In my debut novel, The Deep Space Between, there is a character who is my protagonist’s aunt named Tristana Evans Lastra. Seraphina, my protagonist, calls her Aunt “T”; her aunt’s best friend calls her “T.”
This is for a very good reason. It’s a nod to my own Aunt T. Thaina Brown-Brake was my mom’s older sister. She was the lynchpin of the family between the Browns and the Caswells as there was discord between my mom and her side of the family, for reasons not necessary to go into here.
Aunt T was the only non-immediate family member who called me after 9/11. When she found out I wasn’t leaving NYC, where I lived at the time, she threatened to drive up to New York and pull me out herself. I hadn’t spoken to her since my sister’s wedding in 1997 (because life and I was young…no other reason) and yet she still called to let me know she cared.
She was also the only family member to find out where I lived (I moved a lot) and made sure to send me Christmas cards and gifts on occasion as well. Again, while we rarely talked, I knew she was there in the background, thinking of me. She was also the only family member besides my immediate family to RSVP yes for my wedding. She was unable to attend due to health concerns at the time, but she really wanted to come.
For all those reasons, I put her in my book. But they are not the main reason.
In 2019, I had a yen to go on a road trip with my husband, Paul. I love road trips. They were the only way we traveled the US as a kid, because we couldn’t afford to pay for five airline tickets and because there’s a lot of adventure to be had on the journey to your destination. Paul also likes road trips, mainly because there’s a lot of the US he hasn’t seen and because it’s very different from a road trip in the UK, where you end up in a completely different country were you to drive the 18 hours we chose to drive.
One of the places I hadn’t visited, but wanted to, was Savannah. And I felt it was time to visit my mom’s side of the family, who lived a few hours from there just south of Macon. I hadn’t seen my Uncle Mike or Aunt Candy, or my cousins Mikey and Derek, since Thaina’s wedding 30 years before. Thaina sent pictures and updates over email, so I knew they were doing well, but I didn’t know them as people. I was eleven (I think) when Thaina got married. Mikey was eight and Derek was four. I highly doubted the kid who shouted, “I have the power of Grey Skull,” from the back of the station wagon was the same kid at 41 (Sorry, Mikey, but you shouted it a lot!) or the little boy who told his big brother to leave my sister Erika alone (seriously so cute, Derek) was Derek at 37.
I wanted to get to know them and create a new connection. Their issues with my mom had nothing to do with me, so I let Thaina know we were coming down. And she was so excited. When we arrived, she met us at our hotel and spent every single moment possible with us the very short time we were there.
She showed us around town, took us on base (Airforce) to show Paul what it was like (I grew up a Navy brat; I already had a pretty good idea) and to find good coffee (total failure). She rounded everyone up and set up a family dinner for Friday night.
It could’ve been awkward, but it wasn’t. It was welcoming and warm, just like her. We only stayed for Friday night and Saturday, but it was a fabulous time and I’m so glad we went. Not only did we have fun hanging out with everyone, but we got to spend a lot of time with her.
Three months later, I received a small package in the mail from my aunt. It was a gold pen; one she’d had for fifty years. A random present from an aunt who hadn’t known I wanted to be a writer. She knew I worked with writers, but we didn’t speak about the book or my writing because at the time, I wasn’t doing any of that or even thinking of any of that.
In July 2019, four months after our visit and right before my sister Erika was due to visit, she passed away peacefully in her sleep. It was before my book journey began, but she would’ve been one of my biggest cheerleaders. In some small way, I feel like my aunt was setting the stage by sending me her gold pen for the conversation my husband and I had in 2020 about my being a writer. It was like the smallest nudge from an off-stage, but caring, family member.
And that is why Seraphina’s aunt is named Tristana but called Aunt T or T by those who love her. For my Aunt T, whom I loved.