by Edina Davis
One evening, when the couple sat in front of the television together, Philipp asked his wife: “Debbie-Darling, what’s the matter with our girls? Didn’t you notice that they’re not talking to each other?”
“Yes, of course,” Debbie replied with worryingly, “it has been going on for weeks. First, I thought it was due to the incident at the hospital … you know, when Carrie demanded that we send Lynn out of the room. But if I think about it, it started weeks before, on the weekend we went to London, to be exact.”
“Yes, you’re right, I also noticed that. They didn’t exchange a single word during breakfast, and later, when we all went for a walk, they fell behind quite a bit and it appeared as if they were arguing.”
“Yes, exactly. Something’s wrong, Philipp. But how can we find out what it is? We won’t learn anything from Lynn as she’s always so secretive. And Carrie … it sometimes seems to me as if she’s afraid of Lynn. That sounds strange, I know, and yet I’ve no other explanation.”
“Yes, I know what you mean, Debbie-Darling. I had the same impression even though it sounds completely absurd to me.” Philipp Harris shook his head, clueless.
The couple remained silent for a while until Debbie suddenly asked: “Isn’t it strange that Carrie thought she’d been poisoned, and that Lynn was behind it?”
“Yes, that’s a mystery to me as well,” Philipp admitted. “Our Carolyn really is the most peaceful person on God’s earth. Something must have happened between the girls; Carina would never get such a crazy notion otherwise. But what could that be?”
“Maybe Carrie played a little prank on her and Lynn took it very badly,” Debbie mused. “You know how Lynn can lack a sense of humour. Yes, and then Carrie thought that …”
“But that’s utterly ridiculous, Debbie-Sweetie. I mean, if it had only been a harmless prank, Carina wouldn’t get the crazy notion that Carolyn would try to kill her for it!”
“You’re absolutely right, Phil, it doesn’t make any sense at all. But still … something’s going on there and we have to try and find out what it is.”
“Yes, Debbie-Lambkin, we should, even though I don’t have much hope that we’ll succeed.”
Debbie hesitated for a split second before quietly asking: “Do you think that Lynn would really be capable of harming Carrie, Phil?”
“By God, no!” her husband called out in shock. “Our Carolyn couldn’t harm a fly. How can you even think such a thing, Debbie-Darling?”
“Oh, Phil, you know very well that Lynn’s jealous of Carrie, even though she of course hasn’t got the slightest reason to be.”
“That’s a bit far-fetched, Debbie,” Philipp replied with indignation. “Jealousy is an issue for many siblings, but it doesn’t lead to poisoning each other! No, Debbie, now you’re definitely going too far! Carolyn is such an obedient child; she always relents when the two of them argue. She never takes offence to Carina’s constant jibes against her, on the contrary, often she even smiles and remains silent. And you have to admit that Carolyn has reason to be angry at Carina often enough.”
When he saw that his wife was about to protest, he quickly continued: “No, no, Debbie, by all that’s right and fair! Our Carrie really goes overboard sometimes and not only with Lynn. I often get the impression that she manipulates all of us.”
Debbie knew that her husband wasn’t completely wrong, but she didn’t want to admit it.
“You’re right, Phil, but Carrie doesn’t mean it like that. She isn’t aware of her overdoing it a little occasionally. She’s just somewhat thoughtless and impulsive.”
“Exactly! Our Carolyn however is always prudent and sensible. I’ve never heard a single bad word from her. She listens, is always helpful, even towards Carina, and is an exemplary pupil on top of it all. You don’t really think her capable of something evil? Debbie-Poppet … by all means!”
“No, Phil. I can’t imagine her doing something evil either. But sometimes, when she feels unobserved, her eyes have a cold glimmer. For example, when we sat in the hospital corridor together, waiting for the doctor, she had an expression in her eyes that literally scared me, you know. And Carrie was also afraid of her when we entered her room. One wonders why!”
“I have no explanation for it, Debbie-Dearie.” Philipp Harris looked desperate. “We need to talk to the girls as soon as possible.”
“You’re right, Phil. Let’s talk to them tomorrow right away.”
They went to bed, but both lay awake for a long time.
CHAPTER 32
In the meantime, an oppressive silence hung over the girls’ room. Carina’s scared glances kept wandering to Carolyn, who behaved as if everything was absolutely fine. She didn’t feel like talking to Carina but just wanted to have her peace. Unfortunately, it was the calm before the storm, because after half an hour of silence Carina finally spoke.
“Let’s talk about everything once more, Lynn. Why can’t we just forget the whole thing and try to improve our sisterly relationship? What do you think?”
“If you could explain to me what you’re talking about, that would help us both,” Carolyn replied icily.
“You know very well that I’m talking about your unfaithful Benny-Boy and about your blaming me for his death. Don’t pretend you’ve got no idea!” Carina glared at her sister.
Carolyn took notice.
“How did you get the idea that I’m blaming you for his death?”
“What? Oh, I see, didn’t you mention something along these lines shortly after it happened?”
Carolyn cast a pensive glance at her sister. “Not to my knowledge.”
“Oh, okay, then just forget about it!” Carina now hastily waved it off.
“But if I remember correctly, you thought he deserved his death, didn’t you?” Carolyn probed.
“I don’t remember. Whatever, in any case it was stupid of me to accuse you. After all, you would never do something like that.”
“Oh yes? Right, you then heard that it was appendicitis,” Carolyn commented sarcastically and with an evil smile. “You know, Carina, basically I absolutely don’t care what you think of me, as long as you keep your thoughts to yourself and don’t upset our parents with them. Or do you want Mum and Dad to learn what a sneaky bitch you are? Do you want that?” Carolyn looked at her sister with utter contempt.
“Of course not. You won’t tell them, will you?”
“If you leave me alone in future and hold back on your usual venoms, I won’t! Live and let live! That’s your motto, isn’t it? And from now on that also applies to me. Otherwise, our parents will find out how rotten to the core you are, you can be sure of that! And this time it won’t help you to just deny everything. They’ll immediately see the connection between your evil scheme and your suspicion that I wanted to poison you, won’t they?” Carolyn looked at Carina with eyes that glistened icily. “From now on you’ll behave decently towards me, as hard as that may be for you. I hope we’re clear on that!”
“Okay, okay, no problem,” Carina replied furiously. “Our parents are stuffy bores, just like you. They wouldn’t understand and that’s the only reason you have the upper hand. After all, it’s not as if something horrible happened. You should be grateful to me for opening your eyes about your unfaithful Benny. He would have cheated on you sooner or later anyway, had he remained alive, of course. Besides, you kept pointing out that he didn’t mean anything to you anymore. And the other thing … well, I was terribly scared! None of that would have happened if you hadn’t behaved so strangely towards me. One really wonders who was mean to whom here.”
Oh, that was really beyond words! Rage flared up hotly inside Carolyn and she could only keep composure with great difficulty. She would have loved to attack her sister with her fists. This insidious hussy now actually tried to blame her for all of it. The most remarkable thing about it was that it sounded as if she actually
believed everything she was ranting about.
Carolyn considered an answer unnecessary in this case. She demonstratively turned her back on her sister.
CHAPTER 33
After the morning grace at the table, to the surprise of their parents, the mood between the two girls was surprisingly good. They told each other what they had planned for the day and Carolyn even asked Carina whether she could borrow her new white jeans. And strangely enough the latter agreed immediately, which was almost a miracle. Yes, she even offered Carolyn to wear her red silk blouse with it.
Debbie and Philipp couldn’t stop marvelling.
Still, after a while Philipp Harris said with pointed ease: “Mum and I urgently need to talk with you both after breakfast, girls.”
“What’s the matter, Daddy?” Carolyn pretended in amazement, though she wasn’t surprised at all.
Carina stared at her plate intently and remained silent.
“We’ll tell you then. Now let’s finish breakfast in peace, then we’ll all go into the living room, okay?”
“If we have to,” Carolyn replied.
They had breakfast in silence, while everyone was engrossed in their own thoughts.
Carina felt a little uncomfortable. What if Mum or Dad asked her what had happened between them? What if they weren’t distracted? What was she supposed to answer when asked why she had thought Lynn capable of wanting to poison her? She needed to come up with something plausible very quickly. After all, by no means did she want Lynn to tell the truth. Their parents had high moral values, and of course they firmly believed that their daughters also upheld these values. It would never have occurred to them that morality was not of the slightest importance to Carina, that, on the contrary, she even made fun of it. So, if their parents persisted and Lynn told them everything, against their agreement, they would never trust her again, which would cause many disadvantages for her. However, she couldn’t deny anything because the scene in the hospital spoke for itself.
Damn, what had she gotten herself into? How could she have been so stupid when she usually had everything under control? But it was no use, she had gotten herself into this mess, now she had to see how she could emerge somewhat unscathed. She brooded and brooded, and her expression grew continuously gloomier.
Carolyn watched Carina’s facial expression. She knew what her sister was thinking and felt gleeful. For the first time in all these years she had power over her sister, and it made her feel almost euphoric. She knew very well that Carina would have to stick to the compromise if she didn’t want to harm herself. She also knew that Carina hated making compromises. Carolyn smiled maliciously.
From hindsight it was a blessing how everything had developed … yes, and that Carina had accused her.
Even though it should have ended very differently for her …
After they had all finished breakfast, Philipp Harris was the first to get up.
“Well, my dears, then let’s go,” he said.
The others followed him to the living room and waited until he spoke again.
“Yes, my girls, Mum and I were wondering what actually is the matter with you both lately. We find your behaviour extremely strange ever since we were in London. Right, Debbie-Darling, that’s what we think, isn’t it?”
Their mother glanced at the two girls and said: “Yes, that’s right. I noticed it immediately the next day when you didn’t say a single word at the breakfast table, and later, during our walk, you seemed to be arguing fiercely. Afterwards, you again didn’t talk to each other. Yes, and then that incident at the hospital …” She looked at Carina. “Why did you get the idea that Lynn wanted to poison you, Carrie?”
Carina winced. There it was the dreaded question! But she regained control right away and with a firm voice replied: “Mum, honestly, I don’t even remember what gave me that idea. I just know that I had a strange dream before you entered the room. I can’t really remember exactly what it was about, but afterwards I was completely rattled.”
“That wasn’t my impression at all,” Philipp remarked. “On the contrary, you seemed to know very well what you were talking about, child. What do you think, Debbie-Lambkin?”
“Daddy is right. I was also under the impression that you were of very sound mind. We’re absolutely convinced that something must have happened between you and Lynn. The fact that the atmosphere between you two was quite odd is also indicative of that. And don’t think we’re fooled by your behaviour during today’s breakfast. One swallow doesn’t make a summer. We finally want to know what’s going on! So, Lynn. What do you have to say?” Debbie shot a reproaching glance towards Carolyn as if she were the cause of all evil.
Carolyn struggled to stifle her rising anger. “I don’t have the slightest idea what should have happened between us, Mum. You’re getting carried away, Daddy and you, really.”
“Lynn’s right,” Carina spoke up again. “You both know that she and I tease each other often. One time it’s this, another time that, most of the time however it’s nothing serious. Sometimes we just don’t talk to each other for a while. And I really wasn’t myself in the hospital, you just have to believe that! The horrible pain, the nausea, the strange dream; all of that just made me absolutely crazy. Lynn and I have long since resolved it, haven’t we, Lynn?”
“Of course, we have. Carina apologized to me and everything’s fine again, you’ll see.”
Their parents exchanged a doubtful glance. Were the girls telling the truth? But why should they both say the same thing in agreement, if it wasn’t true? Maybe it really was as both girls described it.
“Very well. Then we’ll content ourselves with that for now, won’t we, Debbie-Darling?”
“Well … we’ll see,” their mother commented with little conviction. She thought about the expression in Carolyn’s eyes when they’d sat in the hospital corridor, and a shiver ran down her spine. But what should they do, Phil and her? Both girls had the same explanation for everything.
“Does this end the conference?” Carina asked impatiently, and her voice already had its usual carefree sound back.
“Yes, toddle off,” their father grumbled reluctantly.
The girls exchanged a quick glance.
“Come on, Lynn, let’s scram,” Carina said.
The girls left the room to go upstairs to their room.
Debbie furrowed her brow at her husband. “You can say what you want, Phil, something’s not right there.”
“Unfortunately, I share that impression,” Philipp agreed with his wife. “But now we can just wait and see how the children behave in future. Please, Debbie-Lambkin, let’s put this matter behind us for now. We can do something nice this afternoon. First, we’ll take a walk on the beach, then we’ll have a nice cup of tea and then later we’ll make ourselves comfortable here with a glass of wine. What do you think, sweetheart? It’s Saturday and the children are bound to have plans. So, we’ll finally have more time for each other again, my Debbie-Darling.” He winked at her and gave her a meaningful pat on the bottom.
“Oh, Phil, you tiger,” Debbie giggled while blushing like a young girl.
***
In the meantime, the two sisters had gone upstairs. They were both extremely satisfied with the discussion’s outcome, albeit for completely different reasons.
In the future she’ll know better than to annoy me, Carolyn thought, while Carina thought that she had saved her own skin, after all.
As long as I don’t bother Lynn, I’ve nothing to fear, she mused. And there are plenty of other means to amuse myself. I’ll have my fun. There are so many Lynns and Benny-Boys in the world.
“I hope you know that we have to be nice to each other in future,” Carolyn wanted to ensure herself once more, “and that means you especially!” She gave her sister a meaningful look.
“Of course, dear sis!” Carina agreed with he
r, while grinning cheekily. “Live and let live!”
PART TWO
CHAPTER 34
The years went by and Carolyn was about to graduate from school. She planned to study Medicine and one day open her own medical practice. Therefore, she temped in the small Seaford pharmacy during the holidays. She had her own bank account and paid a certain amount into it every month.
Carolyn was extremely ambitious and worked towards her goals without looking right or left. Ever since the unpleasant experience with Ben she had no interest in boys and only focused on school. Nobody stood a chance with her, even though there were some nice boys who were interested in her.
Laura Carson, her best friend, had been going steady with Johnny Lawrence for three years now. Laura and Johnny were made for each other and already had solid plans for a shared future. Laura planned to study Medicine and Johnny wanted to become a lawyer, like his father. After university they would get married and move into a house in Bexhill, which Johnny’s parents wanted to give their son as a wedding present.
Laura was still Carolyn’s only confidante and the two girls regularly spent a large part of their spare time together. Carolyn loved her friend and was pleased that she and Johnny were so happy with each other. Still, sometimes she was a little jealous when she saw how affectionately they treated each other. She felt ashamed of herself for these feelings but couldn’t help it.
She had no idea … Laura knew Carolyn’s feelings very well, after all she had known her friend for almost seven years now. She knew that Carolyn didn’t begrudge her the bliss with Johnny but occasionally simply felt somewhat lonely. Therefore, she tried very hard to find a nice boy for her friend, and Johnny supported her energetically.
Still, these well-intentioned attempts were unsuccessful as Carolyn never showed the least interest in any of the candidates her friends had chosen so carefully.
Carina had kept their agreement over the past three years and had completely stayed out of Carolyn’s life. There had been no meanness or conniving since then and so Carolyn had been able to focus on school and her career plans in peace.