Sisters Margo and Susie have learned to bury their differences and present a united front to the world. Although the sisters could not be more different, they have willingly come together to fulfill a request-to sit for a portrait for their parents' up
Sisters
And Other Fast FictionBy Marilyn Kingabbott press
Copyright © 2012 Marilyn King
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4582-0334-2Contents
Sisters......................................1It Happened One Night........................7The Pious David Billings.....................11Fred's Christmas Cruise......................15Lauren.......................................19The Dinner Party.............................23Marylou......................................25Red Admirals.................................27Fishing with Worms...........................31New Year's Eve...............................35The Picnic...................................41The Little Red House.........................45Making up a Quilt............................51Home for Christmas...........................59The Lottery Ticket...........................65The Diagnosis................................69Moving Day...................................75Pie Recipes..................................81About the Author.............................91
Chapter One
SISTERS
Luis gets everything ready for his late afternoon appointment. His lanky body glides around his studio in a black turtleneck and slacks. With bony hands that hover over his palette, he checks the order of his paints. Titanium white, then buff; cadmium yellow, then red; burnt sienna; Prussian blue; and Payne's Grey. He will only work on skin color today. The details of the painting will come in later sessions. His brushes stand in a large ceramic jar. A round and a flat, both size 12; and a dozen or more filberts in graduated sizes. Luis is partial to filberts for their ability to paint broad and thin strokes equally well. Satisfied that everything is arranged to his liking, he retires to the back.
In a cab, on their way to see Luis, are sisters Margo and Susie. At thirty-nine, Margo is the older of the two. Married once to an undependable sort, she is convinced that men are useless. She is never late for an appointment, and pays all of her bills on the day they arrive. Margo is proud of her orderly life.
Her little sister, Susie, is thirty-five. She never married, preferring to enjoy serial monogamous relationships. The duration of some of these puts a strain on the word monogamous. She does find men to be quite useful. They share their bed with her, take her out on the town, and buy her pretty things. One of her boyfriends, a plastic surgeon, sculpted her face and torso to proportions he felt he would enjoy more fully. That benefit, to Susie's delight, outlasted their time together.
The sisters had their issues, growing up, as most sisters do. With their parents' guidance, however, they learned to bury their differences, and present a united front to the world. They gradually grew apart after leaving home to go to college. Margo attended a prestigious university. Susie chose the city college. They have both settled in their hometown, but work and live in different areas of the city. What brings them together today is a request by their parents that they have a joint portrait of the two of them done for an upcoming fiftieth anniversary. The parents will arrange for payment. The sisters' job is to find an artist and get the job done.
"Who is this guy you found, and what do you know about him?" asks Margo.
Susie gives the question some thought. "I told the girls at the office what we were looking for, and Jill – you remember Jill, don't you, from my cheerleading days? The guy's name is Luis and he paints only portraits. Jill's parents had Luis do a painting of her, and she says it's fabulous." She looks up suddenly, "Oh, I think we're here."
Susie jumps out and starts up the stairs of the brownstone, while Margo pays the cabbie. Luis comes from behind a curtain when he hears the bell on the front door. Margo doesn't know why, but one look at Luis makes her feel that he knows more about her and her sister than the little information they have already shared.
There are the usual introductions, after which Margo says," Luis, you come well recommended. What it is about your work that is special?"
"My portraits are not pure representation," he explains. "They are impressionistic. Everyone sees something different, because they bring something different with them with which to view."
The girls look at each other. Margo cocks her head in a thoughtful way. "C'mon, Margo," pleads Susie, "it sounds like fun."
"Okay," Margo agrees, "I guess I'm game."
Luis is reserved in his manner, but Margo senses that he is very pleased. Susie seems oblivious to the vibes that Margo is receiving.
They arrange to sit for Luis once a week for four weeks. This is perfect, as it gives them time to get the portrait framed before the anniversary bash they promised their parents they would attend.
As the work progresses, both girls notice something unusual about the portrait, but, because of the nature of their discoveries, choose to keep to themselves. When Margo looks at the painting after a sitting, she feels that she is portrayed as stately and handsome. Her eyes are steady, her enigmatic smile akin to that of Mona Lisa. A really good portrayal. Her sister, unfortunately, comes across as rundown and coarse. Her hair is stringy. All the bleach she's endured for years has taken its toll. Her eyes have a vacant stare. It stands to reason that when you party more than you sleep, it shows.
When Susie looks at it, she feels that she looks quite beautiful. Her eyes shine, as does her hair. Her skin has a peaches and cream glow. An excellent portrait. Her sister, however, looks dull, dried up, and definitely unattractive. Wrinkles are the most noticeable thing about her face. Her hair looks lank and dark against her pallid complexion. She should not try to keep it such a dark brown. She never did know how to enhance what little she had to start with.
Luis moves effortlessly through all of this as he works. Sometimes a smile plays on his face, but most of the time he paints with complete concentration. Margo senses that he is aware of their pleasure, yet never discusses it. Again, Susie seems to notice nothing remarkable about Luis's reactions.
Susie revels in her appraisal of the portrait. Margo always got anything she wanted from their mother. She was Miss Goody-Two-Shoes with excellent grades. If she said she had to study, she was never asked to help around the house. You had to practically tiptoe around her room, so as not to disturb. If she wanted something sewed or washed on the spur of the moment, her mother was always there for her. Susie thinks it serves her right to look old and ugly in their joint picture.
Margo is happy to see Susie in an unfavorable light. When they were growing up, she had their dad wound around her little finger. If she wanted someone to take her somewhere, or lend her some money, Daddy was always there. To be called Susie in the first place was ridiculous. Susie's name is really Susannah, but as soon as she came home from the hospital, her parents started calling her Susie. It was enough to make you sick to your stomach. Yes, Margo is glad Susie doesn't look so cute in their portrait.
The more they sit, the more these impressions and feelings are enforced. The end result is that both sisters absolutely love the painting.
Margo and Susie again share a cab to pick up the finished work. On their ride, Margo receives a text message giving them the shocking news that their parents have been killed in a car accident. Of course, there will be a funeral. Of course, there will not be a fiftieth anniversary party.
Margo speaks first, "What will we do about the painting?"
Susie answers, "Yes, what happens to it now?"
Margo decides, "I'll take the portrait home with me. With your transient life-style, it would only be a burden."
"Oh no," cries Susie, "I love that painting. I need to have it no matter how many times I have to move it."
When they arrive at the studio, they are unresolved, but agree not to argue in front of Luis. They breeze in, get the painting and depart, hardly saying anything to him. Looking undisturbed, but with a satisfied smile on his face, he walks to the front window to watch them leave.
The discord resumes as soon as they are out the door. They erupt into an actual tug-of-war, each sister clutching an end of the painting. Susie manages to move the canvas toward her. Just as she thinks it's in her grasp, Margo comes up with a mighty pull that sends it back her way. She wasn't ready for her success, and she stumbles, pulling Susie with her. Losing control of the portrait, they fall against an iron fence. Spokes of the fence pierce the painting at two points - the faces of both girls.
"Look what you've done," screams Margo. "You've ruined the only decent thing we've ever accomplished together."
"What I've done?" yells Susie. "You think you're so perfect that you've never been able to see what your faults are. If you had just let me have it, this wouldn't have happened."
The door to the studio opens, and Luis rushes down the stairs. In his outstretched hands are two packages in brown wrappers. "I saw everything. Don't worry your pretty little heads. I took the liberty to make two identical Giclee prints. Here is one for each of you. From me. No extra charge. Now, go home and enjoy."
Margo and Susie thank Luis profusely, offering hugs and air kisses. They awkwardly turn toward each other for sisterly hugs. Neither notices Luis slip back into the gallery as the interior lights go prematurely dark.
Pleased with the turn of events, the sisters leave in separate taxis. Margo, who lives the furthest away, opens her package in the back of the cab. She finds it curious that she no longer looks better than her sister. In fact, her sister is beginning to look quite nice. What could be happening?
Susie, who does not live far, waits until she is home to open hers. As soon as she drops her coat and gloves, she spreads out her painting. What's this? She no longer looks as good as she did in the original. And Margo does not look as bad.
Both sisters decide they need to see the picture the other one possesses. Then they remember what Luis said in the beginning: "Everyone sees something different when they look at my work, because they bring something different with them with which to view." And, yes, they understand. It won't make any difference which painting they look at. It is they, the viewers, who make the difference.
Margo and Susie each end up storing the rolled up portraits in the back of a closet. They never speak of them again, but they can't resist getting them out now and then to see how they appear, and how their sister looks, on that particular day.
Shortly after Margo receives her Giclee print, she takes a cab back to Luis's studio. She has the cab stop so she can go in to talk to Luis about the paintings. She turns the knob on the door and finds it locked. Bits of old newspaper swirl at her feet. The place is shuttered tight with the appearance of having been closed for years. She cups her hands to her face to try to see through the front window, but it is so grimy she can't see anything inside. She finds it unsettling that there is no way she can unravel the mystery surrounding Luis.
She feels especially short-changed after spending valuable time on the portrait project. Her bitterness grows as her portrayal in the painting grows darker and less attractive. She deeply resents the fact that Susie's part of the painting looks better and better. She will never frame and hang her painting.
Susie, on the other hand, uses her painting to gauge her progress at becoming a more generous person. When she does something nice for someone else, instead of thinking only of herself, she is pleased with her image in the painting. She pays less and less attention to that of her sister.
She is considering having her copy framed and hung. It is just as well if Margo never knows about that.
Luis is busy setting up a studio in a town far from where Margo and Susie live. He hums to himself as he readies everything for his first client.
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
Bud charges into his cramped studio apartment. His face is flushed. Sweat circles are growing in his armpits. He is met by his cat Nick. "Hey, Nick, have I got something to tell you." Bud feeds his cat before sitting down. "Remember I told you I got that job as a fireman? Well, guess what? New firemen get to train at the Pink Palace, that old dilapidated hotel that Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert used to stay in when they were in town. Tonight's the night I get to train."
Bud pulls one photocopy from an overflowing box. It is a layout of the rooms that Claudette used at the Palace. He pins it on the bulletin board next to the advertising poster for It Happened One Night. Bud taped that movie a long time ago, and watched it so many times that the tape is wearing out. He needs to find a DVD.
Bud slams out the door and runs for his truck. He is relieved to get this job. He's been out of work since he was caught reading movie magazines at his last hire. Bud has always considered a job to be a nuisance. Something that just gets in the way of what he is really interested in. Movies, of course, but not just any movies. He likes old movies. Movies where the men are suave, the women are glamorous, and the love story always ends up right in the end. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe he won't get fired.
As he enters the locker room, his boss Frank yells, "You're late, Bud. Get suited up and on the truck pronto! We're ready to roll." Frank is a no-nonsense kind of a guy with a square face and a shock of dark grey hair. Bud knows better than to ignore him.
"Yes, sir," replies Bud.
When they get to the site, there are four trucks ahead of them, but the chief motions them to the front. "Your team's up, Frank. Get your guys lined up at the retracting ladder."
Bud jumps off the truck and reports to Frank. "Bud, you're second to do the climb. Before you start, watch Joe as he crawls up the ladder and into the window so you can see how it's done. Everyone, listen up. This is a grope-in-the-dark drill. I don't want to see any lights. Find your rescue dummy and take him to the ladder. Someone from the second team will be there to help you. Make your way down the south stairs and come out the center door. OK, Joe, go.
Bud watches as Joe goes up, but doesn't pay attention like he should. He's too excited. He's never been able to get into the old, boarded up building to look around. He has done research at the library. After studying the layout of the building in some old architectural drawings, he knows approximately how many steps it will take to get to Claudette's suite. It will be dark, but at least he will be able to stand there for a moment or two.
Bud dispatches his dummy quickly. He turns to trace his way to Claudette's place. He gets to the door and enters. Feeling along the walls, he gropes his way into the largest bedroom and then into the walk-in closet. As soon as he enters, a light comes on.
"Whoa," he says. The walls look freshly painted. The trim has a satin sheen. Bud sees clothing hanging on two sides. Women's silk slacks and shirts are on one side; men's on the other. Bud wonders what is going on. Then he realizes that he has on light tan pleated slacks with a white long-sleeved shirt. He looks around for his fire suit and gear, but they are gone. He forgets all about the fire drill.
He walks through the bedroom into the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. With his wavy dark hair, he looks like Clark Gable. "I don't know what's happening," he says to his reflection, "but I intend to enjoy it, whatever it is."
Bud finds the living room and is admiring an enormous crystal chandelier and opulent satin drapes when Claudette walks into the room. "I heard you come in Clark, so I poured us our favorite martini."
Bud is stunned at seeing Claudette Colbert in person. She wears a silk blouse and slacks, similar to those hanging in the closet. She strides into the room in strappy high-heels. With a toss of her head, she commands Bud's attention. She sits on the curved, brocaded white sofa and pats the seat next to her, "Come sit by me and tell me what you've been up to."
Bud knows he has to calm down. Get his excitement under control so that he can enjoy what is happening. Now, thinking of himself as Clark Gable, he touches his glass to Claudette's. "Here's to you, kid, the prettiest star I almost got to sleep with." They both laugh. Bud knows that neither Claudette nor Clark enjoyed making It Happened, but it made both of them a mint.
Bud's mind races. He must be in an alternate world. Maybe he can stay in this life and give up his old one. This is what he has always wanted.
As if she can read his thoughts, Claudette announces, "You don't have to leave, you know. I have two bedrooms and baths, so we can be together whenever we want, and have privacy when we prefer. What do you say, Clark? At least think about it. I'll call our favorite restaurant, Mattison's. We can wear dark glasses, and I'll put a scarf over my hair, so no one will recognize us."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Sistersby Marilyn King Copyright © 2012 by Marilyn King. Excerpted by permission of abbott press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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