SAMANTHA UNLOCKED HER FRONT DOOR and staggered inside with a slightly dazed and happy look on her face, like a person who has just had her brain cells shaken and stirred from a long bout of excellent sex. Which, in her case, was completely accurate.
She was startled out of her reverie when she walked into the kitchen and found her sister sitting at the table, staring at an untouched glass of wine, looking like she was trying to find the cause of all her problems in the red liquid. Samantha frowned. It was far too early in the day for her sister to be drinking alcohol.
Kimberly turned her head as she sensed her sister enter the room, but immediately went back to staring into her glass.
“Why didn’t you come home last night?” She asked.
Samantha stopped, looked at her sister, then grabbed a glass from the cabinet and began to pour herself some wine, too. “I thought Scott told you,” she said. “Someone tried to break into the shop last night.”
“Yes. Scott told me.” Kimberly sounded bitter. “My question remains the same: why didn’t you come home?”
Samantha carefully sat down across from her sister. “I was with Brian. Brian took me home.”
“No,” Kimberly hissed, “Brian did not take you home. He took you back to his place. Why didn’t you come back here?”
Samantha’s brows rose. “Brian wanted to take care of me, and I wanted to let him. Why are you so mad? Shouldn’t I have done what I wanted to do to feel better? I was almost assaulted, in case you don’t get it.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Kimberly said. “I’m also your sister, and your first thought should have been to let me know you’re okay, not go home with a boyfriend whose phone number I don’t even have!”
“What is your problem, Kimberly? I had a hard night, and all you can do is yell at me!”
Kimberly lowered her voice an octave. “My problem is that I was very concerned about you, and you didn’t even see fit to call me and tell me you’re okay. It was more important that your boyfriend knew it.”
Samantha looked down, contrite. “I’m sorry I didn’t call. You’re right, I should have. I just thought, since Brian told me you called and spoke to him–”
“I didn’t want to speak to Brian. I wanted to speak to you. God, Samantha, why are you letting your boyfriend come between us?”
“I’m not, Kimberly,” Samantha said, surprised. “I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about. You were right, I should have called, and I apologize again for that. But I have no idea why you’re taking this as an excuse to be so pissed off at me.”
Kimberly leaned over the table. “No man should come between us, Sam. Not your boyfriend, and not mine. We’re sisters, we need to stick together.”
Samantha made some quick deductions. “Kim, did something happen between you and Scott? Did you two have another fight? Is that what this is really all about?”
At that, Kimberly rose from the table. “I don’t want to talk about Scott. He and I are having issues, but he has nothing to do with this.”
“Neither does Brian,” Samantha shot back, coming to stand next to her sister. “So you want to tell me the real reason you’re so pissed off?”
Kimberly’s voice fell to barely above a whisper. “I just want you to consider my feelings, my view, the same way I do yours. I know sometimes it looks like things come easy for you, even when you don’t want them to, and I know you don’t always mean the things you do–”
“Kimberly, what the hell are you talking about?”
“–but I was really concerned about you last night, and having to hear what happened from Scott…that was not the way I should have found out.”
Samantha studied her sister’s face, then sighed. “You’re right. I really am sorry. Look, why don’t you let me take you out for dinner? No boyfriends allowed. Just the two of us. You can see for yourself that I’m okay, and we can catch up a little.”
Finally, Kimberly smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
As Kimberly changed to go out, Samantha texted Brian to let him know where she going and why. She had told him she’d spend the evening at home, as per his orders. But something was going on with Kimberly, and it was possible the only person who could help her sort through it was her older sister.
