Sisters

by Danielle Steel

  “That's silly, Annie. She's a nice girl who used to know you when you were kids, and she heard about your mother.”

  “That's my point, Dad. Don't be so naïve.”

  “Don't you be so paranoid. A girl that age is not going to go after me. And I already told you, I'm not going to be dating anyone. I'm in love with your mother and always will be.” Annie was worried about it anyway. She wished that she could have seen her and evaluated the situation herself. She made a mental note to mention it to Sabrina when she came home. She didn't like the idea of women going after their father. Particularly not girls like Leslie Thompson, if she was anything like what she'd been when they were kids. All she really remembered was a lot of blond hair, and Sabrina saying she was a slut. Annie had only been nine years old. But she remembered her oldest sister being mad as hell. It was funny how things like that left a lasting impression. For the rest of time, she was a “slut” in Annie's mind, based on her behavior at fifteen.

  Annie put the dishes in the dishwasher after that. Her father had a piece of the apple pie and said it was excellent, and Annie snorted in response. And afterward they both went upstairs. Annie was excited about the new house and moving in the next day. It was too quiet here, and she felt isolated. It was going to be nice to be in the city, even if her movements were still limited and she couldn't go out on her own. It was going to be a refreshing change.

  She sat in her room quietly for a while, listening to music, and thinking about her life in Florence. Painting, visiting Siena, her endless hours in the Uffizi gallery, and her months with Charlie. She still missed him, and wished she could have called him, just to say hello. She was still in shock that he had found someone else so fast and dumped her. But at least she hadn't had to tell him she was blind, and he didn't feel sorry for her. She called Sabrina, who said everything was going well at the house, and Tammy in L.A., who was home alone on a Saturday night. She said she was giving Juanita a bath and doing laundry. It was sad realizing that she would never see their faces again, or look into their eyes. She could feel them and hear them, touch them, but for the rest of their lives she would remember them as they were now. They would never grow old in her mind's eye, and they would never change. She went to sleep thinking about it, and dreamed that she and Charlie were watching the sunset in Florence, and when she turned to say something to him, and tell him that she loved him, he had disappeared.

  Chapter 15

  Sabrina came out alone to pick Annie up on Sunday. Candy stayed in the city at the new house, after coming home at four in the morning. As Sabrina had predicted to Chris, she had gone clubbing with her old friend. And Chris had gone to a baseball game with friends that day, after spending the first night in the new house with Sabrina. They were comfortable in her room, and loved the bed, which was enormous, much better than her old one, which was queen size, lumpy, and too hard. The one in their new house was a dream. Sabrina loved everything about the place, and so did Chris. They had their own floor, so they didn't even hear Candy come in at four. And she was still asleep when Sabrina left in the morning.

  She found Annie and her father sitting at the pool with the dogs. Zoe and Beulah were best friends now, and Candy had left Zoe there the day before. She didn't want her to get lost or hurt with the moving men going in and out. Sabrina asked her father if he'd mind keeping them there for a while. They had fun in the country, it was company for him, and she and Annie were going to be busy moving in, and so was Candy. She had enough on her plate at the moment without worrying about the dogs. Her father said he'd be delighted to babysit his grand dogs, and she and Annie drove back to the city after lunch. Annie seemed to be in a very somber, quiet mood, and Sabrina left her to her own thoughts. It happened often now. She had so much to adjust to, and she was an introspective person anyway, and something of a dreamer. She had always spent long, quiet hours, thinking about her art.

  They were halfway to the city when she finally spoke up.

  “Do you remember Leslie Thompson?” Annie said out of the blue, as though the name had just crossed her mind.

  “No. Why? Who is she?”

  “You hated her. Her brother went to school with Tammy, and she tried to put the make on one of your boyfriends.”

  “She did? When?” Sabrina looked completely baffled, and Annie laughed.

  “I think you were a senior. I was nine, but I still remember you called her a slut.”

  “I did?” Sabrina laughed out loud. “Oh my God!” She turned to glance at her sister and then looked back at the road. She was much more nervous about driving, especially on the highway, since the Fourth of July. And Tammy said she was too, once she got back to L.A. “I do remember her! She was a total bitch, but pretty, in a cheesy way. She was a real operator. And Mom called her a hot number. Hot number, my ass. What made you think of her?”

  “She dropped by yesterday.”

  “Why? I never saw her again after that day.” “She said she just got divorced and moved back from California, and she came to say how sorry she was about Mom. She brought Dad a pie.”

  “Are you kidding?” Sabrina made a face of pure disgust, and then she glanced over at her sister again, and wished she had her sight. They would have exchanged a look like no other. “Shit. Here it comes. The onslaught. But isn't she a little young? She must be about thirty-two. Thirty-three at most. She was fifteen then. I remember her perfectly now and how much I hated her. ‘The slut.’ I wish you could tell me what she looks like now, and how she looked at Dad.”

  “She sounds fake, and she was wearing cheap perfume, and too much of it.”

  “Ugh.”

  “Exactly. And she's smart. She brought the pie in a dish he has to give back. She must figure he has money.”

  “She can't be after a man that old. Shit, he's almost twice her age.”

  “Yes, but he does have money, and he's single now.”

  “She sure didn't waste any time.” Sabrina looked annoyed. Their mother had only been dead for a month. “Maybe she was being sincere, and she just feels sorry for us.”

  “My ass,” Annie said bluntly, and Sabrina laughed.

  “Yeah, mine too. But hopefully not Dad's. The poor guy has no idea what's about to hit him. Every single woman within a hundred miles is going to be pounding down his door. He's a reasonable age, he's good-looking, he's successful, and he's alone. Waaaatttchhhh out!” They were all worried about it, and protective of him. He was so naïve, and totally unprepared for what was coming.

  “I tried to tell him that, but he said I was paranoid.”

  “I trust your instincts. What did she sound like?”

  “Slimy,” Annie said. “What do you expect from a slut?” They both laughed.

  They thought about it for a while in silence and then talked about other topics. Sabrina told her about the things she had discovered about the house that she hadn't known before, and how comfortable it was. They both agreed that they were sorry Tammy wasn't going to be there too, but there was no way she could leave her job. It was too much to give up.

  When they arrived at the house, Candy was still sleeping. She eventually appeared at the top of the stairs in a pink satin thong and a see-through T-shirt, yawning, and happy to see them.

  “Welcome home,” she said to Annie, as her sister began feeling her way around. It was important to her to try to figure out where the furniture was so she could be comfortable getting from one spot to another with ease. After she got through the living room and den, concentrating intently, she made her way upstairs, and wound up in Candy's room instead of her own and instantly stumbled over a suitcase and nearly fell.

  “Shit!” she said loudly, trying to get her bearings, as she rubbed her shin. “You're such a slob.”

  “Sorry.” Candy jumped up to move the suitcase and clear a path for Annie. “Do you want me to show you where your room is?” she asked, trying to be helpful, and Annie snapped at her immediately. It was stressful for her trying to get acclimated to the hous
e, but she knew it would be easier once she did it.

  “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.”

  “No,” Sabrina said quietly, “it would be more pathetic if you gave up on life at your age. You're twenty-six years old. You're smart, beautiful, talented, well educated, well traveled, and fun to be with. Any guy would be lucky to go out with you, whether you have your sight or not. You have enough other attributes to make up for that. Any man worth a damn won't care if you can see or not. And fuck the others.”

  “Yeah. Maybe,” Annie said, unconvinced. She and Dr. Steinberg had been talking about it. Annie couldn't imagine ever dating again, or any man wanting her in this condition.

  “Give yourself some time, Annie,” Sabrina said gently. “You just broke up with someone, we lost Mom, you got hurt in the accident. That's a lot to deal with.” And the career she had studied all her life for had gone out the window. They were all aware of that. All of it was a major adjustment. More than most people would ever deal with in their life. And it had all hit her overnight.

  They settled into their new rooms that night, and as Annie lay in bed, with her cell phone on her night table, it rang, and for the flash of an instant she hoped it would be Charlie, having changed his mind and dumped the other girl, wanting her back again. But if that was the case, what would she tell him? She almost didn't answer, and finally she did. She had caller ID, but couldn't see it. “Hello?” she said tentatively, and then was startled to realize it was Sabrina, calling her from her bedroom upstairs.

  “I just called to say goodnight and tell you I love you,” she said, yawning. She'd been thinking about her, and decided to call her before she went to sleep.

  “You're crazy, and I love you too. For a minute, I thought it was Charlie. I'm glad it wasn't.” That probably wasn't true, but Sabrina was touched that she would say it, and sorry she had to face such major challenges. It just wasn't fair. “I like our new house,” Annie said happily, happy to have someone to talk to. She'd been feeling lonely.

  “So do I,” Sabrina said. She missed having Chris sleep there that night, but it was fun being with her sisters.

  “Who are you talking to?” Candy asked, as she poked her head into Annie's room and saw her talking on her cell phone.

  “Sabrina,” Annie giggled.

  “Goodnight!” Candy shouted up the stairs. “How come you didn't call me?” She was teasing, and leaned over to kiss Annie goodnight. “I love you, Annie,” she said softly, and tucked her in.

  “I love you too. I love both of you,” Annie said into the cell phone and into the room so they could both hear her. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

  “We love it,” Candy said, and hearing her say it, Sabrina agreed.

  “Goodnight, sweet dreams,” Sabrina said, and hung up, as their voices echoed in the house, and Candy went back to her room. Annie lay in bed afterward thinking that, in spite of everything that had happened, she was very lucky. In the end, no matter what happened, or what tragedy struck, they were all so lucky to have each other. They were sisters and best friends. It was all that mattered, and for now it was enough.

  Chapter 16

  Time seemed to be moving with lightning speed. Tammy had finally found a new st
ar for the show, and was able to fly out on Friday night for the Labor Day weekend. Sabrina picked her up at the airport. Candy and Annie had been in Connecticut all week, and said their father was doing better. It was hard to believe that their mother had been gone for two months. So much had happened since.

  And as always, Tammy had Juanita with her, sound asleep in her Birkin. She asked how they all liked the new house, and Sabrina said that they loved it. It was perfect. Her only concern was that she might not see as much of Chris. He seemed a little shy about intruding on her sisters.

  “He'll get used to it,” Tammy said easily. “He's part of the family. I assume he's coming out this weekend.”

  “Tomorrow. He wanted to give us a night alone. See what I mean? He kind of hangs back when we're all together.”

  “I think he's just being respectful.”

  They chatted easily on the way out to Connecticut, and got there at nine-thirty at night. The others were sitting at the pool, and the dogs were ecstatic when they saw Juanita. Her sisters and father were happy to see Tammy. They stayed up late that night, as they always did when they got together and hadn't seen each other for a while. Tammy had been gone for nearly six weeks. The time had flown for all of them.

  In the morning Chris came out, and it was an easy, fun weekend. They played Scrabble, liar's dice, and read the Sunday paper. But Annie could do none of it, and at one point Sabrina saw the look on her face, and motioned to the others to put the games away. Annie knew instantly what they'd done and why, and insisted it didn't bother her, but it was obvious that it did. They lightened the moment by teasing their father about Leslie Thompson's visit and her gift of an apple pie.

  “You girls are heartless,” he said with a smile. “The poor thing just went through a terrible divorce. She started her own business, and the bastard cleaned her out.”