The Sisters (3 page)

When the closing credits began to roll Jessica realised that the film had finished but she hadn’t actually watched any of it. She picked up the remote control and surfed through the channels. She usually avoided the music channels but she pressed the blue button by mistake, which automatically went to her daughter, Lena’s, favourite channels. Her stomach flipped when she saw herself, Lucinda and Beatrice on VH1. The video was of footage recorded over twenty years ago and the memories came flooding back.

‘Mum, look how young you looked,’ Lena said, as she leaned over the back of the sofa.

‘Youth is wasted on the young,’ Jessica said as she subtly placed the wine glass in her hand behind a cushion.

‘Oscar Wilde didn’t have 24 hour music channels. Otherwise he’d have been saying something completely different.’

‘I doubt that very much.’

‘Do you want one?’ Lena held a shortbread biscuit under her mum’s nose. Jessica shook her head and moved across the sofa to make room for her daughter, who snuggled into her as if the sofa was made for one instead of four.

‘You should be in bed, not stuffing your face with biscuits.’

‘I was reading and then I got hungry. Anyway it’s Friday night, well Saturday morning actually, and I have no place to be,’ Lena said as she stuffed another biscuit into her mouth. ‘How old were you in that video?’

‘Nineteen. Your auntie Bea was seventeen and… Lucinda was twenty.’

‘
You electrify me. Lightening flowing through me. I just can’t help myself
. I really don’t think Auntie Bea should have been singing such explicit lyrics at her age,’ Lena said as she began to sing along.

‘Our lyrics were hardly explicit, thank you very much,’ Jessica said. She was used to hearing Lena singing around the house but hearing her now, singing along to their song, scared her. Nevertheless, she knew the fear was unfounded because Lena had no interest whatsoever in a musical career. Jessica could remember Lena refusing to sit her grade three piano exam despite her dad’s insistence, and her violin was still in its case gathering dust in the basement. Her aspirations were to be a journalist or to work in publishing, which was absolutely fine with her. She wanted her daughter as far removed from the music business as humanly possible.

‘Even though this video is older than me, it’s still good. I don’t know why you all stopped. When I told Mr. Hart, my new English teacher that you used to be in Euterpe I thought he was going to drop dead with a heart attack. He went all gooey eyed and said “I loved them.”’

‘Why were you talking about us in English class?’

Lena rolled her eyes in a way that only the women in her family were able to do. ‘Jackson Phillips has a big mouth and found one of your videos on YouTube.’

‘It was Lucinda’s idea to end it. She wanted to go solo,’ Jessica said as she turned the TV off before the video had finished.

‘It’s that same old story. Like Diana Ross and the Supremes, Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child, Geri Halliwell and the Spice Girls, Nicole whatshername and the Pussycat Dolls?’ Lena said dramatically.

‘How do you go from The Supremes to the Pussycat dolls? Anyway, it’s all irrelevant. We were never going to be as big as The Supremes or Destiny’s Child for that matter.’

‘But mum, you could have been.’

Lena’s words rang in Jessica’s head as she lay in bed, squeezing her eyes shut, forcing sleep to come. It unnerved her how quickly the anger still overwhelmed her when she allowed herself to think about how callously Lucinda had ended their careers. Jessica liked to think that she’d moved on but deep down inside, it still hurt.

A few hours later, Jessica awoke to the sound of the front door slamming shut. Pilot, the six-month-old puppy started barking, equally disgusted at being woken up so early. The dawn light was starting to seep in from the shutters and she could hear the call of the morning birds. She closed her eyes and turned her back when Andrew came into the bedroom and started taking off his clothes. Jessica felt the bed sink as he lay down and she fought the urge to cough as the smell of sweat, cigar smoke and whiskey emanated from his body. As he rolled over and moved closer to Jessica, there was no escaping the smell of perfume that didn’t belong to her.

‘Are you awake?’ Andrew asked as he began to push the sheets down Jessica’s body. He shuffled towards her until she could feel his erection pushing against the back of her thigh. She moved towards the edge of the bed without answering.

‘What are you doing? Come here,’ Andrew said as he put his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him.

‘You can’t come in here at four in the morning and expect to have me,’ Jessica said as she pulled the sheets back up her body.

‘Come on,’ Andrew said as he pulled her towards him again and buried his face into her neck, scratching her skin with his stubble. Jessica turned towards him. It was better to let him get on with it. She didn’t have the strength to argue with him or, considering he’d probably been with someone else, ask him to wear a condom. She lay there with his weight on top of her and felt sick. Thankfully all of the alcohol he’d consumed meant he didn’t last that long and after ten minutes she felt him go limp, pull himself out and roll back to his side of the bed. Jessica got up and went to the ensuite bathroom. She felt unsatisfied both physically and emotionally.

It was times like this that she felt her life was a joke but people openly envied her life and had told her so after she spoke at the Allure magazine Rising Women event the month before. She’d been applauded for being a successful businesswoman, mother and wife, for having it all, yet here she was standing in the bathroom, trying to bring herself to orgasm with the jet setting on the shower. So much for having it all.

‘BEA, WATCHING you breast feeding is not doing any wonders for my hangover.’

‘What are you talking about? You can’t even see my…’ Beatrice said as she saw the top of her left breast displayed in bright Technicolor on Skype. ‘I don’t know what you’re complaining about. Breastfeeding is perfectly natural. Anyway, you’ve seen me naked. In fact you’ve seen me give birth.’

‘Don’t remind me,’ Lucinda said as she took a sip of tea. She didn’t see Beatrice’s husband Jake walk into the kitchen and promptly turn around again when he saw which sister his wife was talking to.

‘So, how are things?’ Beatrice asked as she adjusted her top and propped baby Sam up on her lap.

‘Aw, look at him. He’s such a beautiful baby. I can’t wait to meet him.’

‘He was a beautiful baby until he woke up at three o’clock this morning and refused to go back to sleep. Hold on a minute. What time is it over there?’ Beatrice asked as she looked at the clock on the oven. ‘Lou, it must be nearly four in the morning. What on earth are you still doing up?’

‘I couldn’t sleep.’

‘You’re always the same when you’ve been knocking back the Shiraz. You can’t handle your drink. You look like shit.’

‘You don’t look so great yourself sunshine.’

‘I’ve got a three month old and two children under six. What’s your excuse?’

‘I think I’m still drunk,’ Lucinda said as she sighed heavily. ‘Anyway, I’ve got some news that I wanted to share. I thought I might as well tell you now. Strike whilst the iron’s hot and all that crap. I’m coming home.’

‘You’re doing what?’

‘I said that I’m coming home. We’re coming home.’

‘Why? What are you coming back for? A holiday? You’re not coming back for good are you?’

‘God, so many questions. No, Bea. This isn’t a holiday.’

Beatrice leaned in closer to the iPad but it was no use. She’d never been able to read her older sister. There was no way of knowing what was going on behind those eyes of hers.

‘New York hasn’t been good to me, Bea.’ Lucinda said solemnly. Beatrice sat back. She wasn’t used to hearing such words from Lucinda. She was the strong one. The impulsive one.

‘How do the twins feel about this?’ Beatrice asked. ‘They’re teenagers. They may not want to leave. Coming here for a few weeks on holiday is one thing, but living here…’

‘Don’t you want us to come back?’ Lucinda asked.

‘Lou. Don’t be silly…I miss you every day. I just don’t understand why all of a sudden, after seventeen years, you want to come back here.’

‘It’ll be good for the kids to be around their family.’

‘When do you plan on coming back?’ Beatrice asked, ignoring Jake who’d hesitantly wandered back into the kitchen and then ran to the coffee machine.

‘As soon as the house is sold, but who knows how long that’ll be with the market as it is. I also need to find somewhere to live.’

‘Well, you could stay…’ Beatrice stopped talking as Jake began frantically waving his hands and mouthing repeatedly, ‘No, no, no.’

‘Tell Jake to calm down,’ Lucinda said laughing. ‘I can see his reflection. I wouldn’t do that to you. You’ve got a full house as it is.’

‘Mum and dad have loads of room, even more now that Emma has moved out.’

‘For God’s sake, Bea, we’re not a charity case. Anyway, I couldn’t possibly go back to living with mum. Not again. I’ll just to have rent somewhere until I get back into my own house. I’m not broke.’

Beatrice didn’t get a chance to respond as the screen froze and then turned blue.

‘Polite as always,’ Jake said as he sat next to his wife and placed a cup of coffee in front of her.

‘You’re so rude,’ said Beatrice as she handed a sleeping Sam to his dad and gratefully picked up the cup of coffee.

‘How was I supposed to know that she could see me?’ Jake said. He let out a loud yawn and wondered if the kitchen worktop would be a comfortable place to rest his head. ‘I’m knackered. I don’t remember Theo and Issy keeping us up like this.’

‘I think that we’ve blocked it out. Either that or we’re still in shock.’

‘All I’m asking for is one Sunday morning where we can sleep in, read the papers, have breakfast in bed, then have a nice lunch and go back to bed.’

‘You’re living in a fantasy land.’

‘It’s not much to ask for.’

‘Maybe in twenty years time, Spidey. I think the best we can hope for is one hours snooze now that this one has dropped off. I’m so glad that dad took the twins yesterday,’ Beatrice said as she found herself yawning with an intense desire to return to bed.

‘Can you believe that an hour’s kip is more appealing than a quickie with you right now?’

‘Is there something wrong with the fact that I’m not even offended by that?’

‘Nope,’ Jake said as he stood up. ‘So, Lou is coming over. How long for?’

‘Apparently for good,’ Beatrice said as she registered the confused look on her husband’s face and nodded. She couldn’t quite believe it either.

‘Nanna I’d like a puppy. Lena has a puppy. Do you think I can get one for my birthday?’ Issy said as she sat on the grass with Ares’ head on her lap. Felicia watched her granddaughter and felt a stab of sadness at the thought that Richard may never see Issy grow into a young woman. When they first became grandparents it’d scared Richard and Felicia how their very presence made them question their own mortality. How it was entirely possible that they would never see them get married and have children of their own, but to think that Richard may not even live to see his oldest grandchild go to university sent a sharp pain through her heart. It didn’t surprise her one bit when Richard had returned home with the twins yesterday afternoon.

‘You’ll have to ask your mum and dad about that one.’

‘Mum and dad will say no but I think it’ll be good to have a pet. I can be responsible.’ Felicia laughed at the precociousness of Issy as she sat there on the grass, still wearing her Disney princess outfit whilst Richard was on the other side of the garden standing in a goal marked out by the apple tree and a bag of compost, as Theo took another penalty kick. Felicia swallowed hard and blinked back the tears when it occurred to her that Richard might not even see the twin’s next birthday.

Richard and Felicia had argued, in hushed voices, at six in the morning, whilst the twins had been asleep in their mother’s old bedroom. Felicia had hissed angrily that there was no need to tell the family anything, to worry them unnecessarily until they were sure. Richard said no. It was his body. His disease and he’d be the one who’d decide when and how he’d share it. She said that telling them whilst he carved the Sunday roast was not the time.

‘I’m back,’ Emma shouted as she shut the front door behind her. Issy, who’d been tasked with checking that the cutlery was clean, ran out of the kitchen at the sound of her Aunt Emma’s voice.

‘Hello munchkin,’ Emma said as she picked up her niece and kissed her on the nose. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m good. How’s your new house and when can I stay over?’

‘Well it’s actually a flat and it’s lovely. You can stay over whenever you like?’

‘How about tomorrow?’

‘I think you’ve got school tomorrow, plus I may have to unpack a few more boxes first.’

‘More like all of the boxes,’ Beatrice said as Emma walked into the kitchen. ‘How’s it going?’

‘Sis, there’s so much stuff that I don’t know where to put it all.’ Emma put her niece down and gave her sister a hug. ‘I feel like I haven’t seen you all for ages.’

‘You haven’t. Where have you been hiding?’

‘Why don’t you ask Jess? She’s got me working like a…’

‘Watch your mouth,’ Jessica said as she handed Emma a glass of wine.

‘You wouldn’t be out of place in a Victorian workhouse,’ Emma said as she took the glass of wine, sipped some, and handed it back. ‘That’s awful. Where’s mum?’

‘Upstairs with dad,’ Jessica replied as she sat down and opened another bottle of wine so that she wouldn’t have to look her younger sister in the eye.

‘God, you don’t think that they’re…’

‘Emma, don’t be disgusting. Issy is right there,’ Beatrice said as she reached out and covered her daughter’s ears.

‘They’re only in their sixties, not dead. Why wouldn’t they want to have some afternoon delights?’

‘What’s an afternoon delight?’ Issy asked.

‘Never mind. Go and get your dad,’ Beatrice said as she ushered her daughter out of the door. ‘I really shouldn’t, I’m breast feeding,’ she said as Jessica handed her a glass of wine.