Sisters

Chapter 22

On the last day of school before the Christmas holiday, Brad Parker stopped Annie in the lobby to say goodbye.

“Have a great Christmas, Annie!” he wished her, although he knew the holiday would be difficult this year. And then he did something he never did. He had a hard and fast rule but broke it for her. He had been thinking of her since the day he had helped her find dry jeans. She was such a pleasant, intelligent, nice girl, and seemed very mature for her age. And she'd been through so much this year. More than he knew. Candy's recent disaster had shaken her up too.

“I was wondering if you'd like to have coffee sometime, while we're on break.” They were going to be on vacation for three weeks.

Annie was startled at first, and didn't know what else to say, so she said yes. She didn't want to be rude to him, and he was the head of her school, after all. She felt like a kid when he asked. But Annie was no kid anymore. She had grown up immeasurably this year, and had been on her own before that.

“I have your number in our files. I'll give you a call. Maybe sometime later this week. I don't know if you like sweets, but I have a terrible sweet tooth. There's a cute place called Serendipity. The desserts are outrageous.”

“I'd like that,” she said. It sounded harmless. He wasn't going to attack her over hot chocolate and apple pie. At least she hoped not. Candy's experience had upset them all. But she knew Brad Parker was fine. Even her sisters couldn't object.

On the contrary, when he called her that night, they hooted and jeered and went crazy, which embarrassed Annie as she hung up. They had all been listening while she and Brad made the date.

“That'll be a hundred dollars, thank you,” Sabrina said, and touched her hand. Annie looked outraged.

“For what?”

“We made a bet in July. I said you'd have a date within six months. You said you wouldn't. We bet a hundred bucks. That was exactly five months and one week ago. Pay up.”

“Wait a minute. This is not a date. This is coffee with the head of my school. That is not a date.”

“Bullshit, it's not,” Sabrina insisted. “The details were never specified. Nobody ever said it had to be black tie, or for dinner. Coffee is a date.”

“It is not!” Annie said firmly. But Candy and Tammy sided with Sabrina and told Annie she had to pay up. Much to everyone's relief, Candy was in relatively good shape. Her bruises were healing, and she was in fairly decent spirits, considering what had happened. And they were all looking forward to Christmas. Mostly it was a relief to know that Marcello was gone and she wouldn't run into him anywhere. Marlene was also delighted. He was a danger to any woman he encountered. But Brad Parker was an entirely different story. And they were all thrilled for Annie.

He offered to pick Annie up, but she said she'd meet him at the restaurant. And he was right, the desserts were fantastic. She had something called a frozen mochaccino, which was chocolate ice cream, ice, and coffee all blended together, with whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top. He had an apricot smush, which was a fabulous confection, and they shared a piece of pecan pie.

“You may have to roll me out the door,” she said, as she sat back in her chair, feeling like she might explode. He described the restaurant to her, and it sounded cute and Victorian, with Tiffany lamps, old ice cream tables, and amusing things to sell. He said he had come here since he was a child with his mother. Annie had heard of it before but never been there.

They talked about Italy and art, her time in Florence, his in Rome. He still spoke some Italian, and she said hers was getting rusty. They talked briefly about the school, and his hopes for it as it grew. He was hoping to open other schools like it in other cities. She reluctantly admitted that so far it had been very helpful.

“I've learned how to make chicken,” she said, laughing, “and cupcakes.”

“I hope we teach you more than that. Why don't you take the sculpture class? Everybody seems to love it. I've thought of taking it myself, but I'm not very artistic.”

“I don't think I am anymore either,” she said sadly.

“I doubt that. The brain has a way of rerouting itself when it has to. You might enjoy the class. And if you don't like it, you can drop it. I give you permission.” They both laughed at that.

They had a very nice time together, and he walked her home up Third Avenue, as they talked about a multitude of subjects. It was a reasonable walk to the house she shared with her sisters, and she felt rude suddenly saying goodbye to him outside. She asked him if he'd like to come in for a minute. She knew Candy and Mrs. Shibata would be there. He said just for a minute, he still had Christmas shopping to do that afternoon. Annie had been stumped about how to do that this year, and was planning to ask her sisters to help.

He walked into the house, as Mrs. Shibata was vacuuming loudly, and Candy had her music on so loud, you could hardly hear. It was Prince. All three dogs were barking, the phone was ringing, and Juanita attacked him and tried to bite his ankle the moment he walked in the front door. With that, Mrs. Shibata turned off the vacuum cleaner and bowed low, just as Candy appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing a Christmas hat with bells on it and a bikini she had bought while Christmas shopping.

“Hi!” she shouted from the top of the stairs, and ran to put a robe on, so he didn't see the bruises, which were faint now.

“That's my sister Candy,” Annie explained. “Does she have clothes on?” You never knew with Candy, even now.

“Actually, she was wearing a bikini and a Christmas hat.”

“That's pretty dressed for her. She usually wears a lot less. Sorry about the dogs.”

“It's fine. I like dogs.”

“I don't. But you get used to them after a while. Things are pretty crazy around here most of the time. Especially when all four of us are home.”

“Do you always live together?” He was fascinated. The atmosphere he felt the moment he walked into the house was inviting and warm. You could tell that people lived here who loved each other, and he was entirely right. It made you want to stay forever. He said as much to Annie, and she was touched.

“Actually, they did this for me this year. They rented this house so they could help me get organized, because of the accident. We only have the house for a year. Tammy quit a fantastic job in L.A. to do it. She works on a terrible reality show here now. People try to shoot each other on it at least once a week. It's called Can This Relationship Be Saved? It's Up to You!”

“Oh my God, I've seen it.” He laughed out loud. “It's awful.”

“Yes, it is,” Annie said proudly. “My sister Tammy is the producer of the show.” She mentioned Tammy's previous show, and he was enormously impressed, particularly that she had given it up to come to New York for Annie. “My sister Sabrina was in New York anyway. She's an attorney. She has a boyfriend, Chris, who stays here some of the time. He's an attorney too. I was living in Florence before the accident, and I may go back, I haven't figured it out. I still have an apartment there. I keep meaning to give it up, but no one has had time to pack it up, and it's so cheap it doesn't really matter. And my sister Candy is all over the place. She's a model.”

“Candy? The Candy? On the cover of Vogue practically every month?” He looked stunned. She had quite a family of overachievers, with a flock of unruly dogs.

“That's who you just saw in the Christmas hat and the bikini. She's taking a few weeks off.” Annie didn't mention why. It was none of his business, and not something any of them ever planned to talk about. They didn't need to. Chris and Marlene were the only people outside the family who knew about it. They hadn't even told their father. It would have been too much for him to deal with right now.

“What a group!” Brad said admiringly. “This must be terrific.” For a moment he forgot the tragic circumstances that had brought them together. There was nothing tragic about them.

“It is terrific actually,” Annie said, smiling happily. “I was a little nervous about it at first, but it's been working out great.”

“What's terrific?” Candy asked as she joined them.

“Living together,” Annie explained. “Do you have your clothes on?”

“Yes,” Candy laughed, “I'm wearing a robe and my Christmas hat. I thought we should go and get our tree tonight.” Despite what had happened to her, she was in the Christmas spirit. She felt enormously blessed to have survived.

Brad couldn't stop himself from staring at Candy. He had never seen a woman so beautiful in all his life. And she was completely relaxed and in no way stuck-up. She was just like any other girl her age, only a hundred times more beautiful. Except that in her own way, he thought Annie was just as beautiful. She was smaller and had softer looks, but he loved her auburn hair and the pixie cut she wore.

“I got my tree last night,” he said, as Candy invited him downstairs for a cup of tea. He hesitated, but it was hard to resist spending a few more minutes with them. He followed Candy downstairs to the kitchen, with Annie right behind him, and all three of them were bowled over by the smell.

“Oh my God,” Candy said, as Annie translated for Brad.

“Mrs. Shibata eats these awful Japanese pickles. They smell like something died.” He laughed openly at the craziness that went on in their house. Mrs. Shibata bowed low as they entered the kitchen and put the pickle jar away. She had just put some seaweed in the dogs' bowls, and Candy grabbed it immediately and explained to Brad that the seaweed the housekeeper gave them made the dogs sick.

“I thought you said you didn't like dogs,” he said, turning to Annie.

“I don't. They're not mine. They belong to everyone else.”

“Zoe's mine,” Candy said as she picked up the Yorkie, as Beulah looked highly insulted, turned away, and sat down. He bent down to play with her, and Juanita tried to attack him again, but in the end, she gave up and licked his hand.

“You should get one too,” he said to Annie. He had suggested a seeing-eye dog to her earlier, and she was unenthused. She had finally admitted to him that having a seeing-eye dog with her identified her immediately as a blind person wherever she went. She could put the white stick away in a public place or a restaurant once she sat down. It was a vanity she wasn't ready to give up.

Brad left a little while later, enchanted with his visit. He had enjoyed meeting Candy, loved talking to Annie, and couldn't wait to meet the others. He called her the next day and invited her to dinner three days later, before she left for Connecticut for Christmas with her father. Annie hesitated for a second, and then accepted. It was a little scary dating someone you couldn't see. But she liked him, and they shared a wealth of common opinions and ideas.

Sabrina got home just after Brad called Annie and invited her to dinner, and Annie marched up to where she was sitting, unwinding from her day. Annie dropped five twenty-dollar bills in her lap without comment, and Sabrina looked up at her in surprise.

“What, did you win the lottery today? What's this for?”

“Never mind,” Annie growled at her, pretending to be annoyed, when in fact she was very pleased and excited about the dinner date with Brad. She was only twenty-six after all, and it was fun to have a date with someone who sounded as nice as he did. She had just paid off Sabrina's bet. And as she realized what it was, Sabrina scooped it up victoriously and laughed.

“I told you so!” she shouted as Annie slammed her bedroom door.