Kristan Higgins - The Next Best Thing

Y OU HAVE A WHISKER .

Though I hear the loudly whispered comment, it doesnt quite register, as I am rapt with adoration, staring at the wonder that is my hour-old niece. Her face still glows red from the effort of being born, her dark blue eyes are as wide and calm as a tortoises. I probably shouldnt tell my sister that her baby reminds me of a reptile. Well. The baby is astonishingly beautiful. Miraculous.

Shes amazing, I murmur. Corinne beams, then shifts the baby the slightest bit away from me. Can I hold her, Cory? My two aunts mutter darklyonly Mom has held the baby so far, and clearly, Im breaking rank.

My sister hesitates. Umwell

Let her, Cory, Chris encourages, and my sister reluctantly hands over the little bundle.

Shes warm and precious, and my eyes fill with tears. Hi there, I whisper. Im your auntie. I cant believe how much I love this babyshes fifty-five minutes old, and Im ready to throw myself in front of a bus for her, should the need arise.

Pssst. Lucy. Its Iriss voice again. Lucy. You have a whisker. My seventy-six-year-old aunt taps her upper lip. Right there. Plus, youre holding her wrong. Give her to me.

Oh, gee, I dont know about that, Corinne protests, but Iris deftly takes the baby from me. My arms feel lonely without the sweet weight of my niece. Whisker, Iris says, jerking her chin at me.

Almost against my will, my finger goes to my upper lipgah! Something thick and almost sharp, like a piece of barbed wire, is embedded in my skin. A whisker! Iris is right. I have a whisker.

My tiny aunt Rose sidles up to me. Lets take a look here, she says in her little-girl voice, studying my lip. Then, before I know it, she seizes the offending hair and yanks.

Youch! Rose! That hurt! I press a finger against the now smarting hair follicle.

Dont worry, honey, I got it. You must be coming into the Change. She gives me a conspiratorial smile, then holds my whisker up to the light.

Im thirty years old, Rose, I protest weakly. And come on, stop looking at it. I brush the whisker from her fingers. The whisker was a fluke. Im not menopausal. I cant be. Could I? Granted, Im feeling a bitmature today, given that my younger sister has had a baby before I did

Rose scrutinizes my face for another hair. It can happen. Your second cousin Ilona was thirty-five. I dont think youre too young. A mustache is usually the first sign.

Electrolysis, my mother recommends as she tucks the blankets around Corinnes feet. Grinelda does it. Ill have her look at you next time she comes in for a reading.

Your psychic also does electrolysis? Christopher asks.

Shes a medium. And yes, Grinelda is a very talented woman, Iris says, smiling down at Emma.

Dont I get a turn to hold that child? I seem to remember Im also her great-aunt, Rose peeps. And personally, I bleach. Once I shaved, and three days later, I looked like Uncle Zoltan after a bender. She accepts my niece from Iris and her wrinkled, sweet face morphs into a smile.