Sky points to a brown house on the corner. “That’s Aimee’s place. Not to be confused with Amy’s place-the diner. I’m so excited. I haven’t seen my buddy in a long time. We’ve known each other since we were sperms, or sometime soon after anyway. She’s cool. I think you guys will like her. I hope she still likes me after the way that I was acting before I moved to New York. Sister’s should stick together right?”
A lightening bolt of anger strikes Tabitha square in the chest. “You should talk to my sister sometime. She don’t like me very much. Let’s hope that your ‘sister’ is more forgiving than mine. At least I know that Charles’s mummy loves me, I’m sure she enjoyed the whole ‘eat me’ conversation in the kitchen this morning, Ha.”
Charlie cringes at the very idea. “Don’t remind me. I hope she doesn’t want to talk about that later. You did clean up that mess, didn’t you? Luanne hates messes more than anything. Neat and tidy is the way to her heart.”
“Yeah Chuck, I mopped up real good. Lu-Lu will be pleased. You think she’ll mind if I call her Lu-Lu? I think she’ll like it just fine. She can call me anything she wants. I’ve probably heard it all. Okay, I’ve been called everything except…I don’t know, horse jockey. That’s one thing that I’ve never been called. Although, I’d probably look pretty hot in that little outfit. Tiny hats are a nice accent to any outfit really. Don’t you agree?”
“Okay you two. We have to get out of the car sometime. Let’s go.” Sky is out of the vehicle, and heading for the front door before her companions have a chance to free themselves from their seat belts. “Aimee lives upstairs, and her mother lives down here. I have to say hi to my adopted mom before we go up. She was always good to me. I lived here off and on when things weren’t going so well at home. I lived a lot of places when things weren’t going so well at home. I have a few adopted mothers in this city. My friend Monica’s mom helped me out of some tough spots too. I used to spend every weekend over there, hanging out with Monica and her mom. Generosity of the heart should never be forgotten.”
Terry opens the door before Sky has a chance to even knock. Her excitement about the reunion proceeding before her body as she flings her arms around Sky’s neck. “Hey kid, it’s been a while! We missed you around here. I’m so glad to see you. You look thin. Don’t you eat in the big city? I’ll make you some food. So, who are your friends? Come on, come on, introduce me, introduce me.” Her impatience is adorable.
“This is my girlfriend Charlie, and my friend Tabby. We just had a huge lunch. I eat like a locust you know. High metabolisms run in my family. Don’t you recall me raiding your cupboards on a daily basis? I didn’t realize how much I missed you harassing me. It’s great to see you.” She kisses Terry on the cheek. “Can we come in or what? Where’s that kid of yours?”
The inside of the familiar house has been completely redecorated. Surprise possesses Sky’s body, and prohibits any further movement. “Wow mom! This place looks fabulous. When did you change everything? I love the new dining room.”
Terry throws her arm over Sky’s shoulder. “That’s nothing. Wait till you see the living room. I just love vertical blinds, don’t you?”
“Pretty fancy there hon. Purple is my favorite color.”
“Actually it’s more of a plum. Purple sounds so plain, don’t you think? Come on you three let’s get you a snack. Dad, Candy, and Kevin are in the kitchen. Everyone came over just to see you. Aimee should be back in a few minutes. I sent her out to get some milk. You can’t have mashed potatoes without milk. You all are having dinner here. Don’t know if Aimee told you. No arguments. When you come to visit me, you eat. I get to keep you for a little while.”
White cupboards hang above the winding ivy print of the wallpaper. The countertops are marbled green with white veins to match the ivy. Three modern dome lights hang in a row above the new island.
Aimee’s dad is siting on a stool in the corner near the phone with one hand raised to his chin as if he posed for ‘The thinker’ statue. Dad is a man of distinction and of short conversations. He very rarely puts his two cents in, more of an observer really. Sky was always drawn to him for that. People who didn’t ramble on and on fascinated her with their silence. She wondered what he was thinking about between his short lived input and comments. She liked him because he had a way of speaking up at precisely the right moment, and he was skilled at making fun of her. When he did throw a playful dig, it always caught her by surprise because it was never expected. That was dad, one of the great philosophers of modern times in Sky’s opinion. If only she could read the lines of brilliance behind his eyes. She knew that it was there. He just refused to share the secrets of life with the rest of humanity.
A lovely girl in her early twenties is mixing up a tray of homemade macaroni and cheese with potato chip topping at the counter. Her long dark hair pulled up and twisted into a school teacher style bun at the back of her head, a few strands sticking out from the knot like small shampooed spikes. She’s concentrating on her task, large metal spoon in hand. Charlie studies her for a second or two, admiring her pleasing features and dedication.
A handsome young man is sitting at the kitchen table, resting comfortably in one of the chairs. His relaxed posture is a tell tale sign that he is used to having company. He doesn’t even flinch when Tabitha shows up. That alone says something about his personality. The fact that none of them responded to the way that Tabitha looks says something about the entire family.
“Charlie, Tabby, this is Aimee’s brother Kevin, her sister Candace, and that’s dad over there. Talk amongst yourselves. I think I hear Aimee now. I’ll be right back.” Sky darts off to the front door to greet her friend, skipping across the floor like a four-year-old kid.
Tabitha extends her arm to shake Kevin’s hand first. “How’s it going? Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Nice place you got here, just redecorated I gather.”
Kevin’s deep voice breaks into the space, taking up a good portion of the room around him. “Hey Tabby. What’s up?” He smiles half a grin. Just enough to look cool, confident, and indifferent.
“Man of few words huh? Not that that’s a bad thing. Personally, I couldn’t say two words unless they were followed by a whole bunch more. Know what I mean?” She feels stupid instantly.
“Yep.”
“Okay, we’ll chat later I guess.” Tabitha pivots on one foot to greet the other strangers in the room, blushing like a schoolgirl. “Hello everyone. Ever had a Brooklynite in your house before? I just like saying that word. It’s fun isn’t it? I guess that makes you guys Buffalonians. Huh, two fun words. Feel free to jump in anytime Charlie. I’m drowning here. I’ve been in the room for less than thirty seconds, and these nice folks probably think that I’m a deranged lunatic, big bizarre and all.”
Candy looks up from her dish. “I like you already. My dad and Kevin don’t talk very much. Me, Aimee, and ma have to pick up the slack.”
Sky bounces back into the kitchen with her arm around Aimee’s waist. “This is my pal Aimee.” Enthusiasm is pouring out from her like liquid pours from a cartoon character who chugs a glass of water after sustaining several puncture wounds. “I’m so freaken happy, it’s ludicrous!”
The girl in Sky’s clutches bares a striking resemblance to someone that Charlie used to know. She stands several inches taller than Sky. Her eyes a dangerous mingling of fire and ice set in bronze hues, the color of smoldering timbers in late October. Her hair a mane of reddish-brown, falling about her shoulders in organized disarray, carefully brushed and then thrown to the four winds from her travels. A tie dye T-shirt draped over her powerful frame, and a black velvet choker with a golden ankh hugging her throat. “Hello.”
Charlie stands with her hands in her pockets thinking, “Oh my god. She could be Alexis’s sister. I don’t think that I’ll mention that to Sky, but wow! This is strange. Okay, I should probably say something.” She smiles casually. “Hello Aimee. Sky has told us a lot about you.” Still pondering the similarity, “Let’s hope that she doesn’t have the same personality as Alexis. That girl was a piece of work.”
The table is draped in a pure white tablecloth, a risky choice for a dinner party. Terry sets the table and a few places at the island. Seven people is three too many for the small table. “Everyone sit down. Dinner is served.” Terry shuffles by with a large bowl of mashed potatoes in her hands, still steaming hot from the pan that they were mashed in. “Tabby, I made you some fresh veggies. Sky tells me you don’t ‘dig’ poultry. Your words, not mine. Candy is a vegetarian too. We’re used to that around here.”
When Tabitha attempts to pull the chair out from the table to sit down the top of piece of the furniture separates from it’s spokes. “I think I broke your chair, sorry.” Looking at Terry, feeling like a pitiful puppy that had an accident on the carpet. “I can fix this. Everyone stand back, I’m a trained marine biologist…get me a tool belt, a paper clip, a piece of chewed bubble gum, and a lawyer worth her weight in gold.”
Kevin saunters over to the mild catastrophe and fits the two parts of the chair together with ease. “Happens all the time. I broke it first. Don’t worry.” Half-laughing at Tabitha and her joke.
“Thanks handsome, both for fixing it, and telling me that I didn’t break it. Nothing like walking into someone else’s house and busting up their belongings. Yikes!” She slops a huge spoonful of potatoes onto her plate. “Thanks for the supremo veggie banquet…Aimee’s mom. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name. I’m not even sure if anyone threw it at me. Did you know that the average American eats one and a half potatoes a day. I’m full of trivial information like that. I should stop watching so much t.v. Oooh, I’ll have some of them there macs and cheeses too. I’m on a cheese kick today. Cheese Danish, cheese and macaronies, cheese on my salad. My bones will never suffer from osteoporosis in my old age. This is be good yeah?”
The fierce laughter from Charlie causes her body to shake as she tries to pass the heavy bowl of noodles to Tabitha with both hands. “You crack me up. Have you ever behaved in your entire life? One thing about you honey, you never waiver from your nature for one minute. I admire that. You’re my hero. Trade you some cheese for the potatoes. I’ll pass these this way, and you pass those that way.”
Dad’s voice is taunting and low as it travels in Sky’ direction. “I thought it was your job to come over here and break things. Remember the lamp incident?”
“Yes dad I do recall that particular mishap. Okay, I’ll tell it one time for everyone who doesn’t know the story…When Aimee and I were about sixteen we snuck out to a party. I was completely trashed, and Aimee was trying to hold me up when we came back into the house. She had to put her hand over my mouth because I had misplaced my volume control button during the course of the evening. It was dark in the dining room. I tripped over the rocking chair, pulled the curtains off of the rod when I tried to catch myself, and sent the hurricane lamp crashing to the floor. If that wasn’t enough, I tried to clean it up with my sloppy drunk hands. All of the blood rushed to my head when I bent over. I fell flat on my face because my brain was on delay. I forgot to put my hands out in front of me. Thin shards of broken glass embedded into my arm, and I sustained a large brush burn on the better part of my forehead. Dad came downstairs in his sweatpants, turned on the overhead light, crossed his arms in disapproval, shook his head at us, and headed back up the stairs saying, “You owe me a lamp.” I was picking slivers of glass out of my skin for days, and I had to explain the abrasion to everyone at school. Naturally, my school mates, being as kind as most teenager, made fun of my relentlessly. It was a good look really. I told them that I was in a brawl to cover it up. Hey dad, I still owe you that lamp.”
Candy slams her glass on the island. She’s giggling uncontrollably. “I almost forgot about that! That was the funniest thing that ever happened around here. You ripped those curtains down so hard that the rod was dangling at the middle of the window. When I came downstairs in the morning you were passed out cold on the living room floor with that screaming brush burn on your face. It was all crusted over with dried blood. Your mouth was hanging wide open. You were drooling like a hound dog, and your arms were sticking straight out on both sides. It looked like a truck plowed through dining room, and ran you over. I had the urge to check your pulse, but then you started snoring and giggling. If I hadn’t seen you first, I might have called the police to tell them that someone tried to break into our house. How’s your forehead these days?”
“Nice going Sky. This must be your family. Only family would embarrass someone like that. I’m learning all kinds of things about you lately. This trip is kind of fun after all.” Charlie raises her eyebrows at Sky a few times, knowing that she had ammunition for future use. “That’s okay, who hasn’t disheveled their person or property at some point in their lives. I always wondered were those small scars in your arm came from. Whose the smooth operator now? That’s what you get for underage drinking. For shame, tsk, tsk. My image of you as a Saint is totally blown.”
“Oh look, it’s raining outside.” Sky says, trying desperately to change the subject to avoid further humiliation.