After the engagement announcement, Bea’s dad and Jesse held a family meeting with Bea to tell her she would be getting a new sister when they got married. Bea knew about Sonia, Jesse’s daughter her own age, but it didn’t occur to her that they would become sisters. The thought was so thrilling to Bea that she spent the evening dancing in her room and moving her couch close to her bed so she and Sonia could sleep close together when Sonia came to visit three months later.

When Bea told Miriam about Sonia and how excited she was to have a new sister, she was met with caution from Miriam, who warned Bea to consider how Sonia might feel with all the changes and coming to a new place, away from her mother and the rest of her family. All Bea could think about was Sonia being just as happy and excited as she was, no matter how Miriam tried to explain.