Sisters

“I think it's worth a try for Annie,” Sabrina said stubbornly. She had been trying to think of a way to help their sister without making her feel humiliated and dependent. This might do it. And she was willing to sacrifice a year of her life for her, and so was Candy. That was something, at least. And even Sabrina could see why Tammy didn't want to do it, and didn't hold it against her. She had an important job on the West Coast, and they couldn't expect her to jeopardize that. She had worked hard to get there, and Sabrina respected her for it, so she didn't push her. “I'll call a realtor tomorrow and see if she can come up with something that would make sense for the three of us. I don't make as much as Candy, and Annie is subsidized by Mom and Dad. Maybe Dad would pay her share of the rent here instead of Florence, although I'm sure that's a lot cheaper. But she'll really need his help now.” And they all knew he could afford it. And then Sabrina frowned. “That reminds me. I guess someone is going to have to go over and close her apartment. She's in no shape to do it.”

“What if she wants to stay in Italy?” Tammy asked.

“I guess she could try it in a year, if she can take care of herself, but not right away. She has a lot to learn first, about surviving as a blind person and living on her own. She's better off doing that with us, and then she can always go back later.”

“I could pick up her stuff the next time I'm in Europe,” Candy volunteered, which was a nice gesture although Tammy and Sabrina knew that she was the least organized of the sisters, and very young. The others were always helping her, but this might help her grow up. She made an incredible living as a supermodel, but she was still very immature. And she was only twenty-one. As far as they were concerned, she was a baby. But maybe she could handle closing the apartment in Florence. It was worth a shot. Neither Tammy nor Sabrina had time to do it, nor their father.

“Well, I have to admit, it's an intriguing idea,” Tammy said, smiling, feeling faintly guilty for not participating, but she just couldn't, and the others knew that. “And it might really help her. It might cheer her up.” They still had huge hurdles to overcome, telling Annie about their mother, her blindness, and all that that would mean to her, and even about Charlie, who was now history, just because she was blind. It all seemed so cruel, and if living with her sisters would help her for the first year, they all agreed that it was worth a try. They toasted each other with their father's vintage Bordeaux wine, and Chris joined them. Sabrina agreed to spearhead the project and keep them all informed as to what she found in the way of an apartment for them, or even a brownstone, if the rental price was right.

“You sure don't let the grass grow under your feet, do you?” Tammy said admiringly, looking at her older sister. “I've been trying to think of what I can do for her too, but I don't think she'd be happy in L.A.”

“Neither do I,” Sabrina agreed. “Now all we have to do is sell it to her.” They had no idea how Annie would react. She had so much to adjust to in the coming days, it was staggering to think about.

“To sisters,” Sabrina said, raising her glass again.

“To the most interesting women I've ever known,” Chris added.

“To Mom,” Candy said softly, and they were all silent for a long moment and took a long sip from their glasses.

Chapter 9

Their mother's burial on Wednesday was the last painful ritual the Adams family had to endure. And as Sabrina had asked him to do, the priest kept it short and sweet. Her mother's ashes were in a large handsome mahogany box. None of them liked to think about her having disappeared out of their lives and being reduced to something so seemingly insignificant and small. Her impact on them had been huge for all of their lives. Now they were leaving her here, to be buried at a cemetery with strangers, in the family plot.

They didn't wait to see the box lowered into the ground. Sabrina and Tammy had agreed at the funeral parlor that no one could have tolerated the agony of it, and when they checked with him, their father had agreed.