Excerpt: More than a sister

I remember the day Emilia was born so vividly. My mother insists I couldn’t possibly remember.
“Don’t be silly”, she says. “You were four years old. You must be remembering what you’ve been told about it”.
But that’s the point - I wasn’t four, not quite. And thus started the resentment of the little sister I’d longed for. Don’t get me wrong, I love Emilia vehemently. But the jealousy between us has always been just as strong.
It started the day before my fourth birthday, a warm sunny June day. I’d been promised a treat for my birthday, a party. A group of little friends had been invited and we had games planned, a cake, sweets, jelly and ice cream, and I was bouncing with excitement about it. One more sleep till my birthday party! I was woken that morning by my father to say that Granny was coming to look after me today. He was going with Mummy to see the doctor and when they came home, they’d be bringing me a baby brother or sister. To my nearly-four-year-old mind, this matter had already been decided. The baby would be a girl because I wanted a little sister. Daddy had laughed, again, and told me I’d get what the doctor gave us, and then Granny arrived and my parents drove away in the car. All that day, all I could think about was my birthday, the presents I would receive, the games I’d play with my friends and the party tea.
Just as I was being put to bed, my parents came home with the baby. She was wrapped in a pink blanket and was the smallest baby I had ever seen. Mum had come into my room, and sat on the edge of the bed to introduce me to my little sister. She placed the baby in my lap.
“Clare, meet Emilia, your new little sister”, she said.
“Hello Emilia”, I told the baby, fascinated with her little face, and held out my hand so she could grasp my finger with her tiny little hand.
“She was born today, so today is her birthday. And tomorrow is your birthday”, said Mum. “Isn’t that nice, that you can have your birthdays side by side”.
And that was the point that the resentment started.