Sisters

He lay down next to her on the bed, stroked her hair, and rubbed her back, and within five minutes she was sound asleep, as he lay next to her, wondering if they'd ever get married. Having the full responsibility of her entire family now wasn't likely to help his cause. He was going to give her a few months to calm down, and then talk to her about it. He wanted to get married and have a family. And one of these days he wanted her to bite the bullet and take the leap. He didn't want her to miss out on having kids because she was scared and had seen too many bad divorces and bitter custody battles through her work. That was no excuse to shortchange them. Not anymore, after three years together. In normal times, they had a wonderful relationship, and Chris wanted more. His worst fear was that normal would never come their way again, and her sisters would become her life.

When Sabrina woke up in the morning, he was gone. He'd had an early breakfast meeting with the associate counsel on his case, to bring him up to speed. He had left her a note, telling her to take it easy. She smiled when she read it. He said he'd see her in Connecticut on Friday night. And then he was coming back into the city with her on Saturday to help her move. It was going to be a wild weekend. Candy was coming into the city to help. And their father would be babysitting Annie, or the reverse. Sabrina just hoped that everyone kept it together and no major disasters happened. She no longer had the same faith in life—that things would turn out okay—that she'd had a month before. Her mother's death had shown her that everything could change in the fraction of an instant. Life could end. And look what had happened to Annie.

Chapter 14

Candy, Chris, and Sabrina left Connecticut at six in the morning on Saturday. Chris drove, Sabrina checked her endless list, and Candy filed her nails. She said she had booked a massage at her health club that afternoon.

“How can you book a massage?” Sabrina asked with a look of panic. “We're moving!”

“This is very stressful for me,” she said calmly. “I don't transition well to new places. My old therapist said it had something to do with Mom being older when she had me. Moving is a very traumatic thing for me. I never sleep well in hotels either.”

“So you need a massage?” Sabrina looked at her blankly. She hated that kind of voodoo bullshit—karma, aromatherapy, incense, experiences recreated from the womb. She was a far too practical person to listen to all that stuff and not want to say something rude about it. Chris smiled to himself as he saw her face. He knew her well, and so did Candy.

“I know you think it's bullshit, but it helps me. I need to stay centered. I have a manicure and pedicure scheduled after.”

“Do pedicures help you stay centered?” Sabrina was starting to steam, and it was only six-thirty in the morning, which was part of it. She had been up till two in the morning, helping Annie pack, and finishing some work she'd brought home from the office. Sabrina's work was never done. And now she was extremely tired, and they hadn't even started. The movers were coming at eight, to deliver everything they had picked up the day before. Everything Candy was bringing was in a stack of Louis Vuitton bags and two trunks that they had picked up at her penthouse apartment. She was only bringing clothes. The decor was being provided by Sabrina and their landlord.

“They massage my feet when I get a pedicure,” Candy said primly. “Do you know that all your nerve centers are in your feet? You can heal almost anything with foot massage. I read a great article about it in Vogue.”

“Candy, I love you, but if you don't shut up, I may have to kill you. I handled four new cases this week, my secretary quit, Annie had fourteen tantrums, and Dad hasn't stopped crying in a month. I packed up my apartment, Beulah and Zoe had diarrhea all over the house and I cleaned it up—you didn't, I might add—I have a hell of a goddamn headache, and today we're moving. Please don't talk to me about pedicures and get on my nerves.”

“You're being very hostile and really mean,” Candy said with tears in her eyes, “and that just makes me miss Mom more.” She was sitting in the backseat of Chris's Range Rover, and Sabrina turned to look at her with a sigh.

“I'm sorry. I'm just tired. I miss Mom too. I'm worried about all of you. You're losing weight, Dad's depressed, Mom's gone, and Annie's blind. And we're moving. That's about all I can handle.”