Shakespeares Christmas Page 0,9

hands. When I got out of the passenger's door, she stared at me with curiosity.

"Eve, this is my sister, Lily." Varena turned to me. "Eve has a sister, too, a new one."

"What's her name?" I asked, since that seemed indicated. I am very uneasy around children.

"Jane Lilith," Eve mumbled.

"That's pretty," I said, because I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Is your sister taking a nap right now?" Varena asked.

"Yeah, and my mom too," the girl said forlornly.

"Come in and see my dress," Varena invited.

Eve really brightened up. Varena seemed to have a way with children. We trailed into the little front room of the house and followed Varena back to her bedroom. The closet door was open, and the wedding dress, swathed in plastic, was hanging on a special hanger that fitted over the top of the door.

Well, it was white and it was a wedding dress.

"It's beautiful," I said instantly. I am not stupid.

Eve was awestruck. "Oooo," she said breathlessly.

Varena laughed, and as I looked at my sister, I saw how warm and responsive her face was, how good-natured she looked. "I'm glad you like it," she said and went on talking to the child in an easy way that was totally beyond me.

"Can you pick me up so I can see the scarf?" Eve asked Varena.

I looked where the child was pointing. The veil, yards and yards of it, attached to an elaborate sort of tiara, was in a separate bag attached to the one holding the dress.

"Oh, honey, you're too big for me to pick up," Varena said, shaking her head. I could feel my eyebrows crawl up. Was it possible Varena couldn't lift this girl? I assessed the child. Seventy-five pounds, tops. I squatted, wrapped my arms around her hips, and lifted.

Eve squealed with surprise and delight. She turned to look down at me.

"Can you see?" I asked.

Eve examined the veil, admired the glittering sequined tiara, and went all dreamy-eyed for a minute or two.

"You can put me down now," she said eventually, and I gently lowered her to the floor. The girl turned to give me a long stare of evaluation.

"You're really strong," she said admiringly. "I bet nobody messes with you."

I could practically taste Varena's sudden silence.

"No," I told the little girl. "Nobody messes with me now."

Eve's narrow face turned thoughtful. She thanked Varena for showing her the dress and veil in a perfectly polite way, but she seemed almost abstracted as she said she'd better be getting home.

Varena saw Eve out. "Oh, Dill's here!" she exclaimed in a happy voice. I stared at the frothy white construction of a dress for a moment more before I followed Varena to the living room.

I'd known Dill Kingery since he moved to Bartley. He'd just begun dating Varena when the whole eruption in my life had occurred. He'd been a great solace to my sister during that time, when the whole family had needed all the help we could get.

They'd continued dating ever since. It had been a long engagement, long enough for Varena to bear a good amount of teasing from her coworkers at the tiny Bartley hospital.

Looking at Dill now, I wondered why he'd dragged his feet. I didn't think he'd been beating other women off with a stick. Dill was perfectly nice and perfectly pleasant, but you wouldn't turn to look at him twice on the street. My sister's fiancé had thinning sandy hair, attractive brown eyes, wire-rimmed glasses, and a happy smile. His daughter, Anna, was another skinny little eight-year-old, with thick, shoulder-length brown hair that was lighter than her father's. Anna had her dad's eyes and smile. Anna's mother had died when Anna was about eighteen months old, Dill had told us, in a car accident.

I watched while Anna hugged Varena. She was about to run to play with Eve when Dill stopped her. "Say hi to your aunt Lily," he said firmly.

"Hey, Aunt Lily," Anna said and gave me a casual wave of the hand, which I returned. "Can I play with Eve now, Daddy?"

"OK, sweetie," Dill said, and the two girls clattered outside while Dill turned to me to give me a hug. I had to endure it, so I did, but I'm not a casual toucher. And I hadn't quite adjusted to being "Aunt Lily."

Dill asked me the usual questions you ask of someone you haven't seen in while, and I managed to answer civilly. I was tensing up already, and nothing had happened to make me