Between Sisters Part 19

Gina looked at her. "I'm surprised you could get away from the office. I hear you're the best divorce attorney in Seattle."

"I wouldn't miss Claire's wedding."

"I know a divorce attorney. She's good at breaking up families."

"That's what we do."

A look pa.s.sed through Gina's eyes. Her voice softened. "Do you ever put them back together?"

"Not often."

Gina's face seemed to fall; it crumpled like an old paper bag, and Meghann understood. "You're going through a divorce."

Gina tried valiantly to smile. "Just finished it, actually. Tell me it'll get better."

"It will," Meg said softly. "But it may take a while. There are several support groups that might help you." She started to reach into her purse.

"I've got the Bluesers to cry with, but thank you. I appreciate the honesty. Now let's go upstairs and find your sister the perfect wedding dress."

"In Hayden?"

Gina laughed at that and led Meg upstairs. By the time they got there, Claire was already wearing the first dress. It had huge leg-of-mutton sleeves, a sweetheart neckline, and a skirt that looked like an upside-down teacup. Meg sat down in an ornate white wicker chair. Gina stood behind her.

"Oh, my. That's lovely," Abigail said, "and it's thirty-three percent off."

Claire stood in front of a three-paneled full-length mirror, turning this way and that.

"It's very princesslike," Charlotte said.

Claire looked at Meg. "What do you think?"

Meghann wasn't sure what was expected of her. Honesty or support. She took another look at the dress and knew support was impossible. "Of course the dress is on sale. It's hideous."

Claire climbed down from the platform and went in search of a different dress.

At her exit, Charlotte and Abigail looked at Meghann. Neither woman was smiling.

She'd been too honest-a common flaw-and now she was suspect. The outsider.

She would not not comment on the next dress. She absolutely would not. comment on the next dress. She absolutely would not.

"What do you think?" Claire asked a few moments later.

Meg squirmed in her chair. Was this a joke? The dress looked like something you'd wear to a formal hoedown. Maybe the Country Music Awards. The only thing missing was a beaded milking pan. The dress was ugly. Period. And cheap-looking, to boot.

Claire studied herself in the mirror, again turning this way and that. Then she turned to look at Meghann. "You're awfully quiet."

"It's the vomit backing up in my throat. I can't talk."

Claire's smile froze. "I take it that's a negative."

"A cheap dress from the Bon Marche is a negative. That piece of lace-festooned s.h.i.t is a get-me-the-h.e.l.l-out-of-here-you've-lost-your-mind thing."

"I think you're being a bit harsh," Abigail said, puffing up like a colorful blowfish.

"It's her wedding wedding," Meg said. "Not a tryout for Little House on the Prairie. Little House on the Prairie."

"My sister is always harsh," Claire said quietly, walking back into the dressing room.

Meghann sighed. She'd screwed up again, wielded her opinion like a blunt instrument to the back of the head. She hunkered down in her chair and clamped her mouth shut.

The remainder of the afternoon was a mind-wrecking parade of cheap dresses. One after another, Claire zipped in, got opinions, and zipped out. She didn't again ask for Meghann's opinion, and Meghann knew better than to offer it. Instead, she leaned back in her chair and rested her head against the wall.

A jab in the rib cage woke her up. She blinked, leaned forward. Charlotte, Abigail, and Claire were walking away from her, talking animatedly until they disappeared into a room marked Hats and Veils. Hats and Veils.

Gina was staring at her. "I'd heard you could be a b.i.t.c.h, but falling asleep while your sister tries on wedding dresses is pretty rude."

Meghann wiped her eyes. "It was the only way I could keep quiet. I've seen better-looking dresses on Denny's waitresses. Believe me, I was doing her a favor. Did she find one?"

"No."

"I want to say thank G.o.d, but I'm afraid there's another shop in town." Meghann frowned suddenly. "What do you mean I'm a b.i.t.c.h? Is that what Claire says?"

"No. Yes. Sometimes. You know how it is when you're drinking margaritas on a bad day. Karen calls her sister Susan the Soulless Psychopath. Claire calls you Jaws."

Meghann wanted to smile but couldn't. "Oh."

"I remember when she moved here, you know," Gina said softly. "She was quiet as a mouse and cried if you looked at her the wrong way. All she'd say for years was that she missed her sister. I didn't find out until after graduation what had happened to her."

"What I'd done, you mean."

"I'm not one to judge. h.e.l.l, I've waded through some ugly s.h.i.t in my life, and motherhood is the hardest job in the world. Even if you're grown-up and ready for it. My point is this: Claire was wounded by all of that, and sometimes, when she hurts the most, she turns into Polly Politeness. She's really nice, but the temperature in the rooms drops about twenty-five degrees."

"I've pretty much needed a coat all day."

"Stick with it. Whether she admits it or not, it means a lot to her that you're here."

"I told her I'd plan the wedding."

"You seem perfectly suited for it."

"Oh, yeah. I'm a real romantic." She sighed.

"All you have to do is listen to Claire. Really listen, and then do whatever you can to make her dream come true."

"Maybe you could get the info and report back to me. Sort of a CIA-like mission."

"When was the last time you sat down for a drink with your sister and just talked talked?"

"Let's put it this way: We wouldn't have been old enough to have wine with our meal."

"That's what I thought. Go with her now."

"But Alison-"

"Sam can take care of Ali. I'll let him know." She opened her purse and dug through it, finally pulling out a sc.r.a.p of paper. She wrote something down and handed it to Meghann. "Here's my cell phone number. Call me in an hour and I'll let you know Ali's schedule."

"Claire won't want to go with me. Especially not after I nixed the dresses."

"And fell asleep. The snoring was especially poignant. Anyway, I got the impression from Claire that other people's needs or wants didn't matter much to you."

"You don't pull any punches, do you?"

"Thus, the divorce. Take Claire out for dinner. Go see a movie. Look at wedding flowers. Do something something sisterly. It's about time." sisterly. It's about time."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

CLAIRE KNEW HER LIPS WERE DRAWN IN A TIGHT, unyielding line that communicated displeasure. She'd honed that skill; the ability to convey anger without having to form the words that would make her feel regret afterward. Her dad often remarked on this talent of hers unyielding line that communicated displeasure. She'd honed that skill; the ability to convey anger without having to form the words that would make her feel regret afterward. Her dad often remarked on this talent of hers. Lordy, Claire Lordy, Claire, he'd say he'd say, no one else can yell at me without saying a word. Someday all that silent anger of yours is gonna back up in your throat and choke you. no one else can yell at me without saying a word. Someday all that silent anger of yours is gonna back up in your throat and choke you.

She glanced sideways at her sister, who was behind the wheel, driving too fast, her black hair flapping behind her like some celebrity starlet's. Sungla.s.ses that probably cost more than Claire's net worth covered her eyes. "Where are we going?" she asked for the fourth time.

"You'll see." Always the same answer. Clipped and unadorned. As if Meghann were afraid to say more.

She'd fallen asleep.

It wasn't as if Claire asked much of her sister. h.e.l.l, nothing was farther from the truth. She hadn't expected her sister to join in the fun of buying a wedding gown. G.o.d, no. Meghann enjoy a day with girlfriends? Hardly.

What galled most was that Claire had asked Meg's opinion first, even with Gina and Charlotte right there. Claire had put her neediness on the table: What do you think, Meghann? What do you think, Meghann?

She'd asked her twice twice. After the second time, she rectified her mistake and ignored Meghann completely.

Then she'd heard the snores.

That was when she'd felt the sting of tears.

It hadn't helped, of course, that all of the dresses had been wrong, or that even ugly dresses were expensive these days, or that, by the end of the afternoon, she'd actually begun to think that a white sundress might be more practical. That had only brought the tears closer. But now Claire was just plain mad. Meghann would ruin this wedding; there was no doubt about it. Her sister was like an airborne virus. Ten seconds in the room with her and you began to feel sick.

"I need to get back to Ali," Claire said, also for the fourth time.

"You will."

Claire took a deep breath. Enough was enough. "Look, Meg, about planning my wedding. Honestly, you-"

"We're here." Meg tucked the silver Porsche into an empty parking spot on the street. Before Claire could respond, Meghann was out of the car and standing by the meter. "Come on."

They were in downtown Seattle now. Her sister's territory. Meg probably wanted to show off her hugely expensive condo.

Claire frowned. They were parked at the base of a long, slowly rising hill. Up ahead-maybe six blocks away-she could see the Public Market. Behind them, also several blocks away, was the ferry terminal. A street musician played a sad tune on a saxophone; the music floated above the traffic noises. To their left, a waterfall of concrete steps spilled down the courtyard of a condo complex. Across the street was a Diamond Parking lot, the stalls mostly empty on this non-game day.

"Do you live here?" Claire asked as she grabbed her bag and climbed out of the sports car. "I always pictured you in some sleek high-rise."

"I invited you to my place a ton of times."

"Twice. You invited me over once that day Mama was in town for the el creepo convention and once for Christmas dinner. You canceled the Christmas dinner because you got the flu, and Mama took us out for dinner at Canlis instead."

Meghann looked surprised by that. "Really? I thought I was always asking you to see my place."

"You were. You just never set up a day and time. I was always supposed to stop by when I was in town. News flash: I'm never in town."

"You seem a little hostile today."

"Do I? I can't imagine why." Claire slung her purse strap over her shoulder and fell into step beside Meghann, who was marching uphill like Patton. "We need to talk about the wedding. Your performance this morning-"

"Here," Meghann said, stopping suddenly in front of a narrow white door flanked by windows on either side. A small iron-scrolled sign read: By Design. By Design. A man in a severe black suit was busily undressing a mannequin behind the gla.s.s. He saw Meghann and waved her in. A man in a severe black suit was busily undressing a mannequin behind the gla.s.s. He saw Meghann and waved her in.

"What is is this place?" this place?"

"You said I could plan your wedding, right?"

"Actually, that's what I've been trying to discuss with you. Unfortunately, your listening skills are seriously underdeveloped."

Meg opened the door and went inside.

Claire hesitated.

"Come on." Meghann waited for her in front of an elevator.

Claire followed.

A second later, the elevator pinged and the doors slid open. They went in; the doors closed.

Finally, Meghann said, "I'm sorry about this morning. I know I screwed up."

"Sleeping is one thing. Snoring is another."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Claire sighed. "It's the story of our lives, Meg. Don't you get tired of it? One of us is always sorry about something, but we never-"

The elevator doors opened.

Claire gasped.