The Sisters

by Kate Forster

  ‘Do you think you want to get married one day?’ asked Jeff casually.

  Violetta turned and smiled at him. ‘I don’t know, depends if I find the right guy.’

  Jeff smiled and looked at his paper again. ‘Well, let me know if you do and I will give you a thorough physical before your wedding night.’

  ‘Fuck you!’ she cried.

  ‘Yes please.’ He pulled her to him again.

  *

  Carlotta was shocked but not displeased. ‘He seems like a good egg and a very golden egg, me thinks,’ she said over the phone.

  ‘Christ, Lotty, that’s a bit Jane Austen isn’t it?’ laughed Grace.

  ‘Not really. He’s nice, he actually has some money and he puts up with your family. What else do you need?’ said Carlotta pragmatically, as she sat at dinner with Chris and Alexia.

  After she hung up, she looked at Chris. ‘She married him, in Vegas.’

  ‘He’s a great guy,’ said Chris. ‘I know a few people who have worked with him. Very private but good, you know.’

  Carlotta looked at Chris and smiled. ‘I know.’

  Alexia watched them and smiled.

  Chris’s phone rang and he looked at it. ‘I have to take this, it’s London.’ He excused himself from the table.

  ‘How’s things with Dad?’ asked Alexia out of the blue.

  Carlotta pretended to reel back. ‘Jesus, straight into it, huh?’ she laughed.

  ‘Well, I have to ask. Dad has it bad for you,’ said Alexia as she sipped her drink.

  ‘Things are fine, it’s just that my life is a little crazy right now, so it’s a bit high drama, you know? Not a normal start to a relationship,’ said Carlotta carefully.

  ‘Drama comes with life, I’ve worked out,’ said Alexia wisely.

  ‘How did you get so smart?’ asked Carlotta.

  Alexia patted the wheels of her chair. ‘Life in this teaches you a few things about what to worry about and what to let go of.’

  ‘No doubt,’ said Carlotta. ‘Can I ask? Do you remember the accident?’

  ‘Not really. I remember the hospital though. Dad was amazing.’

  ‘I bet,’ said Carlotta, smiling.

  ‘No really, he was there night and day and stayed with me through all the awful things and never once lied to me. When I asked him if Mom was dead he told me, and when I asked if I would be able to walk he told me. They are shitty things to have to tell a kid.’

  Carlotta nodded, thinking what a terrible time Alexia and Chris had been handed.

  Alexia played with the straw in her drink. ‘He never lies to me. Never. He is the most truthful person I know.’

  ‘He is good like that,’ said Carlotta, thinking of Chris’s truth telling to her.

  ‘Think about it though. Dad lost his wife, his kid is in a wheelchair, and he had to sit in a hospital every day. It must have been terrible for him. I think about it sometimes and can’t even imagine it.’

  ‘You are a smart cookie.’

  ‘I know.’

  They sat quietly.

  ‘Hey, Dad said you might help me buy a dress for my prom,’ said Alexia, blushing.

  ‘Of course! Although I’m not really the fashionista in my family, my sister Violetta is. But if you want me to help, I can ask her to recommend a few stores and designers.’

  ‘Would you? Dad is great at most things but shopping with him is embarrassing.’

  ‘Sure, when is it? This prom?’

  ‘February.’

  Carlotta smiled. ‘Who’s your date?’

  Alexia looked down at the table and Carlotta saw her cheeks turn scarlet. ‘Will Buckland.’

  ‘Is he nice?’ Carlotta suddenly felt herself become protective of this lovely child.

  ‘Yes, he’s so nice. Whenever I see him I get butterflies. I have liked him for about a year. I think he thought I was retarded when he saw the chair and he used to ignore me but this year we have a few classes together and we ended up sitting together. He broke his leg skiing and so we were stuck on the sidelines of some sports and activities and we just started to talk. Now we talk online most nights and text. He lives nearby. I have promised I will take him riding one day,’ she babbled.

  Carlotta smiled at her joy. ‘Then I like him already.’

  ‘I really like him. He asked me to the prom via text. I think he was too embarrassed to ask face to face.’

  ‘Ah text message, the last great romantic gesture.’

  ‘It must be hard to ask a girl out.’

  ‘I think it is, actually. Fear of rejection and all that.’

  ‘So when can we go shopping?’

  ‘Let me ring Violetta and see what she thinks,’ Carlotta said, as she pulled out her phone and dialled a number.

  ‘Hey Letty. No, I’m fine. Really. Sorry about before. Hey, a question, where would you go if you were shopping for a prom dress? Ah huh. Um, she’s very pretty, dark hair, green eyes, slim, excellent figure. About five foot three. Yep. And she’s in a wheelchair, so no bustle.’

  Alexia laughed.

  ‘Really? You do? Well, I can ask her. All right, hang on.’

  Carlotta put her hand over the phone. ‘She says she can think of lots of shops but she said she thinks she has the perfect dress for you at her apartment, some Zac Posen or something. She has never worn it. You want to see it before we spend your dad’s hard earned money?’

  ‘Zac Posen? I love his stuff. You sure she wants to let me borrow it?’ asked Alexia.

  Carlotta spoke into the phone again. ‘She says that would be great. When? Really? OK, see you then.’

  Carlotta put her phone away. ‘Tomorrow after school OK?’

  ‘Yes, yes, thank you so much,’ said Alexia, clapping her hands in excitement.

  Chris came back to the table. ‘What’s going on?’ he asked, looking at Alexia’s flushed face.

  ‘Carlotta is getting me a dress for the prom.’

  ‘Really? Well, thank you very much,’ said Chris gallantly to Carlotta.

  ‘No problem,’ said Carlotta, filled with the affection that she usually reserved for her horses.

  Alexia looked up at her. ‘I hope you two get married.’

  ‘Whoa, settle petal. A bit early for this, don’t you think?’ Carlotta asked.

  Chris looked at her oddly.

  ‘Maybe, but nothing’s impossible,’ said Alexia. Chris and Carlotta laughed. ‘I mean, look at Jessica Berconi’s parents.’

  ‘What about them?’ asked Chris sharply.

  Carlotta dug her fingernails into her hand.

  ‘Didn’t you hear?’ said Alexia conspiratorially. ‘Everyone talking about it down at the stables.’

  ‘What?’ asked Carlotta, frowning. Please let Alexia not hear the gossip about her and Berconi, please, she prayed to a god she had not believed in till now.

  ‘It’s Jessica’s mom, she’s run off with Jessica’s riding coach,’ said Alexia, proud to be the messenger of such salacious gossip.

  ‘No way,’ said Carlotta.

  ‘Way,’ said Alexia, crossing her arms.

  ‘What’s the big deal?’ asked Chris. ‘Who’s the coach?’

  ‘Anna Humbrel,’ said Carlotta, raising an eyebrow.

  ‘So Berconi has been left by his wife for a woman?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Alexia. ‘And Jessica is mortified and refuses to ride any more and now Chessy is getting lessons from Anna. She seems quite happy. It shouldn’t matter as long as your parents are happy,’ she said, mostly to Chris.

  ‘You are a wise girl,’ said Chris, patting her hand.

  ‘I know.’

  She smiled at Carlotta across the table. Carlotta winked at her. She loved Alexia more and more every time she saw her. Her spunk and courage, her acceptance of herself and her life was inspiring and made Carlotta ashamed for her years of complaining and not making the most of what she had in life.

  *

  The next day after school, Carlotta met Alexia and they went to Vio
letta's to look at dresses. Violetta, while initially surprised to see Alexia’s chair, was cool and Alexia loved her. They had spent the afternoon going through clothes and forcing Carlotta to try on different looks and outfits.

  Alexia was delightful and she had loved the Zac Posen that Violetta had offered.

  ‘Take it. You can have it. I don’t want it,’ Violetta had said of the new dress with the tags still hanging from it.

  ‘Are you sure? I can just borrow it, I will look after it,’ said Alexia, her eyes wide.

  ‘No, really, I am happy it will be worn,’ said Violetta. ‘You just need some shoes, that’s all.’

  ‘I can do that. I will return the bag and earrings as well,’ Alexia said, her little face serious.

  ‘Nah, I don’t need any of it. Take it all,’ said Violetta generously.

  ‘No way,’ said Alexia excitedly.

  ‘Way,’ said Violetta, laughing.

  ‘You are so nice. Zac Posen is so cool.’

  ‘Well, you make it cooler. Make sure you send me a photo.’

  ‘Are you on Facebook? Maybe we can be Facebook friends and you can see all the photos,’ said Alexia shyly.

  ‘Sure, friend me,’ said Violetta easily.

  Carlotta looked at Violetta gratefully and smiled. ‘Thanks,’ she mouthed, and Violetta winked at her.

  ‘You both coming to Christmas at Birdie’s?’ asked Violetta.

  ‘Yes,’ said Carlotta.

  ‘I can’t wait, I’ve never had a real Christmas,’ said Alexia. ‘I’ve being going nuts online with Dad’s credit card.’

  ‘Great!’ Carlotta made a face. ‘Now he can blame Jesus for his credit card bill as well as everything else. I’ll never hear the end of it.’

  ‘Oh voy, whatcha gonna do?’ asked Violetta in her best Yiddish accent.

  The girls laughed together as they left Violetta’s apartment. As they headed out into the dusk, Alexia stopped her chair in the street. Carlotta turned to see she was no longer by the girl’s side. She rushed back to her.

  ‘Are you OK?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m better than OK. I’m just happy. I wanted to take a moment and take it all in, you know, so I can remember it.’

  Carlotta looked at her, nodded and stopped also. She was happy too, she realised, and she stood by Alexia’s side and took it all in.

  39

  Violetta laid the last napkin down on the table. It was almost as good as Birdie used to do, she thought, and she straightened up the already perfect flowers in the middle of the table.

  Violetta had enjoyed creating the perfect Christmas dinner for them all. Birdie and Spencer were staying upstairs, getting ready. Jeff was coming and maybe Grace, she had texted in her message. Carlotta was coming with Chris and Alexia, and Violetta had made sure there were gifts for everyone under the enormous tree that she had ordered and had decorated. The caterers had been paid triple to get the feast ready since Violetta had ordered so late in the season but it was worth it, she thought. Tonight would be a celebration. It was nearly the end of the shoot, which Violetta was glad of. Birdie was home, Carlotta and Chris were together, and she had Jeff. While a part of her was sad for Leon, she was surprised how easily he slipped from her thoughts. She enjoyed her new relationship with Spencer, which was much the same but somehow deeper. His love for Birdie was obvious and it gave Violetta a sense of peace when she saw them together.

  ‘I hope we have that,’ she had said to Jeff when she was telling him about her parents.

  ‘We do,’ said Jeff, sure of himself as he got ready for work.

  She was spending more time at his apartment, making little changes here and there. Bringing in more of her things. Jeff didn’t seem to mind; actually he encouraged it.

  ‘I think I will need a bigger wardrobe,’ he said, as he surveyed the shoes and clothes spread about the bedroom.

  ‘I’m sorry, do you mind?’

  ‘Not at all. This is why I bought this place. I had hoped for someone to share it with and now I have you.’ He kissed her on the tip of the nose.

  ‘I love you, Doctor.’

  I love you too, Violetta.’

  ‘Bye, Doctor.’

  Still thinking about Jeff, she ran upstairs and dressed for dinner. Birdie had always insisted on dressing for Christmas dinner, and Violetta had gone all out. A white tulle and gold beaded Oscar De La Renta dress, with gold Christian Louboutin heels. The thin straps showed of her shoulders and her tawny hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. She checked her makeup, gold highlights around her eyes and a shimmer of blush and lip-gloss finished it off. Spraying a mist of Prada perfume, she walked into the mist and felt it settle about her décolletage.

  ‘Violetta,’ she heard her mother call.

  Violetta walked down the hallway and found her mother in her slip and nothing else. ‘You OK, Mom?’ Birdie still had trouble remembering things, forgetting halfway through a task.

  ‘Wardrobe crisis,’ said Birdie. ‘Oh, you look lovely, my darling.’ She stepped back to look at her daughter.

  ‘Thank you, Mom.’

  ‘Your doctor will think so too, I’m sure.’

  Birdie hadn’t baulked when Violetta told her she was dating Jeff. She thought it was perfect, and this would be the first time Birdie had seen Jeff outside of the hospital.

  ‘So what are you wanting to feel like, Mom?’ asked Violetta, walking over to the expansive walk-in closet.

  ‘I’d like to feel like…’ Birdie trailed off. Another side effect of her injury. ‘Like life!’ cried Birdie, happy to have the word she had been searching for.

  Violetta looked at the racks of clothes in front of her. Birdie was in good shape for a woman of fifty. Violetta searched through till she found the dress she had been thinking of. A dark green silk dress, crossed over and tied at the back. With butterfly sleeves, it was stunning. It was one of the first dresses that Birdie had made for herself as a young woman.

  ‘That’s a lovely dress,’ said Birdie, looking at it curiously.

  ‘I know. Do you remember who made it?’ asked Violetta.

  ‘No, who?’ said Birdie, reaching inside to look for a label.

  ‘You did, Mom,’ said Violetta proudly.

  Birdie looked surprised. ‘It seems I did many things I can’t remember.’

  She slipped the dress on with Violetta’s help and stood back and looked at herself in the mirror. The draping was lovely and set off the slight auburn tinge to Birdie’s hair.

  ‘Pop these on,’ said Violetta, digging out a pair of black velvet pumps with a low heel.

  She took a length of fine gold chain and draped it about Birdie’s neck, stood back and looked at her mother.

  ‘You look beautiful.’

  Birdie kissed her daughter’s cheek. ‘Thank you, my love.’

  The doorbell rang and Violetta ran down the stairs, more excited about Christmas than she had ever been in her life. She opened the door and saw Jeff in his dinner suit. ‘Be still my beating heart,’ she cried.

  Jeff stepped inside and looked at Violetta. ‘You look like a present waiting to be unwrapped,’ he whispered sexily in her ear, and she blushed.

  Birdie walked down the stairs with Spencer following, ‘Hello, Doctor Carson,’ she said gaily.

  ‘Jeff, please call me Jeff,’ he said, taking her outstretched hand.

  ‘Jeff,’ she said. ‘Jeffery?’

  ‘Jefferson,’ he smiled.

  ‘Jefferson?’ said Violetta, and started to laugh.

  Birdie frowned at her. ‘Don’t be rude, Violetta.’

  Jeff poked his tongue out behind Birdie’s back and Violetta laughed even more.

  ‘Come on then, let’s have a drink,’ said Spencer, as he shook Jeff’s hand.

  Just as they walked through the foyer, the doorbell rang again and Violetta rushed to open it. ‘Happy holidays,’ she cried to Carlotta and Alexia and Chris at the back, laden with bags and gifts.

  ‘You look great,’ said Carlotta
as she kissed her sister.

  ‘Hey Chris,’ said Violetta.

  She kissed Alexia on the cheek. She was wearing the Zac Posen Violetta had given her.

  ‘Thanks for the invitation,’ Alexia said. ‘We don’t do Christmas, so this is fun.’

  ‘Think of it as holidays more than Christmas, family and all that,’ smiled Violetta, as she led them through to the gorgeous sitting room, which the Christmas tree dominated.

  ‘That’s a hell of a tree,’ said Chris as he walked into the room. ‘Birdie, Spencer,’ he greeted them warmly.

  ‘Chris, this is Jeff Carson,’ said Violetta proudly. And the men shook hands.

  The drinks were fun and Birdie was her most charming self, sharing the hostess duties with Violetta. Carlotta wore a black sleeveless dress and silver cuffs over her motion sickness bands. She still hadn’t told her mother, only just having introduced her to the idea of Chris, let alone a baby. Carlotta stuck to mineral water and Chris hovered around her, making sure she was comfortable.

  Violetta danced about the room, making sure everyone was happy. Jeff winked at her across the room. She looked radiant and she knew it. Jeff’s adoration had made her more confident than she had been before. Their relationship was filled with conversation about everything and anything. Jeff asked her questions and her opinion on matters in and out of their world. Something Violetta had never had before from anyone. Between her opinion mattering at home and at work, her buoyancy filled the room and she sparkled as she moved between people.

  Thea came and whispered in Violetta's ear.

  ‘Dinner is served,’ she said.

  As everyone filed into the dining room, Violetta heard oohs and ahhs at the decorations. The table was dressed in white and violet. The glassware sparkled and the Christmas crackers had small labels with the guests’ names on them at their allocated seats. Pots of white and purple violets sat on the table and around the room, and the scent was intoxicating.

  ‘Violetta, it’s beautiful,’ said Birdie. ‘Violet and white, it’s perfect.’ She kissed Violetta on the cheek. ‘You make me so proud,’ she said quietly.

  ‘Spencer, you’re at the head of the table,’ said Violetta.

  Spencer looked at her and cocked his head to one side.