Promise me we will always have each other.

Both of us have been through the wringer.

My sister Mei and I were adopted by our Grandmother when I was two, and she was five. We went to the same Catholic school in the middle of Chicago, lived in an apartment where we shared a 10 ft by 10 ft bedroom till we moved out at the ages of seventeen and twenty. That was right after our Grandmother passed away.

So much of our young lives glued us together and forced us to realize how much we needed each other.

My sister is my best friend.

Mei has always been a great big sister. She wasn't too bossy or mean. She never wanted me to leave her alone when she was with her friends but included me instead. She taught me how to do everything, from tieing my shoes to what types of pads to use after I started my period. To me, Mei was like a mom, an older sister, and my closest companion.

For the most part, Mei and I had always gotten along even though we have strikingly different personalities. She went to a few semesters of community college for art and writing, I got my associate's. She was driven by passion and spontaneity, I took my time through college and planning out my life. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I would become a history teacher, majoring in Women's history. Mei, on the other hand, was more of a free spirit. She wanted to be an Entrepreneur, start her own fashion company, and maybe write a book or two.

Mei was always so willing to take the leap. She tried new things, bleached her hair, dated a lot. I didn't.

My perfect date night included me, a bottle of red wine, and my favorite comedy. My career had always come first in my mind, and I figured if I met a man I liked enough to date, it would be after college anyways.

Four years later, I graduated with my degree and she was working with a fashion magazine. We moved to different cities because of our jobs. It was the first time we had ever lived apart. That day, putting boxes into a moving truck and dragging myself 40 miles away from our hometown was one of the worst days of my life.

I felt so alone.

Both of us knew I had never been good with keeping in touch with people, and as an introvert, I had always been okay with that. If I had a close enough relationship with someone, we wouldn't need to talk all the time to remain friends. But Mei was my sister. It was different, and I didn't want to lose my connection with her.

Month's passed. We did our best to stay in touch, have coffee once every other month, and call or text once a week. It wasn't like it used to be though, back when we shared a room or even a whole apartment. I could feel us drifting, and I hated it.

One night, I got a phone call.

Mei was crying, and I could barely understand her. She said something about Brian, the guy that had asked her out that night, a car, and that she was alone at the gas station near our old Community College. I immediately dropped what I was doing and ran to get my keys.

When I finally got there, she was soaking wet and looked miserable. I felt my blood beginning to boil.

"What did he do?!" I yelled. The cashier jumped, maybe worried that I meant him.

"It's nothing, Ai. I'm fine." Mei sniffed, looking away from me.

I walked toward the wine dept. and looked around. I looked through the reds because I knew we both liked those. One bottle caught my eye, a black bottle of Merlot with a bird on the front. It was a 2019 Californian Merlot called Jetbird. I grabbed the bottle and headed to the checkout counter.

"What are you doing?" Mei asked. She was still shivering, and her lips were turning blue.

"Dang it, Mei. You really know how to pick em'." I took off my denim jacket and handed it to my sister. "We are getting this bottle of wine and ordering a pizza."

________________

My apartment wasn't anything spectacular, but it did have heating. Mei ran to the couch and curled up under one of my throw blankets.

"So cozy..." she mumbled to herself from the sofa as I called in for pizza delivery.

I sat down at the dining room table and set up the Monopoly board. Mei walked over, still wrapped in the blanket.

"You think of everything!" she said, sitting down excitedly. We always played Monopoly together growing up when either of us had a bad day.

"I do indeed." I handed her a glass of the Merlot. I read the back of the bottle, out of curiosity. I typically liked Merlot but had never bought that brand before. This crowd-pleasing Merlot is beautifully balanced, with aromas of red berries, baking spices, and violets. Bold tannins, full body, and bright acidity on the palate.

Giving it a sip, I thought I could taste a hint of strawberry, and maybe cherry and anise as well.

"So, what happened tonight?" I asked. I knew she was avoiding the topic. Mostly because this type of thing had happened to her before, and she wasn't proud of it.

Mei tied up her black hair. Something she did when she needed to concentrate. She hated her hair touching her neck anyway, but especially if she had to talk.

"Brian works with me, ya know, on the Magazine. We've been talking for a few weeks now, and I thought he seemed nice enough. But turn's out he just wanted to get me in bed." she frowned, looking into her glass.

"The skeeze-bag." I muttered.

"For real. He tried to get me to do it with him in the car, and so I slapped him as hard as I could. We hadn't known each other that long, I couldn't believe he'd try that. And then he just left me in the park. And then it started raining!

Mei shook her head, almost in disbelief that the evening had actually happened. "I couldn't remember much of that area, except where the gas station was that we used to go to."

The doorbell rang.

"Well, I hope he gets a demotion." I snapped and then went to get the pizza. It smelled like warm garlic and melting mozzarella. We quickly dug into the stuffed crust, three cheese with pepperoni and black olives.

We laughed harder that night than we had in a long time. We bonded over bad first dates, work, and the fact that we got to feel like sisters again.

It had been so long.

Around Midnight, we were nearing the end of our game and the bottle of wine. Somehow we had managed to finish off a whole pizza as well.

"Hey. " I looked over at Mei seriously. "Promise me we will always have each other. That we'll always be sisters. Okay?"

She gave me a sad look. I knew she had missed this too.

"Ai, let's make a pact. Once a month, or whenever either of us has a first date planned, we will get together the night before and have a girl night. That way, we make sure to never drift apart again."

She made me pinky swear across the Monopoly board.

I think that bad first date of Mei's somehow saved us.

Now at least once a month, or whenever either of us has a first date, we have a sister date the night before. We order a pizza, buy a bottle of Jetbird Merlot, and play Monopoly.

That night gave me my sister back. I'm also being more intentional about going out on dates and meeting new friends, which all started shortly after that night. Just like always, my sister has found a way to get me to live to the fullest. She helps me to be better, and I love her for it.

I will forever be grateful for bad first dates.

______________________

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-Leah H.