Home with My Sisters (23 page)

“You skate?” Roger shook his head. He offered the skate again to Josh.

“I suck,” Josh said. Roger grinned. His teeth were nicer than Josh expected.

“Fun,” Roger said. His voice was throaty, as if it had been packed away in a dusty attic for a dozen years.

“You'll have all the fun,” Josh said. “Watching me fall on my ass.”

Roger laughed. Austin stopped skating and stared. Josh shook his head and tore off his boot, then put on the skate. Roger was still laughing.

“If you're going, Big Dude, then so am I,” Harrison said, striding across the lawn. Brittany and Austin cheered. Harrison headed to the barn for a pair of skates. Josh had just finished lacing his left skate and was putting on the right when his great-grandmother came tearing out of the house. She had some speed on her for an old lady. She was wearing a nightdress and running in the freezing cold. Old people were crazy. They could do whatever they wanted and get away with it. She could shout out mean things, too, and nobody sent her to her room. His great-grandmother could drink whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, even for breakfast. It might not be so bad getting old.

“Yvette?” Austin said. “Are you okay?” Breathless, she ran to Roger, stood over him, staring. Roger stopped laughing and stared back. Yvette placed her hands on Roger's face.

“You laughed,” she said. “I saw you from the window. You were laughing.” Tears dripped down his grandmother's face. Roger just stared.

“You didn't know he could laugh?” Josh said.

“Yvette, you're going to freeze to death,” Austin said.

“Don't take your work home with you,” Yvette called to Austin. Josh felt his face flame red. He didn't dare look at Austin. If Austin said anything to anyone he was going to kick his ass.

“I laughed,” Roger said. Yvette started to cry harder. God, these people were weird. It made him think of his grandma Carla. She was old, too, but she wasn't crazy. Just fun. He wished she were here instead of in Cuba. Maybe he'd call her. Maybe she would know how to get her daughter to stop cheating on her husband. Now that would be a Christmas miracle. Josh wobbled out to the pond and stepped onto the ice. Too bad it wasn't fall. If it was fall, the ice would crack, and maybe he would fall through. He could definitely see himself going under and never coming back up. They'd be so sorry. They would all be so sorry.

* * *

When the Garland Girls arrived at the property, Hope was surprised to see Austin and Harrison skating with the kids. She wanted to join them.

“No,” Faith said before they'd even gotten out of the car. “This is a perfect time to sneak into the hot tub.”

“Maybe another time,” Hope said.

“Not a chance,” Faith said. “You're the one always insisting that the three of us do things together, so you're getting in that hot tub and drinking one of your own cocktails whether you like it or not.”

“Shazam!” Joy said.

“I'm not making cocktails before noon,” Hope said.

“Then don't,” Faith said. “But you're getting in that hot tub if we have to wrestle you in.”

“Fine,” Hope said. “But you'd better take the blame if Brittany is upset.”

“I'll get the booze,” Joy said. “You guys don't have swimsuits with you, do you?”

“No,” Faith said. “Bra and panties, underneath winter coat. Once the hot tub is cooking we'll slip our coats off and get in. We'll make sure we have enough towels, and when we're done we'll just race for the house.” Faith and Joy giggled. Hope wanted to skate and she definitely didn't want to drink, but she also didn't want to leave Joy and Faith alone to bond and share deep secrets without her. That's why twenty or so minutes later she was actually slipping into the hot tub in her bra and panties. The hot water enveloped her, but every inch of skin exposed to the cold tingled. Hope soon wished she'd made cocktails. Joy held up a bottle of whiskey, drank, and passed it to Faith. Faith drank and passed it to Hope.

“We have to stay in here until that bottle is gone!” Joy exclaimed.

Hope groaned and took the tiniest sip possible. “Again,” Faith said. The two of them, little pushers. Hope was saved by Joy grabbing the bottle out of her hands.

“So,” Joy said, turning to Faith after the bottle had gone around twice. “Who is he?”

Faith sank deeper into the hot tub. “What?”

“You can't tell us you're having an affair and not give us details,” Joy said. “Who is he?”

“Just someone,” Faith said.

“Don't you trust us?” Joy said.

“Are you in love?” Hope said.

Faith's face opened up. “I think I am,” she said. “Oh, I really am.” Then, she started to cry. “How can I do this? How can I destroy my husband? My kids?”

“Is it too late?” Hope said. “Can you make things work?”

Faith slowly shook her head. “No, even if it weren't for Charlie I would leave Stephen. He's so great. Just not great for me.”

“And Charlie is?” Hope asked.

“Oh yes. Charlie is a total match for me.”

“Who is Charlie?” Joy pressed.

“We met at a book club,” Faith said. “Can you imagine?”

“Were you reading
Fifty Shades of Grey
?” Joy asked.

“Of course not,” Faith said. “We were reading something sophisticated and literary.”

“You can't even remember what it was, can you?” Hope asked.

Faith laughed. “I can't remember a word of it, or what it's called. Except that I hated it and Charlie loved it.”

“How long have you been seeing him?” Joy asked.

“Four months,” Faith said. “And we're still in the honeymoon phase.”

“Do you have a picture?” Hope asked.

“In my phone,” Faith said. “I'll show you when we're not in a hot tub. Although I think I should tell you—”

“MOM!” Brittany was racing across the lawn toward them.

“We've been spotted,” Hope said, ducking down. “Act sober.”

“Act sober,” Joy mimicked.

“Act sober,” Faith said. They dissolved into laughter again. The snow was coming down harder now. Brittany was a blur running toward them.

“It's snowing!” Joy cried out, her face turned to the sky.

“Mom?” Brittany said, coming to a stop near the deck and looking up at them.

“Baby!” Faith said.

“Hey, kiddo,” Hope said. “You went skating, huh?”

“Are you guys drunk?” Brittany said.

“We're just terrible actors,” Joy said. She and Faith dissolved into giggles.

“I'm not,” Hope said.
Only slightly tipsy.

“We are, honey,” Faith said. “We are so drunk.” She splashed Joy and Joy splashed back.

Hope got out of the tub. God, it was like ice! She reached for a towel and hurriedly dried herself. She turned to grab her coat. Austin was standing next to Brittany staring up at her. “Oh!” Hope said. “I didn't know you were there.” She hurriedly put on her coat as Joy and Faith cackled behind her. Austin's mouth was hanging open.

“She's looking good, don't you think?” Faith said.

“She's hot,” Joy said. “Don't you think, Austin?”

“Stop it!” Hope's face flamed.

“Are they drunk?” Austin said.

“We are so drunk,” Joy said. Hope shoved on her boots, hat, and scarf and jumped off the deck. She headed for the house.

“Are we just going to leave them there?” Brittany asked.

“It's a heck of a lot nicer than what I'd like to do to them,” Hope said.

CHAPTER 24

Josh couldn't believe his mother and Aunt Joy were acting so silly. Like children with their squealing and giggling and inside jokes. And yet, it gave him the exact opportunity he was looking for. She'd left her cell phone in the house, on her bed. Josh had passed by the room several times now and he was pretty sure no one was paying any attention. Hope was making dinner; the smell of roast chicken filled the air. Brittany and Austin were building a snowman right by the window. Roger was watching them. Granny was on the sofa wrapped in blankets, drinking tea—although Josh had seen her pour whiskey into it—and Harrison was playing solitaire. And just as he had entered his mother's room and was about to grab her phone, she and Joy came whooping through the front door. He didn't want to risk taking it now. He hurried out of the room, down the stairs, and grabbed his coat from the mudroom. He was going to be wherever his mother was not as often as he could. At least until his dad could straighten this mess out. And that wasn't going to happen until he got Charlie's number off the phone. For now he was going to video call his grandmother in Florida. Maybe they hadn't headed off for Cuba yet. He took his iPad past the dorky snowman and to the side of the house. Roger was only a few feet away putting up more Christmas decorations. He waved at Josh, but then went back to minding his own business. Josh pulled up the info for Grandma Carla and tried to reach her.

“Joshua!” He heard Grandma Carla's voice first and watched as her face appeared on the screen. She looked tanned and smiling. He wanted to live with her.

“Hi, Grandma,” he said. “Mom is drunk.”

“Good for her,” his grandmother said with a wink. She held up a frozen drink. “I'm working on it.”
God, my family is weird.
“Is it snowing there?” she asked, leaning forward. She was in a swimsuit, on a sailboat.

“Are you in Cuba?” he asked, squinting.

“No, that didn't work out. God, this society and their rules. Fernando needing ID and a permanent address to travel. The Bohemian spirit is disappearing. This planet belongs to all of us. Mark my words, there's going to be a revolution. We'll go to Cuba next year, Joshie; you'll come too.”

“Can I drink rum?”

“Of course. It'll put hair on your chest.”

“Can I live with you?”

Grandma Carla didn't answer the question. Instead, she leaned forward as if trying to enter the screen. “Is that snow I see behind you?”

“Yeah,” he said. “There's a ton of it.”

“God bless,” she said.

“I'd rather live with you. In Florida. Can I?”

“Wouldn't your parents miss you?” Carla was still leaning close to the screen.

Josh shrugged.

“Well, show me this ski lodge.” Josh began to pan the camera around to the house.

“Yvette in a place like that,” Grandma Carla said.

“They have twenty acres here,” Josh said.

“How much will the girls sell it for?”

“I dunno,” Josh said.

“Has to be worth a fortune. Has the witch said anything bad about me?”

“Granny?”

“Is that what you call her?”

Josh shrugged. “That's what Mom and Joy call her.”

“She's not your grandmother. Not in the real sense of the word.”

“Okay.”

“You can tell me. Has she said anything nasty about me?”

“I don't know,” Josh said. “I don't get to hear everything.”

“Have you heard how much the place is worth? Maybe we can buy a yacht and we can all sail to Cuba next year.”

“Joy wants to buy a coffee shop in Seattle across from another coffee shop.”

“Of course she does.”

“She has a new boyfriend. He's black. I like him.”

“Did Granny freak out? She always was a . . .” She stopped, then shook her head. “Never mind. What's his name?”

“Harrison.”

“I'm happy for her. I hope she doesn't hurt him.”

“He's bigger than she is,” Josh said.

His grandmother laughed. “I meant break his heart, darling. Joy goes through men like . . .” She stopped again. “How old are you again, Joshua?”

“Fifteen.”

“Ah. Well, you're old enough then, aren't you?”

“I guess.”

“I would love to talk to Granny,” his grandmother said. “I bet she'd keel over this instant if you showed her my face onscreen.” Grandma Carla sat back and lit a cigarette, as if really waiting for Josh to show Granny his iPad.

Josh frowned. He really didn't want to make Granny keel over. “I think she's taking a nap,” he said.

Carla flicked her cigarette and shrugged. “Well, tell her I say hello at least. We can start small.”

“Sure.”

“Twenty acres, and a ski lodge. Good Lord, I never would have guessed. She married rich. Funny. She hated me for marrying her son for love.”

“I think they have to share the place,” Josh said.

“Share? Share with who?”

Josh panned the camera over to Roger. “Roger. He works here.” He brought the camera back to his face. “Do you want me to go inside and show you how drunk Mom is?”

“Just a minute,” his grandmother said. She put her drink down, crushed out her cigarette, removed her sunglasses, and unfolded her legs until her bare feet were on the floor of the sailboat. She moved her face closer to the screen.

Josh instinctively pushed the iPad back. “What's wrong?”

“Dear heart. Will you bring the camera closer to that man?”

“Roger?”

“Roger,” his grandmother said. “Yes. Will you bring the camera closer to Roger?”

Josh glanced up. Roger was already looking at him. Why would his grandmother want to see him? “He's kind of creepy,” Josh said. “I heard Granny say he was in a car accident.”

“When?”

Josh shrugged. “I think a long time ago. I was listening, but I didn't hear everything.”

“He said his name was Roger?”

“Granny said. He doesn't talk much.”

“He lives in the house?”

“No, in a cabin. I've never gone in it.”

“What has he said?”

Why was she so interested? Maybe she didn't want him around her grandchildren if he was creepy. “I think he hurt his brain. He doesn't talk much. I don't want to get closer.”

“He's got a beard, and a cap, and sunglasses,” his grandmother said.

“So?” Josh said.

“Sorry. I'm just . . .” His grandmother was clasping her hands together, staring at the screen. “Pan over again, like you're showing me the scenery.”

Josh sighed, then did as she asked. Roger turned his face away, so he zoomed in on the back of him. Just then, Roger turned his head toward the phone. That ought to give her a good look. After a few seconds Josh turned around and pretended to pan the rest of the place. When he turned to see his grandmother again, he was surprised to see tears spilling out of her eyes.

“Grandma Carla? What's the matter?”

“Are they all drunk?” she said.

“Aunt Hope doesn't seem like she's drunk. She's making dinner.”

“I need to talk to her,” his grandmother said. “Right away.” He didn't even get a chance to tell her that his mom was cheating on his dad. What was the big deal about Roger? He was the one who called his grandmother, and she didn't even want to talk to him.

“Okay,” Josh said. “I'll take you inside.” Josh stepped inside. Granny scolded him and told him to come in through the front entrance so he could take off his boots. He thought he heard his grandmother call her a witch. “Where's Aunt Hope?” he said, glancing at the empty kitchen.

“She's taking a shower,” Granny said. “Now go around front.” Josh closed the door and headed around to the front.

“Aunt Hope is in the shower,” he said.

“Tell her to call me the minute she's out,” his grandmother said. “Tell her it's urgent.”

“Okay,” he said. “Well, nice talking to you.”

“Let me talk to Granny.”

Uh-oh. What had he done? Grandma Carla sounded strange. Was she mad?

“Okay, bye,” Josh said, then pushed END. Oh boy. He made her cry. Then he made her mad. And then he hung up. He'd pretend it was an accident next time he talked to her. He shut off his iPad in case she tried to call back. Why was he always messing things up? It wasn't really his fault, though. It was Roger. Roger made her cry. Why would Roger make her cry? Did she feel sorry for him for being brain-damaged? Someone else was always getting the attention around here.

* * *

By the time Hope showered and dressed and came down for dinner, Faith and Joy were passed out on the sofa, snoring like a couple of old men. Brittany was soon at Hope's side, helping her set the table. Faith had found some holiday-themed plates in the china cabinet and was using ones with snowmen on them.

“I can't believe you went sledding without me,” Brittany said. She sounded truly hurt. Hope forgot how painful everything could be when you were a kid.

“Your mom wanted to make sure it was safe first,” Hope said. That sounded way better than
Your mom was so loaded we could have talked her into anything.

“Austin skated with me,” Brittany said.

“Was it fun?”

“It was so much fun,” Brittany said, jumping up and down.

“Sounds wonderful. I can't wait to skate with you.”

“Austin is a really good skater.”

Hope smiled, but she didn't want to start thinking about Austin, and she definitely wasn't going to replay the look she saw on his face when he saw her in her wet bra and panties; she'd save that for tonight when she was alone and could daydream. “Did Josh skate?”

“He just slumped on the bench at first, but then Roger got him to skate.”

“Roger got him to skate?”

“And he laughed.”

“Josh?”

“Roger. And Granny came running out of the house because she heard Roger laughing.”

“Oh.” Sounded like a nice enough afternoon. “Where is Josh?”

“It wasn't my turn to babysit him,” Brittany said.

“Funny,” Hope said. They finished setting the table. Brittany counted the plates.

“Who all is coming?”

“You, me, Josh.”

“That's three.”

“Granny, Faith, Joy.”

“Six. Harrison is seven.”

“And Austin and Roger.”

“Nine,” Brittany said, confirming the number. She turned her head to the window. “You think he'll come inside?”

Hope didn't have to ask who she meant. “I'm hoping he will.”

“I like him too. He's nice. A little weird. But nice.”

“Do you want to go ask him if he'll come in for dinner?”

Brittany's eyes widened. “Me?”

“If you feel comfortable. And can you find your brother while you're at it?”

“It's snowing and cold out there.”

Hope laughed. “I'll go with you.”

“Okay.”

Harrison was watching television in between the snoring women. Hope asked him to keep an eye on the oven; then she and Brittany bundled up. Hopefully Austin would answer his cell phone and all they would have to do was find Roger and Josh.

“It's really coming down,” Hope said the minute they stepped outside. She turned to Brittany. “Why don't you go back in, sweetie. I didn't realize it was this bad.” Brittany looped her arm in Hope's.

“I want to stay with you.”

“I don't want you to get frostbite.”

“I don't want
you
to get frostbite.”

“I'll be quick.” She turned Brittany around and gently shoved her toward the door. “We'll go sledding all day when this clears up. I promise.”

“If you're not back in twenty minutes I'm coming back out,” Brittany said.

“I'm just going to find Roger and Josh,” Hope said.

“Twenty minutes,” Brittany said.

“Yes, ma'am. Put on Christmas carols and see if you wake up the sleeping beauties,” Hope said. She pulled her hood tighter and sank into the snow. It almost covered her entire boot, at least a foot already. She hadn't been paying attention to the weather, and wondered how much they were in for. It was starting to get dark, and the wind was whistling through the trees something fierce. It was stunning, and sharp, and bitter, and beautiful.

“Josh?” she called. “Joshua?” She headed for the barn. Just beyond it was Roger's cabin. She thought about calling Austin first, but that would mean taking her cell phone out of her pocket and taking her gloves off to dial. Roger had plugged in the tree, and the mechanical creatures, and although the falling snow had rendered all the lights a bit fuzzy, Hope felt a surge of Christmas spirit. Maybe that's what they all needed, to get snowed in for a few days and work out their differences. Or maybe they'd kill one another and their bodies wouldn't be discovered until a spring thaw.

“Josh?” she yelled into the wind. “It's Hope. Come in for dinner.” She stopped. Snow swirled all around. “Roger? Roger, are you out here?” His cabin was in view now, but she didn't see any lights on. Did he sit in there in the dark? Surely it was too early for bed.

“Hope?” She turned at the sound of Austin's voice to find him running toward her. “It's a blizzard. What are you doing?”

“Josh is out here. And I wanted to invite Roger to dinner.”