"By the way, would you mind if I bring a friend of mine when I come? He doesn't have any family close by and with it being the holidays I feel bad that he's all alone."
"That's fine with me. Maybe that will give Maureen someone to latch onto besides us," she whispered into the phone just as Maureen poked her head threw the doorway.
"All right, we'll see you in a few hours," he said as he hung up the phone.
"Who was that?" Maureen asked. "Let me guess.... Andrew."
“Yes, that was Andrew and he is coming over in a few hours. He is bringing a friend with him.”
“Well, don’t think you are setting me up with some stranger. I can find men on my own.”
“I wouldn’t think of doing that. This man is a friend of Andrew’s and he is all alone, so Andrew invited him to come along and spend the holidays with us. He’s not your date or anything, but please be nice to him.” Christina looked at Maureen as she sat by the fire. She wished her sister could be more relaxed and happy. She hadn’t really been happy for years and Christina felt bad for her. She knew others could not see the side of her that she did. They only saw the side that Maureen wanted them to see, and not the sweet person she could have been, and used to be when they were young.
“All right, I’ll be nice to him, for your sake, but I will not go out with him. Do you want some coffee or a drink?" Maureen asked sincerely.
"Why thanks Maureen, I think I would like some hot chocolate." She watched as Maureen turned and went to the kitchen. Remembering how she and Tyler had sat before the fire drinking hot chocolate with marshmallow piled high in the cup. Those were such bittersweet memories. She felt the tears start to well up at the thought of Tyler, but she brushed them off. She knew Tyler would have wanted her to get on with life, and not mourn for too long.
Christina sighed and thought back to last year. Christmas had always been her favorite time of year, with the Christmas carols, the fun of buying gifts and wrapping them, then hiding them where Tyler wouldn't find them. Of course she could never find a place where he didn't find them. He was like a child who loved every minute of the Christmas season. She remembered the parties they had with all their friends and family during the holidays. They would hire a band and dance until dawn. Then on Christmas morning they'd get up at the crack of dawn and like two kids run down to open presents under the tree.
Since she had been unable to have children, it had always been the two of them Christmas morning. They would always buy a car full of toys, which they donated to the local orphanage. Christina had wanted to adopt a child, but Tyler was adamant. If they couldn't have his child, then they wouldn't raise anyone else’s. But he enjoyed buying gifts for the kids who didn’t have much. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Maureen coming back into the living room.
"Here's your hot chocolate madam," Maureen said as she sat down beside her sister. It was at times like this that Maureen felt love for Christina, and a little regret that they weren't closer to each other. There was a bond between them but for some reason Maureen always pulled away when Christina tried to be close to her. However, tonight, she felt especially close to her sister, and a little excited about the prospect of seeing Andrew again. She knew he often called and talked to Christina, she had eavesdropped many times when they were on the telephone. Not that she ever heard anything interesting, but still, you never knew. Perhaps she'd catch them kissing or something she thought.
"Thanks. I really appreciate your fixing it. I let Lauren off to be with her mother today. Seems as if she's getting worse all the time."
"Why do you keep her on Christina? There's something about her I don't trust. I'd watch out for your things around here. You know she could steal them and sell them for a lot of money. Hell, you'd never know things were missing until the house was empty."
"I can't believe Lauren would steal from us, Maureen. She's been here for three years now and I've never noticed anything missing. And she is always ready to do more, stay longer if I need her for a special occasion. I think she's a great maid and a good person. I like her."
"Well, it's your money,” Maureen said looking at her sister.
“You know Christina, this is fun. Just the two of us, in front of the fire and drinking hot chocolate. Kind of reminds me of when we were kids. Remember how pop would make us hot chocolate after we'd been ice-skating at the park. We'd come in all freezing cold and pop would put on the water and the three of us would sit down and have a big cup of hot chocolate and pile the marshmallow in the top of the cup. We were so happy then...it's hard to remember when things began to change." Maureen had a faraway look in her eyes as she watched the flames dancing over the logs in the fireplace.
"Yeah, I remember. You were so vain even then you wouldn't wear the ski pants while skating and your legs would be so cold they'd be almost blue. You had to have the short skirt the professionals wore when they figure skated." Christina laughed as she remembered the many times her and Maureen would come home so cold, and pop would always have some hot chocolate along with toast or donuts for them to snack on.
"Yeah, and you would pile on the clothes wearing pop's insulated long underwear underneath your ski pants. You were so fat you could hardly stand up."
"Yeah, but I was warm. The only thing that got cold was my feet and my fingers," Christina said laughing. They had been happy then, even though their mother had deserted them, their father had always taken care of them. They never wanted for anything even though they didn't have a lot of luxuries they had plenty of love and the necessities. Maureen was right, that was a very happy time of life for them.
She remembered how pop had fixed maple candy by putting large buckets on the maple trees. The sap would drip into the bucket and when it was full, pop would take the bucket and put the sap on the stove and cook until it was thick. Then they would bring in a pan of snow, packed down hard and he'd spoon the mixture on the snow. It became a sticky piece of candy and they would make themselves sick eating it.
Still, the memories were there today. How she wished times could be like that again when her and Maureen were close and loved each other. She knew they loved each other now, but a wedge had been between them for many years and Christina didn’t know how to break through the wall. She longed for the old sister, the one who laughed all the time, and who confided in her and told her many secrets. But those days were long gone, and it was almost as if they were strangers most of the time.
Chapter Three
The doorbell rang bringing the two sisters back to reality.
"Hey Christina,” Andrew said as he stepped inside. “This is my friend Russell but we call him Rusty," Andrew continued as they took off their coats.
Christina understood why when she saw the mop of red unruly hair sticking out of a stocking hat. He was only about 5'10", much shorter than Andrew who stood well over six feet. Rusty had a face full of freckles and on him it looked cute. He was rugged looking with blue eyes that sparkled and Christina could tell he was mischievous by the twinkle in his eyes as he looked at her.
"Nice to meet you Russell." She met the smile and the hand that was offered. "And this is my sister Maureen."
Maureen extended her hand and gave Russell the once over as usual. "Nice to meet you Russell," she said as she looked into his eyes. There was something about the man she couldn’t put her finger on but there was a strange attraction there.
"Would you like some hot chocolate?" Christina asked, her eyes seemed to be glowing now. We were just sitting here reminiscing about when we were little girls and the things we did. It was fun to sit by the fire with all our wonderful memories. Too bad we couldn't have stayed kids. Life was a breeze back then, but time waits for no one."
"I'd love some," replied Andrew. "How about you?" he asked Rusty.
"That would be great, thank you. I'm chilled to the bone. I think we'll be getting a bit of snow before long."
"Let's go in the den. We have a nice fire going," Christina said leading t
he way.
Andrew sat on the sofa next to Christina while Maureen fixed the hot chocolate.
"You have a beautiful home Christina," Russell said as he looked around the room.
"Thank you Russell. I'm glad you could come with Andrew. No one should be alone over the holidays. Especially during Christmas. That was the best time of year for Tyler and me." This had been the first time she had mentioned Tyler without getting teary eyed. .
Christina turned on some Christmas carols while Andrew stoked the fire. Maureen glanced at Rusty who was sitting in the overstuffed chair by the fire. She wondered why Andrew had dragged him along. If he thought he was going to pawn her off with this red headed stranger, then he had another thought coming. Rusty was definitely not her type, and she wasn't going to give Christina a clear shot at Andrew. She smiled to herself as she sat there looking at Andrew.
"It sure will be nice having two weeks off. I've been so busy at work lately that I've forgotten how to relax," Andrew said taking a deep breath. "I've forgotten how nice it can be just to sit by a fire with friends. I don't get to visit family or friends very often lately, not that I don't like the holidays, but you know how it goes when you have a business to run and all."
Christina smiled at the prospect of spending two weeks with Andrew. She really missed him over the past six months. He had a way of cheering her up and making life worth living. She hoped that Maureen wasn’t going to spoil the holidays for them by being rude to Rusty. He seemed like such a nice man, and she saw the interest in his eyes when he glanced at Maureen.
Maureen grabbed Andrew's hand and said," how about a dance handsome?"
Andrew smiled and obliged Maureen while Christina watched. He glanced at her and winked, letting her know that he loved her.
"You’re a fabulous dancer," Maureen whispered in his ear softly as she pushed her body closer into his seductively.
"Well thank you ma'am, I try my best," he replied trying not to respond to her vivacious body, which she pressed tightly against his. Andrew knew Maureen was a strong willed woman and that she wouldn't give up easy if she wanted something bad enough, and she was a very sexy young lady. If he hadn't been in love with Christina, he might have been tempted by her charms. He was hoping that Rusty and Maureen would hit it off, but from the way things started out, he didn’t see that happening now.
It was clear Maureen wasn't interested in Rusty at all. Well, perhaps he would grow on her in the two weeks they'd be there for the holidays.
"Would you care to dance Christina?" Rusty asked as he took a sip of the hot chocolate.
"Thank you, that would be nice.” Christina got up and they danced around and around the large room."
“You dance really well,” she said.” She laughed as he swirled her around the room and back. His eyes were twinkling and he laughed out loud. She was aware of Andrew and Maureen as they passed by, both of them laughing and having a great time.
“You dance pretty good yourself,” Rusty said.
When the song ended Andrew pulled away from Maureen's embrace and quickly sat down next to where Christina had sat.
“That was fun wasn’t it? Christina laughed, out of breath. “Rusty sure knows how to dance, but I’m pretty rusty at it. Haven’t been dancing in along time. Maybe we should do this more often. Its good exercise to.”
“You’re right for once Christina,” Maureen laughed. “I don’t know when I’ve had so much fun. How about I fix us something to eat?”
“That sound good Maureen,” Christina said appreciatively.
Maureen looked over at Rusty, and then turned to go to the kitchen to fix a lunch. This would be a fun couple of weeks, she thought to herself. Perhaps Rusty and Christina would hit it off and everything would be perfect.
It wasn’t long before Maureen came back in with sandwiches, chips and drinks. She put the tray down on the coffee table.
“It’s all ready,” she said looking at Christina and Andrew who were sitting close on the big sectional couch.
Rusty seemed oblivious to everyone as he stared into the roaring fire, lost in time, remembering the Christmas's he'd had as a child. It was true they hadn't been happy times and he'd had to lie at school to the other kids. He remembered making up toys he said he'd gotten, never letting on that many times he hadn’t even had a tree.
Maureen studied Rusty's face for a moment and smiled. She regretted being so rude to him earlier.
"What kind of work did you say you were in Rusty?" Christina asked trying to make him a part of the conversation. He set his cup down and looked at Christina with a smile.
"I don't exactly have a nine to five job. I do accounting to some large companies and I manage apartment buildings. Renting them out, fixing things that get broken, and painting when they need painting."
"In other words," Maureen broke in, "you're a maintenance man." He just smiled. She had known all along that this man didn't have money...she could tell these things by the way he was dressed, the way he talked and held himself.
"I guess you could say that Ma'am. The pay is good and I like doing what I do. Not a very exciting life by your standards, but it keeps me busy." He laughed inwardly as Maureen leaned forward to talk again to Andrew. If she only knew, Rusty thought to himself.
He was worth over a million dollars because he'd invested wisely with his money. He also owned the apartment buildings he rented out. He just happened to like puttering around the buildings and keeping them in good conditions for his tenants. He wasn't about to admit that to Maureen though after Andrew had told him she was out for a rich man. This would be a fun two weeks he laughed.
"I think that's wonderful," Christina said. "To do the things one likes to do in life is what it's all about. It's not the money that counts, but having fun in life."
"Well, he doesn't have to worry about money," Andrew said when Rusty interrupted quickly.
"Well, let's not talk business. We have a beautiful fire, good food nice music and wonderful company. Shall we dance Christina? That is if Andrew doesn't mind." With that Christina smiled and said she'd love to. After all, Tyler was gone and he would want her to have fun. She couldn’t mourn forever. It was time for her to laugh again, and go on with life. She found herself laughing and actually enjoying herself. After the dance, she sat back down next to Andrew.
Rusty walked to where Maureen sat and asked if she wanted to dance.
“All right,” Maureen said as she stood to go into his arms. She wished he had been taller, but she still looked up at his face, so it wasn’t as if she had to look down at him.
Christina and Andrew sat quietly on the couch. Anyone would have to be blind not to see the love in Christina's eyes as she looked at Andrew Maureen thought, although Christina always denied that she and Andrew were anything more than friends. The dance ended and Rusty thanked her for the dance. They both sat down on the other end of the couch, and watched the flames in the fireplace.
Rusty turned towards Maureen and asked her what she did for a living.
"I ah...," she stuttered caught off guard by the question. It was the first time Christina had seen her sister without a quick come back. "I'm looking after Christina at the present time, helping her run the house and get her affairs in order." Her eyes glared directly into his. Why did he have to ask her that she wondered? She felt stupid because she did not have a real job like an executive or something important. She felt anger that she had stuttered over the words and knew they sounded stupid even to her.
Rusty had encountered women like Maureen before and learned over the years how to handle himself with them. They were usually out for one thing, money. "Are you married?" he asked, once again beating her to the punch.
"Not at the present time. I stay so busy managing Christina's affairs that I haven't had much time to date, let alone get married. If you will excuse me, I think I'm going to hit the sack. I'm really beat tonight. See you all in the morning." Maureen got up and without another word headed for the stairs.
>
"I noticed you didn't have a tree up yet." Rusty asked looking at Christina. The look on her face made him wish he hadn't mentioned the tree. "I'm sorry. I just noticed and...." Rusty was out of words. He always did that he thought. When would he learn to shut his mouth?
"That's alright," Christina said looking at him. She didn't know herself why she hadn't put the tree up this year. Perhaps she had been afraid to...afraid of the memories it would bring. She loved the Christmas tree and suddenly she wanted it up.
"Perhaps we can all put it up this week and decorate it. I guess I hadn't really thought of it." She knew she was lying, she had thought of it, but it had seemed too painful before. Now it seemed like a good idea. The more she thought of it, the more it appealed to her to put the tree up. Tyler would have wanted her to have the tree up.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Andrew said. “We can go out and cut one down if you like. We used to do that when I was little, go out on the farm and cut down our tree and it made it extra special somehow.”
“Yeah that sounds like a lot of fun,’ Rusty said as he got up. “We never did that, so it will be an experience for me. Some years we didn’t have a tree.”
“Guess I will turn in,” Christina said. “I’m feeling tired myself. You both know what rooms you have so feel free to stay up or go to bed whenever you want, and please make yourselves at home.” She got up and headed for the stairs. As she went to her bed, she felt strangely at peace. The tears did not come that night and she slept soundly for the first time in a long while.
The next morning everyone got up early except Maureen who finally dragged herself out of bed around 10. She waltzed in the kitchen dressed in a tight pair of jeans and white cashmere sweater.
"Morning everyone," she greeted them cheerfully as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "I must have really been tired. I haven't slept this late in a long time."
Christina hated the way Maureen dressed so seductively whenever there was a man around, but that was Maureen and Christina had to accept her the way she was.
Poison Hearts Page 4