Sisters play an important role in my life as well as in my books. I’ve been blessed to have two sisters visit me separately over the last couple of weeks, and it has reminded me of how happy I am with them. I mean, we talk on the phone all the time, but seeing each other in person is different. This is how my Nora Roberts Land heroine, Meredith Hale, feels when she returns to her hometown of Dare Valley and moves in with her sister, Jill. The way they support each other’s journeys—and their fun antics—show us how important sisters can be to each other. Minus the hair pulling growing up, of course.
I have three sisters, and to some that’s a lot, but it’s what I know. Whenever I’m with my sisters, it feels as if we’re in a sacred space, likely because they don’t live close to me. These last few weeks of having sisters visit has brought back that special sense of happiness only sisters can fulfill. Best friends are special, there is no doubt, but there is so much history between sisters. These were the girls you grew up with. Together, you discovered how to play and learn and make decisions. You found out how to take chances, and also what the consequences might be.
As adults, we can still just hang out, be silly together (a rare gift), refer back to things no one else would really understand, and eat. Yes, eat. We love food in my family, and as a former chef, I always roll out the good stuff when people arrive, usually making their favorites or bringing them to my most-loved restaurants. Last night, I brought one of my sisters to my favorite French café, and she just about swooned over the chocolate beignets they make there. They are swoon worthy, trust me.
Like Meredith and Jill, my sister and I are just going to get in our PJs tonight and watch a chick flick. We’ll have another good meal, one my grandma taught me how to make—fried chicken—and then we’ll settle in for more laughter and sharing and bliss.
So here’s to all of the happiness sisters bring, in real life and in books. They’ll either help you cross the stream before you or laugh and help you up after you’ve fallen in, which is what makes them so great.