Sisters - By Patricia MacDonald Page 0,96
‘These are lovely,’ she said.
Dory beamed. ‘You like them?’
‘Of course I like them,’ said Elaine. ‘What’s going on over here?’
‘Alex asked me to be in her wedding.’
‘How nice. What did you say?’ Elaine asked.
‘I said . . . OK. Probably,’ said Dory.
Elaine nodded. Her expression was placid. Alex could see no sign of judgment in it. She took the vase of flowers and carefully placed them in the center of the table.
Dory looked at Alex apologetically. ‘I’m not positive. Can I call you about it?’
Alex looked at Elaine. She felt as if Elaine had emitted some warning signal to Dory that was undetectable outside of Elaine’s sphere of influence. Dory suddenly looked miserable. Elaine returned Alex’s gaze with a mixture of triumph and disgust in her eyes.
Alex closed her eyes for a moment and then turned to Seth. ‘OK. We’d better be going,’ she said.
As soon as they left the apartment and began to walk, arm in arm, toward the car, Alex began to sputter. ‘I’m telling you,’ she said, ‘it’s like she’s a prisoner there. She was all set to agree. She was happy to be asked, and then one sidelong glance from Elaine . . .’
‘She’s thirty-two years old, Alex,’ he said. ‘If she wants to leave, I’m sure no one would stop her.’
‘It’s as if nothing has changed. Even though they now know that Dory was not to blame for Lauren’s death, they treat her as if she is still . . . not to be trusted.’
Seth shrugged. ‘You always thought Elaine treated her that way because of Lauren’s death. I suspect that she has always treated her the same way.’
‘It’s not fair!’ Alex cried. ‘She needs to get away from that woman. I mean, Garth’s nice enough. Ineffectual, but nice enough. Elaine though . . .’
‘She doesn’t want to get away from Elaine,’ said Seth. ‘That’s her life’s work. Trying to get Elaine to love her.’
‘Do you really think that?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I do.’
‘It’s never gonna happen, is it?’ said Alex.
Seth tightened his arm around her and shook his head. ‘Nope.’
‘That’s so sad,’ said Alex.
They walked on in silence for a little ways. Then Alex said, ‘Should I just leave her alone? Maybe Elaine is making Dory’s life more miserable when she sees me. I think Elaine believes that my meddling in Dory’s life brought about this whole collapse of their world. Now Therese is gone and she has Dory at home again, and there is no way that she is happy about it. I think Elaine was happier when Dory was in prison and she could blame it all on her.’
‘It does seem that way,’ he said.
‘Maybe that’s why Dory has been so scarce lately.’
‘I wouldn’t be surprised,’ he said. ‘She probably has to pay a price for spending time with you.’
Alex sighed. ‘I don’t want to make her life worse.’
‘You’re not, Alex,’ he said. ‘You’re trying to be a sister to her. And she needs you, whether she knows it or not. Someday she may come to her senses and realize how futile it is to try and please that woman. If it’s ever gonna happen, somebody has to be on her side.’
‘But you just said that it would never happen.’
‘Well, I’m trying to be realistic. That sick relationship with Elaine is pretty strong. But that doesn’t mean I think you should give up. Elaine would like to keep you out of Dory’s life. Isolate her. It’s easier to torment her that way, with no one to object. But if you’re not in Dory’s life, who will be there for her?’
‘You’re right. I have to try,’ said Alex.
Seth nodded. ‘We’ll keep trying.’
‘We?’ she asked.
‘We’re in this together,’ he said. ‘Right?’
‘Right,’ she said.
Alex thought about her mother’s letter, offering her a sister she didn’t know she had. She had wanted Alex to have a sister to depend on. The sister Alex had found had turned out to be something much more complicated. But still, Alex felt there was a connection between them that defied explanation. She knew that her mother had worried that Alex would not have a family to rely on, to lean on, to celebrate with. Alex glanced at Seth’s profile. I have you, she thought, full of gratitude. You are my family now.
She huddled closer to him as they walked through the cold in the darkening twilight. We are a family, Mom, she thought. Seth and I. And children some day, and a home. A life together. This is the family you wanted me to have. And as for the sister you wanted me to have? As for Dory?
Dory has us both.
Table of Contents
Recent Titles by Patricia MacDonald
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Epilogue