Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

by Susan Mallery

  “What? Oh, sure. Let me get it.” Helen poured a mug and set it on the counter.

  While she was off getting a small pitcher of cream, Kelly inhaled the nurturing smell. “My mother’s back.”

  The creamer slipped from Helen’s fingers and fell, spilling cream on the Formica. They both reached for napkins.

  “That was dumb,” Helen said with a lighthearted laugh. “I must be especially clumsy today. What did you say?”

  Kelly poured in the last of the cream, then handed over the empty container. “My mother showed up last night. I was out with Griffith and when I got home, there she was, in the living room. I mean, come on. Seriously? It’s been thirteen years. I don’t get it.”

  Helen swallowed. “Marilee is back? How does she look? How did Jeff, um, your dad take it? Was he happy? Shocked?”

  “I think it’s pretty safe to say we’re all stunned. Who does that? Shows up like that with no warning? I’m beyond pissed. My dad’s not happy. Olivia’s been in touch with her some over the years, so she would know her the best.”

  Helen poured herself a mug of coffee and took a sip. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Me, either. My dad wanted you to know. Honestly, I’m surprised he didn’t come over and tell you himself. As a way to escape her.”

  “Escape? She’s staying at the house?” Helen’s voice was nearly a shriek. “Are you kidding me?”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “Beyond strange, right? We made up the guest room for her. She’s still all smiles and ‘I’m so perfect.’ I don’t want to hate her because that means I’m devoting too much energy to her. I want to not care. I need to find my Zen center.”

  “You need to get her ass out of your house.”

  Kelly frowned. “I don’t think that’s happening. Are you okay?”

  Helen gave her a tight smile. “I’m fine. Why?”

  “I don’t know. You seem upset.”

  “You’re my friend. I’m Team Kelly all the way. I know you and your mom never got along. This is so terrible for you and Olivia. And your dad.”

  Kelly nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m exhausted. I didn’t sleep. I’m guessing no one did, except of course Marilee. I’m sure she slept like a baby.”

  “She um, still looks good? I mean she was always very beautiful.”

  Kelly thought about the elegant clothes, the way her mother carried herself. “She looks good, I guess. Not older, which is a little creepy. She looks like Olivia’s sister while I look like a troll.” She sighed. “Wow, I am tired. Listen to me rambling. What time is it?” She glanced at the clock. “I should let you get back to work. I know you have customers showing up in a few minutes.” She managed a smile. “I’m going to go home and face my mother, all the while chanting kill me now. Or her. Maybe killing her would be better. Not that I’d like prison.”

  “Thanks for coming by,” Helen said. “We should talk later. And please let me know if I can help.”

  “With the killing?” Kelly teased.

  “Sure. I’m all in on that one.”

  Helen’s response made her laugh. “Thank you for pretending to be bloodthirsty. Oddly enough, it makes me feel a whole lot better.”

  * * *

  Helen figured she had less than five minutes between the time Kelly left and the first customers arrived. There was plenty of work to be done and she should be running around, prepping. Instead, all she could do was stand behind the counter and wonder if she was going to throw up.

  How was any of this fair? Did the universe really hate her that much? Was God sending her a message? How on earth was it possible that less than twelve hours after she and Jeff had actually found their way to each other his ex-wife showed up? And moved into his house? If someone tried to write that into a movie, they would be told it was implausible. Ridiculous, even. But here it was—happening to her.

  She didn’t know what to do. Screaming seemed good. Crying. Later, there would be blintzes for sure, but how much good could sugar do in these circumstances? What she needed most was to see Jeff. To have him hold her and tell her none of this mattered. That he wasn’t interested in Marilee, no matter how beautiful or skinny she was. That their shared history was meaningless. That he wasn’t lying awake thinking about his gorgeous ex-wife in bed just a few feet down the hall.

  Only Jeff hadn’t been the one to tell her. He’d sent Kelly and while she could sort of think that was thoughtful, part of her wondered if he was simply trying to escape having to face her.

  At one minute to six, the first of several cars pulled into the parking lot. Helen hurried into her office, to check her face in the mirror hanging by the file cabinet. She was shocked to see tears on her cheeks. She quickly brushed them away, gave herself her best smile, then went back to the front of the café.

  In her pocket, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out and glanced at the text from Jeff. Sorry I couldn’t be there myself. I’ll be by as soon as I can to explain.

  That was it. Not “I miss you” not “I want you.” Nothing on which to hang her battered and frightened heart.

  * * *

  Yet another day for Kelly to be grateful she didn’t have the kind of job that required her to make life-or-death decisions, she thought as she pulled in front of the house at five that afternoon. She hadn’t had to suit up and run into a burning house, or perform surgery or work some arm on the space station. No one’s life was affected by the fact that she’d spent the better part of eight hours checking on bulbs and hating her mother.

  She stared at the house. There were hours yet until sunset, so no lights were on. She couldn’t see inside, but based on the rental car, her sister’s BMW and her father’s truck, she had a fair idea who she would find when she went inside.

  Kelly thought briefly of bolting. She had gas in her truck and a zero balance on her emergency credit card. She could simply go. Drive any direction but west and be somewhere else. Okay, without her passport, best not to head north to Canada, although being arrested by the border police would be a great excuse to miss dinner. If only, she thought regretfully as she got out and walked up the front path. This was her father’s fault. He’d raised her to be responsible.

  She braced herself, then opened the door.

  “I’m home.”

  “We’re in here, darling.”

  The sound of her mother’s voice made her jaw clench. She consciously relaxed, set her bag on the table in the entryway and walked into the kitchen.

  Olivia and Marilee sat at the kitchen island, a laptop between them. As Kelly approached, Olivia closed the computer and offered a slight smile.

  “Dad’s in his study,” her sister said. “He’s paying bills or something.”

  Marilee sighed dramatically. “He always did take life so seriously. I never understood why.”

  “Someone has to,” Kelly pointed out. “Someone has to make sure there are things like food in the refrigerator and that the electric bill gets paid so we can have light and heat. Someone has to stay behind and clean up other people’s messes. Not everyone gets to walk through life, destroying everything as they go.”

  Marilee’s eyes widened slightly, then she shook her head. “Kelly, sweetie, you need a man. I’m going to take a bath before dinner. What time do we eat?”

  “In about an hour,” Olivia murmured.

  Kelly wanted to point out there wasn’t a tub in the guest bathroom, but before she could say that, she realized her mother planned on using the tub in the master bath. Not anything she wanted to think about.

  “I guess we’re cooking,” she said when their mother left. “Any ideas?”

  “I bought a couple of pork tenderloins at the grocery store. I have an easy recipe for baking them. It’s plenty of food and Marilee doesn’t eat beef.”

  “Why not?” Kelly h
eld up a hand. “Never mind. You deal with the pork, I’ll look at sides.”

  She washed her hands, then opened the refrigerator. There were brussels sprouts and cauliflower in the vegetable crisper, and a bag of red potatoes in the pantry.

  She washed the vegetables, then began cutting the Brussels sprouts in half and the cauliflower into florets. After tossing them with olive oil, salt and pepper, she dumped them onto a cookie sheet.

  “How long does the pork cook?”

  “Forty-five minutes at 350.”

  “Perfect. These can go in with them. They’ll caramelize. I’ll get the potatoes ready now and we can start them closer to dinner. Does Marilee like mashed potatoes?”

  “As far as I know.” Olivia put everything in the oven, then crossed back to the counter. “Are you okay?”

  “Not really. What the hell is she doing here? Why now? It’s so awful. I don’t like having her around. She’s not a nice person.”

  “You’re right. She’s exactly the same. Selfish and cruel. I don’t want her here, either.”

  “Dad won’t throw her out,” Kelly complained as she started peeling potatoes. “I can’t figure out if he’s the nicest guy on the planet or a total sucker.”

  “I think he wants her here for us.”

  “What? That’s ridiculous. Why would he think...?”

  Because her mother had walked out when she was fifteen, Kelly thought. Because even though Marilee had been a nightmare, she’d been a presence in the house. Because Kelly had felt both relieved and abandoned when her mother had left.

  “I should talk to him,” Kelly said.

  “It’s not going to help. He’ll do what he thinks is right regardless.”

  “I know. It’s so annoying. All of it.” Kelly dropped the peeler and the potato and impulsively hugged her sister. “I’m glad you’re here. I can’t imagine going through this without you. Thank you for being my buffer. I’ll do my best to be yours.”

  Olivia hugged her back. “We’ll get through this,” she promised. “Marilee doesn’t have much of an attention span. Once this stops being fun, she’ll leave.”

  “You are wise in the ways of the evil one,” Kelly teased. “How often were you two in touch?”

  Olivia turned to check on the oven. “Not that often. We texted and stuff. Met for dinner a few times.”

  Kelly felt a stab in her gut. Not jealousy, she told herself. She hadn’t wanted anything to do with their mother. She’d been glad when Marilee had left. Okay, glad and filled with guilt that it was her fault. But never once had she wanted Marilee to return.

  “You’re right,” she said firmly. “We’ll get through this. And when she leaves, we’ll celebrate with Jell-O shots and hot fudge sundaes.”

  “It’s a date.”

  * * *

  Kelly told herself no matter what happened at dinner, she was going to be calm, agreeable and quiet. She would smile, make pleasant, meaningless conversation, then escape. She would hide out in her room and binge watch something fun on her tablet.

  She carried the bowl of mashed potatoes to the already set table. Olivia had sliced the pork tenderloin and put it on a serving platter. The roasted vegetables were in a bowl. As Kelly took her seat, she noticed there was only a single bottle of wine. No way that was going to be enough.

  As if reading her mind, Olivia stepped close and whispered, “Second bottle on the buffet,” she said as she pointed. “I’ve already opened it.”

  “Yay you.”

  They smiled at each other. Kelly appreciated knowing there was another person she could depend on in the house. Everything about her mother’s visit creeped her out, and having her dad be so accepting of the situation wasn’t the least bit reassuring.

  Marilee strolled into the dining room. She’d changed into an off-the-shoulder dress that was way too fancy for an at-home dinner. Jeff had on his usual jeans and long-sleeved shirt. In deference to the warmer temperatures he’d replaced his winter plaid with a more seasonal light cotton.

  He scanned the table. “This looks very nice.”

  There was an awkward moment as they all tried to decide where to sit. Kelly couldn’t figure out which was worse—being next to her mother or being across from her. She settled on next to her. At least that way there wouldn’t be any eye contact.

  Jeff held out Marilee’s chair, then took the seat across from her. Olivia sat across from Kelly. The awkwardness continued as everyone reached for serving plates and bowls only to draw back.

  “I’ll start,” Kelly said firmly and picked up the bottle of wine.

  She filled her glass, then passed the bottle to her sister. Olivia flashed her a smile. The need to giggle bubbled up.

  There was only silence as the food was passed. The sound of flatware on china was excruciatingly loud. Kelly sliced off a bite of pork.

  “It’s delicious,” she said. “Thanks for fixing this, Olivia.”

  “You cooked?” Marilee asked. “What a surprise. When did you learn to cook? Why am I always the last to know?”

  Jeff shot Kelly a look, as if warning her not to say anything. Kelly did her best to look innocent.

  “I’ve cooked for a while now, Mom,” Olivia said.

  “I didn’t know that. How interesting.”

  Silence returned as the air thickened with all that was not being said. There weren’t just elephants in the room, Kelly thought. There was the entire African savanna population. If they weren’t careful, they were all going to get trampled.

  Marilee reached for her wine. “This is so nice. It’s been far too long since the four of us were together like this. Now when was the last time we all had dinner?”

  Kelly told herself to be quiet. That in maybe twenty minutes, she could make her escape. That no one would be helped by her stating the obvious. She had every intention of not saying a word. But instead of filling her mouth with something safe like roasted Brussels sprouts she found herself blurting, “Probably the night before you took off, Mom. Unless you were out with one of your lovers. I can’t remember. Olivia, do you remember?”

  The words fell like bombs on the table. They exploded and in their aftermath, no one knew how to react. Jeff recovered first.

  “Kelly, that’s unnecessary.”

  “Oh, I don’t know, Dad. It seems completely necessary to me. Are we really going to do this? Simply pretend it’s all fine? That nothing about this situation is strange or uncomfortable or twisted?”

  She turned to look at her mother. “Why are you here? Why did you come back?”

  Marilee’s expression was calm and friendly. “I missed you and your father.”

  “It’s been thirteen years. Why do you miss us now? What’s different? You never bothered before. You never stayed in touch with me. So why now?”

  Sympathy filled Marilee’s eyes. “Is that what your outburst is about? Are you feeling ignored? Aren’t you a little old for that, Kelly?”

  “What? I’m not talking about now, I’m talking about before. Dear God, you left your family. Aren’t you going to take any responsibility for that?”

  “Kelly.” Jeff’s voice was sharp.

  “No, Dad. We have to talk about this.” She turned back to her mother. “What you did wasn’t okay. It was selfish and heartless. We all paid the price for your behavior. You humiliated all of us. You were a terrible wife and mother and you don’t get to come back here and act as if nothing ever happened.”

  Marilee shook her head. “I see you spoiled her. I’m surprised, Jeff. You were always able to control her when she was little. What happened?”

  Jeff stood. “Stop it, both of you.”

  Kelly rose. “No, Dad, I won’t.” She pointed at her mother. “You’re divorced. You shouldn’t be in this house. Whatever game you’re playing, it’s
not going to work.”

  Marilee raised her eyebrows. “That’s not for you to say, is it? But while we’re asking questions, what are you doing still living at home? Shouldn’t you have your own life? Are you hiding, Kelly, and if so, from what?”

  Kelly wanted to scream. “This isn’t about me.”

  “Yet here we all are, talking about you.” Marilee smiled at Olivia. “Interesting how the two of you aren’t the least bit alike. I wonder why that is. Of course I’ve had a bigger influence on Olivia. Jeff, I hate to say it, but you’ve spoiled our oldest.”

  Olivia’s head snapped up. “Mom, no.”

  Marilee shook her head. “I know what you’re thinking but I can’t help taking a little credit here. Jeff was always so convinced he was the better parent and yet it turns out it’s really me.” She glanced between him and Kelly. “Isn’t Olivia impressive? So accomplished. She handles all the marketing at my real estate company and now she’s doing staging. The clients just love her.”

  Kelly felt as if the floor had suddenly vanished and she was falling, falling, falling, not sure when she was going to hit bottom, or where it would happen. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Couldn’t—

  The careless words formed into sentences, then found meaning. Marilee’s statements combined with what Olivia had said since she’d been back.

  “You live in Phoenix?” she asked her mother.

  “Where else? The real estate market has been a roller coaster, but I enjoy the challenge.” She picked up her wine. “Yes, Kelly, your sister has been with me since she transferred to ASU. She lived with me those first couple of summers, then got her own place. She works with me. We’re a team.”

  Kelly swung to face her sister. “You lied?”

  Olivia sprang to her feet. “So what? You tossed me into boarding school. You abandoned me. Neither of you cared about me. I didn’t have anyone. A friend’s older sister helped me find Mom and I got in touch with her.” Tears filled her eyes. “She cared about me and you never did.”

  “Girls.”

  They both ignored Jeff.