He thanked her again and wished her well as he walked her out of his office. They had agreed that she would leave by the following Friday. She had nine workdays left, and then her career in television was virtually over. For now anyway. And she might never get a decent job again. She knew that as she left his office, but she truly felt she had no choice.
Her meeting with the head of the network the next day was less emotional. He was angry at first, and then resigned. He thought that what Tammy was doing was a crazy thing to do. He told her she was throwing her career away. And as he pointed out, giving up her job, which was so much more than just a job, would not give her sister back her sight. Tammy pointed out that that was true, but it might help support her through a terrible time, and the others who were with her. He could see her point, but it was not the decision he would have made. Which was why he was the head of the network, and she wasn't. But Tammy also knew that his home life was a mess. His wife had left him two years before for another man, and both of his children were on drugs. So maybe from a career standpoint, he was right. But personally, she wouldn't have traded her life for his. She'd rather screw up her career than let her sisters down. And maybe one day there would be another opportunity for her, even at a different network. For now, she just had to trust the fates. She was doing her part right, maybe they'd do theirs.
She thanked the head of the network for his time, and left his office. The deed was done. All she had to do was finish out these two weeks. And she had decided not to tell Sabrina and Annie anything about it. She knew they would object for her sake. This was a gift she was giving them, and it was her choice.
She packed quietly over the next two weeks. She had decided not to rent her house. For now, she could afford to keep it as it was, and just close it. She had been careful with her money, and had plenty set aside, even if she didn't work for the next year, although she was planning to look for something in New York. You never knew what might turn up. And with luck, she'd be back here in a year. So she wasn't going to sell anything, or make any more brutal changes than she already had. At least she still had her house if not her job.
Her last day at work was heartbreaking for her. Everyone cried when she left, and so did Tammy. She went home absolutely drained that night, and lay in the dark, with Juanita sleeping on her chest. She had packed everything she wanted to take in four big suitcases. She was leaving the rest. She took a nine A.M. flight the next day, on Saturday, and landed at JFK in New York at five-twenty local time. She rang the doorbell on East Eighty-fourth Street just before seven. She didn't even know if they'd be home. If not, she could go to a hotel until Sunday night if they were in Connecticut for the weekend.
There was no sound inside for a few minutes, and then Sabrina opened the door and stared at Tammy, who was looking very solemn as she stood there, with four enormous bags, and Juanita in her tote.
“What are you doing here?” Sabrina looked stunned. She had had no warning that Tammy was coming, which was what Tammy had wanted. The decision wasn't theirs, it was her own.
“I thought I'd surprise you.” Tammy smiled as she started to drag in her bags. It was still warm and balmy in New York.
“You brought all that shit for the weekend?” Sabrina asked as she helped her, suddenly wondering why she was there. There was a strange look in her sister's eyes.
“No,” Tammy said quietly. “I'm not here for the weekend.”
“What do you mean?” Sabrina stopped and stared at her with a worried look.
“I came home. I quit my job.”
“You did what? Are you crazy? You love your job and you make more money than God.”
“I don't know how much He makes.” Tammy grinned at her. “But currently I'm unemployed, so He makes more money than I do right now.”
“What the hell have you done?”
“I couldn't let you do this by yourself,” Tammy said simply. “They're my sisters too.”
“Oh you lunatic, I love you,” Sabrina said, as she threw her arms around Tammy's neck. “What are you going to do here? You can't just sit around the house.”
“I'll find something. At McDonald's maybe.” She grinned. “So do I still have my pink room?”
“It's all yours.” Sabrina stepped aside, as Annie appeared on the landing with headphones on. She'd been listening to a lecture from the Parker School, but as she took them off, she heard her sister's voice.
“Tammy? What are you doing here?”
“I'm moving in.” She beamed.
“You are?”
“Yes. Why should you guys have all the fun without me?” As she said it and looked at her sisters, she knew she had done the right thing. There was absolutely no question about it. And as Sabrina helped her drag her bags up two flights of stairs, Tammy knew without a doubt that her mother would have been pleased. Better than that, she would have been proud of her.
And as they walked into the room that was going to be her home for the next year, Sabrina turned to look at Tammy and smiled with a look of relief and whispered, “Thank you, Tammy.” It had been worth everything for the look on her sister's face.
Chapter 19
Tammy's arrival at the house changed the dynamics considerably. She was another responsible adult to share the burdens with Sabrina, which was precisely why she'd come. It made things more crowded than before, even though Candy was still away. And they all knew that when she got back, it would be even crazier. They were four women and three female dogs in a relatively small house. Chris said that he was feeling overwhelmed by estrogen overload these days, which was a mild understatement. There seemed to be women's shoes, hats, furs, coats, bras, and thongs everywhere. Tammy said after being there for a week that she felt as though she had given up her job to become a maid.
“This isn't working for me,” she finally said one Sunday morning, after doing her third load of towels. Candy had gotten home the night before, and brought all her laundry home with her, although she could have had it done at the hotel where she was staying. But she said the hotel shrank everything the last time she was there, so she brought it all home, not to Mom anymore, but to her sisters. And Tammy had become the chief laundress, since she wasn't working.
“I love you guys,” she announced at breakfast, as Chris tried to stay out of the way. Annie had named him an “honorary sister” the week before, which he said he didn't think was funny, although she meant it as a compliment. But he said he was beginning to feel like Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, or worse, Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire. “I need two things for total happiness,” Tammy went on. “A job, and a maid.” She had come to realize that as long as she wasn't working, she was going to become the chief cook, schlepper, maid, and bottle-washer. She needed to get out of the house and go to work. And they needed someone else to do the scut work. She hadn't done it in her own house in Los Angeles. Why should she do it here?
“That's a great idea,” Sabrina said absentmindedly, as she handed the sports section of the Sunday Times to Chris. They were all crowded around the breakfast table, and were sharing scones, pains au chocolat, and blueberry muffins. The three older sisters were sharing them, and Chris had already eaten several. Candy hadn't touched a single one. They all had noticed, and also that she had lost more weight on her trip. But no one had mentioned it so far. Sabrina wanted to talk to Tammy about it later that day.
“I can see you're all really impressed by my suggestion,” Tammy said, looking miffed, as she helped herself to another scone. Unlike Candy, she was eating too well. She had nothing to do now, except sit around the house and eat, between doing loads of laundry. They were wearing out the owner's machines. “Okay, ignore me. I'll find a maid myself.” And a job, although God knew what that would look like here.
The five of them went to a movie that afternoon, and when they did, Tammy noticed that Annie had already gotten far more proficient with her white stick. The three weeks she had spent at the Parker School had already made a difference. She was more comfor
table moving around the house, used the microwave easily, and had learned several handy tricks. She had fun with Baxter when she was at school, and he called her often on weekends. She hadn't encountered Brad Parker again. He had bigger fish to talk to than her.
The movie they went to wasn't much fun for Annie, but she went so she could spend time with them. And she was able to follow it just listening to the dialogue, although afterward she said it was stupid. They went out for pizza together after the movie, and Candy teased Chris about his harem.
“People are going to start thinking I'm a high-class pimp,” he complained. But the four sisters stuck together like glue. Now that they were living together, he hardly ever got time alone with Sabrina. He didn't complain about it, but he let her know that he noticed. And before Tammy came, with Annie to take care of, she rarely spent a night at his place with him.
It was Sunday night so he went back to his place that night, after spending time with Sabrina alone for a while in her room. Wherever one went in the house, there was someone there, kitchen, den, living room, playroom, dining room. They were a lot of people living under one roof. He was a good sport about it, but Tammy had suggested to her that she shouldn't push it.
“He's a guy, after all, Sabrina. He must get sick of seeing all of us when he wants to be with you. Why don't you stay with him more often?”
“I miss you when I'm at his place.” She had the constant awareness that this was only for a year. But Tammy wasn't as sure that that was clear to Chris. Tammy thought he looked annoyed about it at times, but Sabrina didn't think he did.
“You know him better than I do,” Tammy told her, “but I wouldn't push it if I were you. One of these days he may go up in smoke.”
The next morning Tammy did as she had promised, and called an agency for a maid. She explained the nature of what they wanted, and the head of the agency said she had two candidates that might work for her. One was a woman who had worked in a hotel for ten years, and didn't mind working for several people. She was only available twice a week however, which wasn't enough. Tammy thought they needed someone every day. With four of them living there, and Chris some of the time, there was just too much to do. The other candidate was a little more “unusual,” she said. She was Japanese, spoke no English, but was immaculate, and worked like a Trojan. She had worked for a Japanese family that had moved away. The agency said they had an excellent reference on file for her, and they highly recommended her.
“How can I talk to her, if she only speaks Japanese?”
“She knows what to do. The family she worked for had five kids, all boys. That's a lot harder than cleaning house for four adult women, and three dogs.”
“I'm not so sure,” Tammy commented, having done it herself. But a maid who spoke no English was better than nothing, and a lot better than doing it herself.
“Her name is Hiroko Shibata. Would you like me to send her over to meet you this afternoon?”
“Sure,” Tammy said. She had nothing else to do.
Mrs. Shibata arrived promptly for the interview and was wearing a kimono. As it turned out, she didn't totally “not speak English,” she said about ten words that she repeated frequently, whether appropriate or not. She did in fact look immaculately clean, and she left her shoes politely at the door when she got there. The only detail the agency had failed to mention, and probably wasn't allowed to, was that she looked about seventy-five years old and had no teeth. She bowed to Tammy every time she spoke to her, which made Tammy bow too. And she didn't seem to mind the dogs, which was something at least. And several times she said “Dog verry cute.” Better yet. Somehow through using sign language, speaking loudly, which served no purpose, and pointing at her watch, Tammy managed to convey to her to come back the following morning to try out. She had no idea if she'd show up or not, but was delighted when she did.
Mrs. Shibata walked in the front door, took off her shoes, bowed politely to everyone, including Candy in a thong and see-through T-shirt, Annie as she flew out the door to school, Sabrina as she left for work, the dogs several times whenever she saw them, and turned into a whirling dervish. Much to Tammy's delight, she stayed till six and everything was impeccable when she left. The beds were changed and made with military precision, the refrigerator had been scrubbed out, their personal laundry was done, the towels were clean and folded. She had even fed the dogs. The only problem was that she had fed them seaweed, left over from the lunch she'd brought, of pungent pickles, seaweed, and raw fish, all of which smelled awful, and the seaweed made the dogs violently sick. Tammy spent more time cleaning up the mess they made than she would have cleaning the house. So when Mrs. Shibata came to work the next day, as Tammy had pantomimed her to, she pointed to the dog bowls, the dogs, the seaweed, and made faces worthy of kabuki, asking her not to do it again. Mrs. Shibata bowed at least sixteen more times in all directions and let Tammy know she understood.
Candy had managed to trash most of the house the night before when friends dropped by, so she had plenty of work to do. The arrangement was working well. Tammy told the agency she was hired, and Mrs. Shibata set to work keeping them clean and in good order, and Tammy felt like a free woman. She was never going to have to wash towels or take out the trash again. Which was comforting, since no one else did.
Problem number one was solved, but now Tammy had to solve a more important problem before she could look for a job. She and Sabrina had agreed that something had to be done about Candy's eating disorder before it destroyed her, so they confronted her that night. It was the perfect night to do it, since Chris was at a basketball game with friends, which was a good thing, because you could have heard Candy's screams of outrage and denial from there to Brooklyn. Her older sisters said they no longer cared what excuse she had for the weight she was losing. She had two choices, a hospital or a shrink. Candy looked stunned.
“Are you serious? How can you be so mean? It's so rude of you to make an issue of my weight like this. Mom would never have done that. She was a lot nicer than either of you.”
“That's true,” Tammy said, without denying it. “But we're here and she's not, and you're not going to be here much longer either if you don't do something about this. Candy, we love you and you're going to get really sick. We lost Mom. We don't want to lose you.” They were loving but firm. She slammed the door of her room, threw herself on her bed, and cried for hours, but her sisters would not be moved. They were both aware that she made enough money to move out and get her own apartment, but she didn't. She didn't speak to them for two days, while she mulled it over, and finally, much to everyone's amazement, she gave in and opted for the shrink. She said there was nothing wrong with her eating, and they just didn't see her eat, and what she ate was healthy. For a canary maybe, or a hamster, but not a woman who stood six feet one in bare feet. They assured her that she didn't need to get fat to please them, and no, they weren't jealous of her. She even pointed out that Tammy was gaining weight, which was true, although she wasn't heavy either, but she was a lot shorter so whatever she gained showed, and she had gained about five pounds since arriving in New York. But the only issue of any consequence, as far as they were concerned, was that Candy's eating problem was out of control.
Tammy made the shrink appointment, and took her to the first meeting. She didn't go in with her, but called and spoke to the doctor first. Candy was furious when she came out, but she gave them a shopping list, which Tammy bought immediately, and at least they saw her eat now, and they weren't just ignoring the problem. This was what they were there for. Allegedly for Annie, but Candy obviously needed their support too. It was so much easier dealing with it while they were all living under one roof.
“Do you ever get the feeling that we gave birth to two grown kids this summer?” Sabrina asked Tammy, as she lay on the couch after a long, hard day at work. She had had three appearances in court.
“Yes, I do.” Tammy grinned. “I have more respect than ever for Mom now. I don't know how she stood
us when we were kids.”
They were still worried about their father and hadn't had time to see him for several weekends. They were all too busy at home. Except for Tammy, who now spent her time directing Mrs. Shibata with kabuki faces, and dropping Candy and Annie off at their respective shrinks. She felt more than ever like the suburban mother of two teenage girls, which led her to project number three, finding work. She knew she wasn't going to find a job anything like the one she had in California, she had no delusions about that. But she needed more to do than what she was doing, otherwise Candy would be right, and all she'd do would be sit around and eat. She needed more than that in her life. Candy and Sabrina were working, and Annie was going to school. She was the only one of the sisters who had nothing important to do, except be there at night when they all came home. She felt like a housewife, and as though she was losing her identity.
Project number three took a lot more time than projects one and two. It was well into the middle of October before she had lined up some interviews. She talked to several soaps, and hated the way they were structured. They were so second rate compared to what she had done before. And she finally talked to a show that she had heard of but never seen. It was pure, outrageous, utterly cheesy reality TV. The show focused on couples who were having trouble in their relationships, and basically allowed them to fight with each other on TV. Fisticuffs were not allowed, but other than that, anything went. A psychologist followed them on the show, who turned out to be an outrageous woman who looked like a drag queen. The show was called Can This Relationship Be Saved? It's Up to You! It sounded so awful that in spite of herself, Tammy was intrigued. Professionally, it would be embarrassing to be associated with the show, but the ratings were good, and they were desperate for a producer. The one they'd started with had just quit for a prime-time show on network TV. They couldn't believe that someone with Tammy's credentials was actually willing to talk to them. And she couldn't believe it either.
Sisters Page 23