The Sisters

by Rosalind Noonan

  But Leo and Natalie couldn’t hear her shouting from their room on the first floor, and her demands had fallen on the ears of her prison guards: Sienna, who had told her to stop being a spoiled little monster, and Georgina, who was so afraid of everything and everyone that most of the time her hands quivered like Jell-O. After five days of shouting, tantrums, and banging on the attic floor to bother the sisters below, Luna had paused halfway through a bowl of lukewarm, salty ramen noodles to think over her plan.

  No one was really listening to her demands.

  And no one would tell her when Mama was coming back.

  That did it. By the time she finished the bowl, she had a new plan. She would behave and follow orders so that she could get her freedom back. If she could start visiting Hazel’s house again, she might talk Hazel’s mother into giving her a ride to the hospital. And once she was in Mama’s arms, she would never, ever come back to this place.

  It took a few days for things to sink in, but this morning Sienna had come up to unlock the door and walk her down to the second floor. “Get yourself cleaned up,” Sienna had said. “Leo will come up and talk to you later.”

  Stepping into a hot bath, Luna had wanted to cry, maybe from relief. But she’d just leaned her head against the tub, studied the familiar cracks on the ceiling, and wondered why Mama hadn’t come back to get her. Did that mean she was still badly injured? Or was she trying to save up money to arrange a ride or a place to stay? There had to be something, something that had gone wrong that Mama was trying to fix so that they could be together.

  Afterward she got dressed and went down to the kitchen to find some breakfast. Luna liked being able to pick what she wanted—peaches-’n’-cream oatmeal. She mixed the packet with water and added some milk to cool it down, being careful not to spill on the table. Leo got mad when she spilled things.

  From the quiet house she knew Natalie and most of the sisters were long gone to the hotel, and she sensed that Leo and Sienna were gone, too. Probably to the grocery store.

  Or maybe they were visiting Mama at the hospital.

  It made her so mad that no one would tell her how Mama was doing while she was locked in the attic. That had made her bruised face and lumpy sleeping bag a thousand times worse. In the times Leo sent her up to the attic, Sienna had talked more than ever to Luna. Those first few days, she had been a little like Mama, taking care of Luna, cleaning out the gash on her face, trying to make her feel better.

  Other times Sienna complained bitterly about the disgusting part of attic duty. “It’s too much for me, lugging water up the stairs. And this piss bucket is disgusting.”

  Luna didn’t like the bucket, either. “It’s not my fault.” “Leo should take this over during the day. He would if that bitch would let him. I think she’s trying to make me miscarry. That would make her day! So she could save money on the abortion.”

  “What’s abortion?”

  Sienna squinted at her as she wiped her hands on her apron. “How old are you again? It’s when you make a baby go away.”

  Luna didn’t understand this, and when Sienna started crying she knew she’d said the wrong thing. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. It’s just that . . . I want to have this baby, but they’re making me get rid of it. Natalie’s making me.”

  A baby? Luna’s eyes opened wide. “I can help you take care of a baby.”

  Sienna swiped at the tears on her cheeks with the back of one hand. “What do you know about babies?”

  “I can learn, and I’ll be so gentle. Mama’s going to get me out of this house, and we’re never coming back. Mama will save you, too. You and your baby can come along.”

  “You don’t get it. I don’t want to leave,” Sienna whined. “I want to stay and have my baby and be Leo’s wife. I love him.”

  “You want to marry him?” Luna blinked, unable to understand why Sienna would want to stay with Leo. “But we could help you. Mama can help. She’s coming back as soon as she can. How is she? Have you heard?”

  “You think they tell me anything around here?” Sienna took the empty plastic bowl from the wooden crate. “I’m not in with the sisters like that. I’m not part of the popular crowd.” She had given a sour laugh, revealing a crooked tooth that reminded Luna of a pebble from the yard. “The ones that went visiting her at the hospital. Laura and Rachel and Kimani. Well, Kimani makes sense, since she used to be a nurse. But Rachel and Laura, they would wrestle each other to lick Natalie’s boots.”

  That was the thing with Sienna: No matter what she talked about, she was never far from complaining about Natalie.

  While she’d been locked in the attic, Luna’s only other contact had been Georgina, who had never been a source of information about anything. Georgina had trouble forming words, and even when she managed it, talking seemed painful. She didn’t seem to pay much attention to what people were saying, but she understood the power of food. The first night, Georgina had clopped up the stairs, struggling with her arthritis, to bring Luna a cup of applesauce she’d smuggled home from the mall! Tears of joy had rolled down Luna’s cheeks at the cool, tart sweetness. It made Luna feel bad about how she used to complain about Georgina’s sloppy joes and gray rice pilaf. After that there’d been a treat every night. Sample chocolates from the mall candy shop. A pretzel stick. A mini cinnamon bun. And saltwater taffy that had blue and purple flecks in it. Wonderful treats, though nothing topped that first night. “Can you get more applesauce?” Luna had asked, and Georgina had nodded in her gruff way. Luna couldn’t wait to tell Mama about Georgina’s good deeds, and she’d even saved some saltwater taffy to share with her.

  After cleaning up her dishes, Luna went back to her room and sat on Mama’s bed to stare out over the backyard at Hazel’s house. She refused to think of the distance Mama had fallen or the bones of Annabelle rotting in the soil below the window.

  Her eyes were on the Hanson house. Waiting and watching for Hazel.

  It was a gray afternoon, but the Hansons’ Christmas tree was lit, their back window aglow with dots of red and green and blue and yellow. Those colorful lights gave Luna hope.

  She was going to find her way to Mama.

  She was just waiting for the right moment, a clear shot over to Hazel’s house, where she would beg for a ride to the hospital. Then she’d catch up with Mama, and they’d be together in a much better place than this. Maybe a house like Hazel’s.

  * * *

  Her chance came a few days later, when she was left alone in the house.

  Something was wrong with Sienna. She was curled up on the floor of the parlor, her head resting on the love seat as she moaned in pain.

  “I’ve got to get her to a doctor,” Leo said. “You keep on with the vacuuming. I expect everything to be neat and clean when we get back.”

  “Are you going to the hospital?” Luna asked. “I could come along and help.” And go find Mama.

  Leo had squinted at her as if she’d sprouted wings. “No. Just the clinic.”

  A few minutes later there was a car and driver waiting outside for them. Luna stared out the front window, wondering how Leo had made that happen. She knew it was called a cab or Uber, but how did it all work? She heard the click-clack sounds as he bolted the series of locks on the front door, and then watched as he put his arms around Sienna to help her down the front walk.

  And then they drove off.

  Luna walked past the vacuum cleaner strewn like a sick robot on the living room floor and went upstairs to wait. Since Hazel wasn’t home yet, she took the time to change her shirt to the pink T-shirt Hazel liked. Then she pulled up the corner of the bedding on Mama’s mattress and checked inside the little slit Mama had cut on the side. The cell phone was tucked safely inside there. Luna flipped it open and closed a few times, but the little screen wasn’t lighting up anymore. Luna’s heart sank. Was it broken? It probably didn’t matter much, since she couldn’t use it to call Mama. Still, it was a shame. She tucked it ba
ck into the mattress, determined to take it with her when she went to join Mama.

  When Hazel and her mom walked up the driveway at the usual after-school time, Luna’s heart soared. Her friend!

  She made it down the stairs and out through the unlocked garage window in no time. Hazel was still waiting for her mom to unlock the door when Luna called to them through the fence.

  “Luna! Oh, my gosh, I’ve been thinking about you!”

  Squeezing through the loose fence boards, Luna was greeted by a splash of red—her friend’s rain slicker—as Hazel pulled her into a big hug. “Come inside,” said Hazel. “My mom made Christmas cookies.”

  After a week in the attic, Hazel’s house seemed sweeter and warmer than ever. There was the pine scent of the tree and the smell of butter cookies that Hazel’s mother had made, and the tree itself, like a fairy’s home in the forest.

  “It’s good to see you, Luna.” Nicole put a hand on Hazel’s shoulder, then tilted her head. “That must have hurt,” she said, gently touching a fingertip to Luna’s cheek. “What happened?”

  “It was an accident.” Luna went over to the cookies on the counter.

  “I see. I’m sorry about your mom.”

  “I know. She was hurt bad. She’s still at the hospital.” Luna turned back with a cookie in hand. “Ms. Nicole, can I ask you something?”

  “Of course, honey.”

  “I need to visit my mother and no one will take me to see her. Can you drive me to the hospital?”

  “To the hospital?”

  Hazel lifted her head from the cookie she was licking to extract the sprinkles. “She could drive you, right, Mom? She drives me everywhere. And I could go with you. We could visit your mother together. Right, Mom?”

  “I . . . I’d love to help,” agreed Hazel’s mother, though she was staring at Luna in a funny way.

  “Does that mean we’re taking a road trip?” Hazel asked.

  “Road trip! Road trip!”

  Luna felt thrilled and frightened at the prospect of riding in a car. It looked like an amazing way to go from point A to point B, but she knew that accidents happened on the road, too. Her father had been killed in an accident up in Alaska when she was a baby.

  “A short trip. But not today. You’ve got an appointment with Dr. Kerr in forty-five minutes. The orthodontist.”

  “That’s right.” Hazel broke off a corner of the star cookie and confided in Luna, “I might have to get braces.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You know. On my teeth? Some kids hate them, but I think braces are sexy.”

  “What are you talking about?” Hazel’s mom called from the pantry.

  “Nothing.” Hazel leaned close to whisper in Luna’s ear: “You’re not supposed to say ‘sexy.’ It’s a naughty word.”

  Luna nodded. There were so many things to learn, so many things to know, things that weren’t covered in the books she’d read. How did people learn everything?

  Hazel poured two cups of milk, and they went in to watch a holiday show on television before Hazel had to leave. Luna savored the creamy milk, but it was hard to enjoy herself, knowing she wouldn’t be seeing Mama today. She would slip back into the house and then sneak over here another time when Ms. Nicole could give her a ride.

  The pounding noise at the kitchen door made Luna jump. When she heard Leo’s voice a second later, she knew she would be in trouble. Peeking into the kitchen, she saw Hazel’s mother talking with Leo.

  “Really, we’re happy to have Luna over anytime,” Ms. Nicole insisted.

  “She’s not supposed to be here, and she knows it.”

  “Still, it’s not a problem for us. And she’s so smart. I think she might benefit from attending the local school. I’d be happy to walk you through registration, and I could drive her to and from school. I have to take Hazel, anyway.”

  Ms. Nicole was being so nice, Luna wanted to hug her! But Leo stared at Hazel’s mom, his eyes cold as ice. “Luna is homeschooled, and she needs to learn to follow the rules. She needs to stay on our property. If she leaves, she’ll be punished.”

  “No offense, but it’s not healthy for a kid to be cooped up that way.”

  “No offense, but I don’t remember asking your opinion.” Leo turned and caught Luna watching. “Let’s go, Luna. You’re wasting my time.”

  Luna plodded forward reluctantly as Hazel made a little fuss, saying how much she had missed Luna and giving her a hug. Luna tried to hug her back, but her heart was iced over with fear, making it impossible to be a good friend.

  “I know you think you’re helping,” Leo told Ms. Nicole as he directed Luna toward the door, “but you’re not. Keep interfering like this and you’ll leave me no choice but to take action against you and your husband.”

  “You would sue us for having your girl over for a playdate?” she asked in disbelief.

  “I won’t wait around for law enforcement. I’m proactive. I like to take things into my own hands.” He opened the kitchen door and pushed Luna out. She moved off the stoop, tears stinging her eyes.

  “Wait. There’s something else.” Hazel’s mom came out the door after them, her arms crossed against the damp cold.

  Leo grinned, liking the attention from her.

  Hazel’s mom frowned at him. “You haven’t told her yet, have you?”

  He squinted at her. “What are we talking about here?” “Her mother. She wants to go to the hospital to see her mother. She thinks Glory is there. You haven’t told her.”

  “Told me what?” Luna asked.

  “Nothing.” Hands on her shoulders, Leo pointed Luna toward their house and gave her a push.

  CHAPTER 41

  Tamarind was sitting on the living room couch, sipping tea by the Christmas tree, when Ruby came in with her laptop.

  “Homework finished?” Tamarind asked.

  “Almost. I just wanted to sit by the tree.” In the past week Ruby had been spending more time in the family room with her mother and grandmother, who probably thought she was having some teenage freak-out.

  The freak-out part was true. But she couldn’t tell them the reason for it, that she was being haunted by her birth mother and the only way to escape the guilt was to surround herself with people. As she’d mulled over her last moments with Glory, Ruby had realized that her final words to Glory had sounded like a promise. A vague promise, yes, but Ruby had told her things would be okay.

  Now Ruby felt responsible for the little girl. With Glory gone, it was up to Ruby to make sure Luna was okay. That was all. The kid was probably fine, but it was worth checking.

  Her friends disagreed.

  “It’s not your responsibility to take care of someone else’s kid,” Delilah said, “even if she is your half sister.”

  “I’m not taking care of her; of course I can’t do that. I just need to make sure she’s okay living with the sisters.”

  “And how would you do that?” asked Maxi. “You can’t go near that house again. Glory told you they killed a woman there. That makes two women killed at that house.”

  “We can’t be sure what happened to Glory,” Ruby said.

  “You know,” Maxi said. “You know it’s true. I won’t let you go back to that house.”

  “Believe me, I don’t want to go,” Ruby told her friends. She wasn’t even sure that she would find the little girl there. The police had found no sign of her.

  So really, there was nothing she could do.

  Really.

  But that didn’t stop the guilt from seeping into her consciousness every time she was alone in her room or driving in the car. Guilt had amazingly invasive qualities, the ability to penetrate glass and steel, the ability to find you anywhere like a signal beamed from a satellite in space, the ability to sour the sweetest moments. Guilt was making Ruby squirm. She was coming to realize that she would eventually have to rise from her shell, like the Venus in that famous painting. She couldn’t cower in her room squeezing rubber ducks for the
rest of her life. One of these days, she was going to have to step up.

  Until then, she tried to elude Glory’s ghost by nestling into conversation with her family and friends. She typed a few sentences on the English assignment and then glanced at the tree. Dad had switched to white and blue lights from their usual assorted colors, and there was something peaceful about the cool tones. “Looks like someone added some presents under the tree,” Ruby said.

  “Nani and I went shopping this afternoon.” Tamarind cocked one brow as she lifted her teacup. “You can always find plenty of things to wrap at the dollar store.” She took a deep sip. “I remember your first Christmas with us, how you loved having gifts under the tree. On Christmas Day, after all the presents were opened, you begged us to wrap them up and put them under the tree again.”

  Ruby winced. “I was such a dorky little kid. I don’t know how you and Dad had the patience to deal with my phobias and issues.”

  “Are you kidding? It was such a huge victory every time we figured out what was bothering you. Like working a puzzle, piece by piece. And we were deeply motivated because you were a fascinating little girl. You still are. Not so little anymore, but we love you anyway.”

  “Aw. I love you, too. I gotta say, you really scared us there.”

  “Keeping you on your toes.” Tamarind took another sip of tea and then rose from the sofa. “But my last numbers were really good. Looks like I’m sticking around.”

  “Yes, yes, you will live a long and happy life, my daughter.” Rima entered the room with an armful of small gifts wrapped like candy twists. “Here’s the last of the dollar store goodies.”

  “That’s a lot, Nani.” Ruby leaned over to pick up a small package and check it out. “Got any rubber duckies in there?”

  “Don’t ask, and I won’t tell you,” Rima said. “So what shall we have for dinner? It’s too late to start from scratch. You want the pizza from the ‘Papa’ place?”

  “I was thinking of some quick spaghetti with jar sauce,” Tamarind said, swirling her cup. “But I’ll do it, Ma. You’ve been on duty every night.”