Le'al took the plastic watermelon man off of the card. The card fell to the floor. She left it. Got the phone. Sat down beside the card. Dialed.

"Hello, this is Sherry. Can we talk? Or, I can just listen"

Le'al said, "I made a mistake."

She hung up. Grabbed the card. Ripped it. Threw the pieces. Then got up.

She got her diary. Flipped through the empty pages. Decided it was time.

"Today has been hard," she wrote, and kept writing.

Le'al was leaving the corner store. She glanced at the library, wishing she had the time to borrow a couple movies. Then she saw it. A bag. Leaned against the pole in the lot next to the library door.

She crossed the street. Walked to the library door. No one was in sight. She went to the bag. Picked it up, and thought. I need some money. I can do this. It's just sitting here. She turned around no one was there.

Le'al went into the bathroom. Waved a librarian over and asked for the bathroom key. She had the bag, a briefcase, dark maroon on the desk in front of her. She took the key and glanced through the library as she went to the bathroom.

She locked the door and hunkered down looking in the briefcase. She saw an eye glass case. Some allergy medicine. Files crammed in next to each other. A hand size book tucked in the corner.

Le'al began to feel hot. She picked up the briefcase. Placed it in the corner on the floor. Under the sink. And left. She returned the key to the desk, thanking the librarian. The librarian told her she was welcome, but seemed puzzled.

As she left the door, Le'al looked back and saw the librarian going toward the bathroom.

She wished she left a note to explain.

"I don't even know what she looks like," Diamond said. "All the pictures I've seen are old. Like you?"

Le'al cleared her throat, sipping hot tea.

"I have been lying. I don't know Pearl."

Diamond dropped her head into her arms on the table.

"She did you the same way. Here I am thinking everything I wanted, needed, deserved from her, you had and, and . . . she didn't even."

Le'al touched her arm, saying "No, I mean I do not know her. She is not my mother."

"What does that mean?," asked Diamond, sitting up.

Le'al looked surprised. "It means, I don't know here. I have been lying. Mainly. Well, only about knowing Pearl. About being her daughter. Blah, blah, blah making your life miserable for no good reason at all, except that I needed her. At least, I think I did."

"Me, too," Diamond said.

Le'al said, "Something about her made me need to understand. Myself. If that makes sense."

Diamond sipped her cola, "I think I am actually falling apart. A part of me was relieved that you had her. Now, you tell me this. So, I don't have a sister."

"You do, if you want one."