Finishing Touches

by Patricia Scanlan

  Barbara didn’t get home until after seven. Her class had been in the city on a cultural visit to museums and art galleries. Cassie had had to set the table and do the washing-up, although John had dried for her. Cassie had asked her father to try and change her mother’s mind about the party and Jack had promised he would speak to her. Her parents were going out for an hour to attend the wake of an elderly neighbour. In the meantime, Cassie, hard at work doing the brasses, planned what she would say and do to Barbara.

  Barbara breezed in full of the joys of spring, ravenous for her dinner, about half an hour after Jack and Nora had left. ‘I want a word with you,’ Cassie declared, holding open her palm, on which reposed the duplicate key.

  Barbara paled slightly but immediately recovered her composure. ‘What’s that? The key to your chastity belt?’ she drawled sarcastically.

  Cassie felt her temper flare. ‘You know very well what it is, you smart little sneak,’ she said furiously, all her resentment erupting. ‘I’m just sick of you and your sneaky little ways. And it’s all thanks to you and your untidiness that I can’t go to Kate Rooney’s birthday party tonight. I got blamed for the mess of the bedroom and it’s all your fault. I’m sick, sick, sick of you!’

  ‘And I’m sick of you, Cassie Jordan!’ Barbara echoed, rather taken aback by her sister’s vehemence.

  ‘How low can you get? Stealing the key to my wardrobe!’ Cassie was shaking with temper. She had to restrain herself from shaking her sister until the younger girl’s teeth shook.

  ‘Well, if you weren’t so mean with your clothes! If you were any sort of a sister you’d share! Aileen O’Shaughnessy always shares her clothes with Judy. She’s a proper sister, not like you. All you care about is yourself.’

  ‘I beg your pardon!’ snapped Cassie, outraged.

  ‘It’s true,’ retorted Barbara bitterly. ‘You never let me have your clothes. You never let me go places with you. Aileen is much nicer to Judy than you are to me. You’re just mean and selfish and I’m glad you’re not allowed to go to your stupid old party.’

  Cassie was flummoxed! Barbara thought Aileen was a better sister than she was! Well, really! And she wasn’t the slightest bit abashed about being caught with a duplicate of the padlock key. If that wasn’t just typical of Barbara, she thought in utter frustration. Someone must have told her that attack was the best form of defence. And typical of herself even to feel a twinge of guilt! For heaven’s sake, she was the one who was sinned-against. Now don’t get soft, she warned herself. Stick to your guns. Taking a deep breath, Cassie turned to her sister and said coldly:

  ‘Barbara, the issue here is not whether Aileen is a better sister than I am. The point is that you did the sneakiest thing by stealing my key and getting a copy, which shows you haven’t the slightest bit of respect for me. If you had any respect for my clothes and took care of them, I certainly would have lent them to you, but putting my clothes back dirty in the wardrobe is just not on, Barbara! So that’s your own fault. And I don’t think it’s one bit fair that I get the blame for the mess of the bedroom when at least I make the effort to keep my half of the room tidy and you have the place looking like a slum. And I think it’s really mean of you, if you want to know,’ she added more heatedly. ‘And I badly wanted to go to that party.’

  ‘Oh, just go and get lost, Cassie Jordan. You’re always picking on me!’ Barbara retorted furiously, raging at being caught and slightly shocked at the fury of her usually agreeable elder sister.

  ‘I’m not always picking on you, Bar—’

  ‘You are so!’ Barbara’s voice took on a high-pitched note. ‘Always. You treat me like dirt!’

  ‘I treat you like dirt!’ Cassie exploded, getting really mad. ‘Would you cop on to yourself!’

  ‘Oh, leave me alone,’ sniffed Barbara, deciding that she wasn’t going to be the victor in this row. It was unusual for Cassie to lose her cool and there was no point in tempting fate.

  ‘With pleasure,’ snarled Cassie. ‘Just keep your maulers off my clothes or I’ll make you sorry.’ She was so angry that her voice shook.

  ‘Huh! You and whose army?’ Barbara scoffed derisively, her bad nature triumphing over caution as she sashayed through the bedroom door. She didn’t get far! Cassie was pushed beyond the limit. Catching her sister by her ponytail, she yanked hard and followed up with a swift, hard slap to the younger girl’s cheek.

  ‘Oooww! Ouch! You fucking bitch, Cassie Jordan!’ Barbara shrieked, as Martin, John and Irene came rushing out of the sitting-room to see what all the fuss was about.

  ‘Hey! Hey! break it up!’ John exclaimed, doing his big-brother act. He was as tall as fifteen-year-old Barbara.

  ‘Sock her one back,’ yelled Martin weaving in and out waving his fists like Muhammad Ali. Irene burst into tears. None of them heard the front door opening.

  ‘What’s going on here!’ Nora demanded, marching down the hall to stand between her two daughters.

  ‘It was hhh . . . her. She started it,’ sobbed Barbara pitifully.

  ‘Cassie Jordan! I’m ashamed of you! I can’t leave the house for five minutes and the place is in uproar. And you the eldest. A fine help to me you are, with your Aunt Elsie coming. Your father persuaded me to let you out to that party, but after this carry-on you can just forget it. Barbara, you’re not dead yet. Is that room of yours tidy? John and Martin, get out and clean the yard,’ Nora commanded in such a tone that no-one dared argue further. ‘Irene, honey, stop crying. I brought you home a barley-sugar stick. Come on into the kitchen. I have it wrapped up for you.’

  In utter frustration at the whole affair, Cassie burst into tears and fled to the bathroom, leaving her siblings open-mouthed in shock. Cassie never cried. It was a glum family that went to bed that night in a spick-and-span bungalow.

  Five

  Nora lay in bed, going over in her mind every place that had been cleaned, every job that had been done. The place was like a new pin. Not even Elsie could find fault with it. It was funny – with any of her other sisters, she didn’t mind a bit. She’d tidy the house, of course, and have things nice, but she’d never go as overboard as when Elsie was coming. It was a bit ridiculous at her age to be intimidated by her eldest sister. But that had always been the way between her and Elsie, ever since they were children.

  Sometimes she could see a little of herself and Elsie in Barbara and Cassie. Barbara, for all her impudence, was impressed and often in awe of Cassie, something that Cassie was just not aware of. Barbara covered it up well with her sharp tongue. But behind it, the younger girl longed to be accepted by Cassie and Laura and Aileen and the gang. Being Barbara, she just couldn’t be happy with her own group of friends. She had always had that streak of ‘I see and I want,’ no matter how hard Nora had tried to erase it.

  It was so hard raising children! Nora sighed. Tomorrow she’d ask Cassie to make a bit more of an effort with Barbara. After all they were sisters and they’d need each other some day. But knowing her two daughters, Nora had to admit that it was Cassie who would end up making the effort.

  She had been a bit hard on Cassie today. A twinge of guilt niggled and would not go away. She had really wanted to go to that party. There was probably some fellow she fancied at it. And then, of course, the rest of the gang would be there. In spite of herself, Nora smiled in the dark. That Aileen O’Shaughnessy! She was terribly fond of her, and indeed of Laura Quinn. They were good friends to Cassie and Nora knew you’d always need good friends more than anything in this life. Aileen had been at the wake. Dressed in a trenchcoat, with a beret perched sideways on her titian curls, she had looked like a member of the French Resistance. Nora was surprised to see her there. But her widowed mother was with her so she had obviously gone to keep her company. It was so strange to see Aileen murmuring the Rosary and looking as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. No doubt she would go on to the party later.

  Nora tossed restlessly. She should have let Cassie go, she supposed. Her eldest daug
hter was rarely troublesome; in fact, Nora depended on her a great deal. Maybe too much. That was always the way with the eldest, though, wasn’t it? Maybe she was a bit too strict with her. Jack maintained that she was. But of course Jack was as soft as marshmallow. Children needed a firm hand. They had to learn that they couldn’t have everything they wanted. Not that Cassie was in the habit of asking for much. She had her job in the shop and contributed towards her own clothes and was very generous to her brothers and sisters. She had even bought herself a new outfit for the party. These things were so important to teenagers. John was wanting to go to discos now, and was beginning to take a welcome interest in his appearance. His latest thing was to beg her to let him get a leather jacket. Nora had put her foot down very firmly. Both he and Martin were saving hard for a pair of Doc Martens, whatever they might be.

  Tomorrow, she’d make it up to Cassie. She’d give her a couple of quid and tell her to take the girls to Kentucky Fried Chicken on Main Street for a treat. Nora’s last conscious thought was to remind herself to refill the holy water font at the front door. Elsie had caught her out once before with an empty font.

  Jack Jordan lay beside his wife, willing sleep to come. He was dead tired. He had been working like a slave painting the outside of the bungalow, cutting lawns and weeding flower-beds because of the visit. Of course it was always the same when his sister-in-law was coming. Nora got herself into such a tizzy. And the strange thing was, usually she was such a capable woman and things did not get to her. But then Elsie was such a domineering woman. Every time she came she’d have something to criticize. Once, at the christening of one of the children, they had served a little buffet and Elsie had announced to all and sundry, at the top of her voice, ‘Your crisps are stale.’ Poor Nora had been mortified and he had felt like planting his boot up his sister-in-law’s backside. As far as Jack was concerned, Elsie was downright rude. But of course he couldn’t say such a thing to his wife. Oh deary me, no! It was all right for Nora to criticize Elsie or the rest of her siblings, but it did not go down well if he or anyone else criticized them. They were a tight clan, the Freyns. That was the way it was with families, he supposed. Poor old Cassie had been mighty upset this evening. And to think he had managed to get Nora to change her mind about letting her go to the party. No easy feat in the mood she was in. And then they had to walk in and find Cassie and Barbara swinging out of each other. That had been the end of that! Cassie was like him in that respect, rarely losing the cool, but when she did lose her temper, watch out!

  Jack yawned. Maybe Elsie could do with a bit of temper heading her way. If she said one thing out of place, one thing mind, then he’d really let her have it this time. For years he had been restraining himself out of consideration for Nora. But he’d had enough. His whole family was out of sorts because of Elsie’s visit. Nora was like a devil; Cassie had missed her party; Martin and John hadn’t even been allowed to go to the scouts tonight. Poor Barbara had had to clean out her wardrobe. A terrible torture, given Barbara’s wardrobe. Jack put his arm around Nora, who had finally fallen asleep. One word out of you tomorrow, Elsie, and you’re for it, he promised himself, his humour brightening up immensely at the thought of giving the dreaded Elsie what for!

  Don’t fall asleep! John warned himself, as he cast a faintly envious eye on his snoring younger brother, Martin. Cassie was depending on him tonight and he just couldn’t let her down. It wasn’t often she asked for his help. He sat himself up against his pillows and stared determinedly into the semi-darkness. Just as well there was a good moon, they’d need all the help they could get. Not that he couldn’t handle the assignment, he assured himself. James Bond 007, licensed to kill. That was him! Special agent on Her Majesty’s secret service. Ready to defend the world against the evil SPECTRE. He had got the message from HQ that one of their agents, code-name Elsie, was heading into town tomorrow. He’d be waiting! In the meantime he hoped that Assignment Cassie would hurry up and begin, as he was finding it terribly hard to keep his eyes open. He blinked and yawned, allowing himself to slide a little under the blankets. His eyelids drooped but then he thought of Cassie asking for his help. Stay awake, he ordered himself sternly, sitting up once more. With a sigh of resignation, 007 began to try and recite the alphabet backwards. He had found this an excellent method of staying awake when on assignment in the past.

  Barbara lay feeling thoroughly sorry for herself as she cast her mind back on the events of the evening. To think that Cassie had actually pulled her hair and slapped her across the face and had got away with it. Life was so unfair. Her sister had incurred no extra punishment for her outrageous behaviour and that really annoyed Barbara.

  Mind, she had got a terrible fright when Cassie lost her temper. It was most unusual for Cassie to lose the cool like that. It was obvious she was very upset about not going to this party. But still! To attack her own sister so viciously. It just wasn’t on. And then not even to apologize. Only Irene, her younger sister, had shown any concern for Barbara. As she was cleaning out her wardrobe, while Cassie sat in stony silence on her bed opposite, doing her homework, Irene came in, put her arms around Barbara’s neck, gave her a hug and offered her some of her barley-sugar stick. Barbara had been quite touched. Irene was such a little softie, bless her. Well, Cassie could go and jump from now on. She was going to be so cool to her. Cassie could never keep up a fight, no matter how hard she tried. But this time Barbara had no intention of accepting any apology. She wasn’t going to pretend that they were talking, even for Aunt Elsie’s benefit. If Aunt Elsie wanted to know the reason for the coolness, Barbara would be the first to tell her. Just to prove that Miss Cassie wasn’t the saint everyone thought her to be! Huh! Some saint, with a temper like that. She could have had Cassie up for assault and battery if she had a mind to. Highly indignant, Barbara drifted off to sleep, too upset by the emotional trauma she had experienced to be able to read even a page of that great literary masterpiece Jane Eyre, the story of another put-upon soul!

  Listening to her younger sister’s rhythmic breathing, Cassie gave a relieved sigh. She thought Barbara was never going to go to sleep tonight. Of course she was acting the martyr now and, knowing her, Cassie suspected it could last for weeks. A myriad emotions surged through Cassie as she lay in the dark waiting to be sure that her sister was well and truly asleep. Although her anger had sustained her through the evening, now, typically, she was beginning to feel guilty about hitting Barbara. She really had made a show of herself, losing her temper like that. Why couldn’t she be like Laura, who was excellent at asserting herself and expressing her anger rationally, instead of losing control and becoming inarticulate and resorting to violence. Pitiful behaviour and not very adult, she chastised herself. She had really demeaned herself and Barbara would rub it in for weeks.

  Resentment overcame guilt. To think that Nora had intended to let her go to the party after all. If Jack had been able to persuade her to let Cassie go before they had gone to the wake, there wouldn’t have been any row. Nora could be dead unreasonable at times. Well, there was nothing for it! She was going to that party, come hell or high water. She couldn’t be in much worse trouble than she was in already. John was going to help her getting out and getting in. They had made their plans earlier in the evening. He was a real pet. It had been his suggestion that she go to the party, despite the fact that her mother had forbidden her to go.

  ‘It’s only because Ma’s in a tizzy over blooming Aunt Elsie. She’s not herself. Otherwise she’d have let you go.’ So John rationalized as they sat feeling sorry for themselves over mugs of hot chocolate at bedtime. ‘Martin and me weren’t even allowed to go to the scouts.’

  ‘Martin and I,’ corrected Cassie glumly, wishing that Aunt Elsie could be transported to another planet.

  ‘Why don’t you go anyway? You can climb out my bedroom window and no-one will know. And I’ll let you in whenever you get back.’

  Cassie’s eyes widened. The thought had never crossed her mind
. It all seemed so simple. Slip into John’s room when everybody was asleep, climb out his bedroom window and climb back in when she got home. No-one would be any the wiser.

  ‘What if Martin wakes up?’

  ‘He won’t!’ John assured her. ‘He sleeps through thunderstorms and everything. Anyway, he’s not a snitch. He wouldn’t tell!’

  ‘What if Barbara wakes up to go to the loo and sees I’m gone?’

  ‘Hmm . . .’ John pondered this trickier one. ‘We’ll just have to put a dummy in the bed. You know your big old teddy?’ Cassie nodded. When she was a child the teddy had been bigger than her. ‘Put a nightdress on it and put it curled up in the middle of the bed, with the head under the pillow. No-one will ever know the difference.’

  ‘Thanks!’ grinned Cassie, beginning to accept the feasibility of the plan. More than anything she wanted to go to that party, even if she spent only a couple of hours at it. She really would love to see Donie Kiely, with his gorgeous brown eyes that always seemed to be looking at her lately. Even Aileen had commented on it.

  ‘He fancies you, I’m telling you, girl. You’d better do something about it at this party.’ She was currently having a hot and heavy romance with a soldier she had met at a barbecue on the beach. In fact, she had told the girls earnestly, this was ‘it.’ Her soldier was fast becoming the love of her life and she was seriously contemplating going the whole way with him. Cassie and Laura envied Aileen her courage. They would never have the nerve to do it, they decided after long and serious discussion; Laura because of her elder sister Jill, who was an unmarried mother, banned from the family home by her father, and finding the going tough. She had belatedly discovered that her pilot boyfriend, the father of her child, was married and already the father of two. He just didn’t want to know about Jill and her baby.