Sisters

“No, I can find it myself,” Annie said, barking at her again. She found her own room a minute later, and Sabrina had set her suitcase down on the bed. She knew Annie would want to unpack it herself. She came by a few minutes later to see if everything was okay. “Thanks for not unpacking my bag,” she said softly. It meant a lot to her not to be treated like a child.

“I thought you'd rather put your own stuff away, so you know where it is. Yell if you want help.”

“I won't,” Annie said firmly, and then felt her way around the room, checking out the closet and opening the drawers. She found where the bathroom was and put her cosmetics away. With her new short hairdo, she had an easier time doing her hair than when it was long.

It was dinnertime by the time Sabrina checked on her again and Candy wandered in too. It seemed the perfect time to tell Candy that a girl she had known in high school had dropped by to hit on Dad.

“Are you kidding?” Candy looked stunned, as Annie chuckled and sat down on her bed. She was exhausted, but she had gotten everything unpacked. She hadn't brought much from Florence, and it was all she had. “How old is she?”

“Thirty-two, thirty-three at most,” Sabrina answered.

“That's disgusting. Who is she?”

“The slut,” Annie answered, rolling the words off her tongue with glee as all three girls laughed.

“What did Dad say?” Candy asked with interest. It was fun talking about it among the three sisters as long as nothing came of it, which they knew it wouldn't. They knew their dad.

“He insisted it was innocent,” Annie answered. “He's such a baby. She reeked of cheap perfume.”

“How disgusting. I'd give anything to know what she looked like.”

“So would I,” Annie said sadly, and Sabrina shot Candy a warning look. “I'll bet she's blond and has fake tits,” she said, forgetting that that also described her youngest sister. “Oh … sorry …I didn't mean like you…I meant cheesy.”

Candy laughed and was good-natured. “I forgive you. I bet you're right.”

They told Tammy about it that night when she called, and Chris when he came by after the ballgame with a friend. He was another attorney from his law firm, a good-looking young guy, and he almost fainted when he saw Candy in short shorts and a skimpy halter top. She looked breathtaking as she pranced around. But Chris thought Leslie's visit was probably innocent.

“Oh, it was not!” Sabrina disagreed. “How can you say that? Why would a girl her age bring a pie over for Dad?”

“She's probably a nice person. Just because she tried to steal your boyfriend in third grade does not make her some kind of predator now.”

“I was a senior, she was fifteen, and she was a slut! And it sounds like she still is.”

“You guys are tough!” he said, laughing at them. They all seemed to be in high spirits, and happy in their new house. He liked it too.

“You're as innocent as my father,” Sabrina said, rolling her eyes.

They all decided to go out to dinner, and went downtown to a little neighborhood Italian place in the Twenties. Annie didn't want to go initially, but they insisted she come with them. It was the first time she'd been to a restaurant since the accident. She wore dark glasses and kept a tight grip on Candy's arm. It was confusing for her, but afterward she admitted she'd had a good time, and said Chris's friend seemed nice.

“What does he look like?”

“Tall, nice-looking,” Candy said. “African-American. He has kind of bluey-green eyes.”

“He went to Harvard,” Sabrina added. “But I think he has a girlfriend and she's out of town. I'll ask Chris, if you want.” He had decided to sleep at his place that night and let them get settled on their own. He would have liked to stay, but he didn't want to intrude on Candy and Annie. That was the one thing he didn't like about Sabrina's new living arrangement. He didn't want to bother her sisters, although they all insisted that he didn't and that they loved him. But he went home anyway. He told Sabrina he'd spend the night on Tuesday, when Candy and Annie went back to Connecticut to stay with their father. Sabrina was staying in town all week. “I'll find out if Phillip has a girlfriend,” Sabrina said matter-of-factly.

“Don't bother,” Annie said quickly. She wasn't interested in men at the moment, or maybe ever again. “I just thought he sounded nice. I wondered what he looked like. I hate not being able to put a face with a voice.” Saying it out loud brought the point home to her sisters again. This was so miserable for her, and all things considered, she was being a good sport about it. “I'm not going to be dating,” she said firmly.

“Don't be stupid,” Candy said bluntly. “Of course you are. You're gorgeous.”

“No, I'm not. And that's beside the point. No one's going to want to date me like this. That would be pathetic.”