Round Robin by Jennifer Chiaverini

Author:Jennifer Chiaverini
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks

Dear Judy,

I put my father’s name on the outside of the envelope because I wanted you to have the choice to throw this letter away unread. My father’s name alone would indicate the nature of this letter, and if you wanted no part of him, or of me, you wouldn’t have to read any further than the return address before tossing it in the trash. That is, as long as you know who my father is, and what he is to you.

You see, I wrote “my father,” but I should have written “our father.” I am your sister, your half sister. My father tells me you already know about him, though not about me. I hope his memory is accurate, and that this is not the first time you are hearing this news. If it is, please accept my heartfelt apologies. No one should have to receive news like that in a letter.

I’ve tried to write to you so many times. I’ve tried to imagine what it must be like to be you, and whether you would even want to hear from me. You have a life of your own and maybe you don’t want a sister—a stranger—coming into it after all these years. I finally realized that I can never know what it’s like to be you. I can’t know whether you would want to hear from me. But I do know that if our places were reversed, I would want to hear from you. I would want to know I had a sister.

I would have written to you sooner, but I only learned of you two months ago, after my mother’s death. Before then my father never spoke of you—out of respect for my mother, I guess. I’m trying to understand things from his point of view, but it’s hard not to be angry at him. All my life I’ve had another sister and I never knew it.

My father has told me little of his relationship with your mother, but it is enough for me to infer that they did not part amicably. I would understand if you hate my father and do not want to see him. However, I hope you will be willing to see me. I really want to meet you.

Because of my father’s declining health, he is unable to travel to Philadelphia and I am unable to leave him. It is my hope that you will use the enclosed voucher to purchase a plane ticket to Wisconsin. You might wonder why I sent it—I admit I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do or if it would be offensive. I finally decided to send it to show you how much I want you to come, and so that you can do so without any cost to yourself.

If you can’t come, I hope you will at least write back to me. I am more eager to hear from you than I can express in a letter.

Your sister,

Kirsten Scharpelsen

P.S. You have other family here, too.

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