1.14: Family Ties
Shanice: I’m sorry I didn’t pay closer attention to her. I had no idea about her history with this Shawn boy.
Mrs. Carr: Listen, I think it’s great you and Erika are getting closer, but you have got to be more careful. This isn’t the first time–
Shanice: I know, I know, I know. I’ve been a bad sister and a bad daughter.
Mrs. Carr: What?
Shanice: I’ve been an ungrateful brat for awhile now.
Mrs. Carr: Shanice, you’ve been a little distant, but you’ve never been a bad daughter or sister. When I needed you to baby-sit, you grumble a little and you’d do it. When I needed you to take one of your siblings somewhere or pick they up from somewhere, you’d do it with attitude, but you’d do it. There’s never been a day I wasn’t happy to have you be a part of my family, even if you weren’t always happy about being a part of it. I love you, just as much as I would if you were my own child.
Shanice: And I love you. I was afraid before, afraid I was betraying my mother somehow by feeling it. But… I love you… Mom.
Mrs. Carr: Mom?
Shanice: Yeah, that’s kinda what you are. I know I’m grown now, but is it okay if I call you that?
Mrs. Carr: It’s more than okay.
(Then they gave each other a long delayed hug)
(It was a great relief for Mrs. Carr to know Shanice didn’t hate her for the fact her family fell apart all those years ago. There had never been a day since she moved in that Mrs. Carr hadn’t loved Shanice as her own, but she had never expected Shanice to love her back as she didn’t feel she deserved it. It was a great weight off her heart that she did love her and the family.)
