Though Sadie beamed at the compliment, I was embarrassed for having blurted it out. Most of my shame came from knowing I was able to form such a bubble-gum notion. Sadie was already starting to rub off on me. Maybe that was her magic power.
    “I was voted ‘Best Eyes’ in my senior yearbook,” I added, making full use of air quotes. “Apparently, my dark green eyes are ‘intriguing.’”
    “They are intense,” she said. “I was wondering if they could see into my soooo-ul.”
    “Says you! Your eyes freak me out a little. There are hypnotic.”
    “I’ll take that as a compliment. Besides, you should be proud to have such a distinguishing feature that people notice and appreciate it. I know I am!”
    “Secretly I was flattered, but I had a rep to uphold.”
    “And what kind of rep was that?”
    “The smart jock,” I said, observing her reaction. “Exactly! I was already an enigma, why add on to it?”
    Sadie chuckled and a sense of calm circulated within me. When the daydream of having a brother or sister had flashed through my mind it never looked or felt this serene. I forgot about magic and secrets and pain and I let myself bond with the sister that I felt I’d known all of my life.
    “So, what about your friends?” I asked. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
    Sadie’s cheeks went from muted pink to sunburn red.
    “I don’t have many close friends. In fact, I don’t really have any. I was so busy being everyone’s friend I forgot to pick a favorite.”
    “Uh huh, and boys?”
    “I guess I forgot to pick one of those too.”
    “Me too,” I said. “Fairy tales are unlikely in high school and I have never been the boyfriend-having type.”
    “Why do you think that is?” she asked.
    “That is the question! Maybe I was distracted or oblivious. Or maybe no one ever made me want to fall. I never could see the point in dating just to be dating.”
    “Oh, I agree,” she said. “It seems people have a new relationship every week. That just sounds exhausting to me. I’ve got things to do, you know?”
    “One hundred percent! Maybe we all have daddy issues. Who knows?”
    “Can’t find a boyfriend? Blame your dad. Don’t want a boyfriend? Blame your dad.”
    “Sounds justified to me!”
    Pleased with ourselves and our little comedy routine, we doubled-over in laughter until our cheeks cramped and tears streamed down our faces. It took several minutes to regain our composure. I failed to remember the last time I had laughed that hard.
    “I always believed I was adopted,” Sadie blurted. “I was too afraid to ask about it or where my dad was. I didn’t want to hurt my mom’s feelings.”
    “You never asked at all?”
    “My life was so blessed it felt wrong somehow. I just assumed she’d tell me when she was ready.”
    “Same here,” I said. “I was never sad about not knowing him but I guess a part of me was too mad to mourn him. Losing my Mom, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with.
    “I remember when I was seven we drove to the beach and made a fire. The smell of salt water and her lilac shampoo in the air around me, I knew I loved her more than anything. I was grateful for her, to her. Life without her has been bleak and miserable. It’s been hard talking about her, especially since I’ve hid away since she passed.”
    My casual memory broadcast took me off guard. A single tear rolled down Sadie’s cheek as she rested her chin on her knees. Staring down at her French manicured toes, she appeared vulnerable. Storytelling was all Sadie would have of our mother. I was fortunate to have known her but regret mushroomed in my chest, possibly another piece of