Danielle Steel - Sisters

“We'll be there in half an hour,” she promised, thanking him for the call. And she knew as she hung up that for Annie, the hard part had only just begun.

Chapter 8

Annie's eyes were still bandaged when they got to her, and the chief resident assured them that they would be for at least another week. It gave them time to prepare for what they were going to say to her. She complained that she couldn't see anything with the bandages on, and asked weakly to have them taken off. Sabrina explained that her eyes had been hurt in the accident, she'd had surgery on them, and it would hurt if they took the bandages off. They kissed her and held her hands and told her how much they loved her. All three of her sisters and Chris had come to visit her. Their father was just too wiped out to face yet another emotional event. He promised to visit her the next day. They still had their mother's burial to get through the following afternoon. It was going to be a short ceremony at the graveside, and then they'd leave her there. The girls were anxious to get that over with. It was another day of torture for their father and them, and in the past four days they'd had more than enough. Their mother's burial was the last step in the series of traditions that seemed barbaric to all of them now, and this would be the final one.

Seeing Annie talking and moving again, and speaking to each of them was an affirmation of life. She asked where their parents were, and Tammy said simply that they hadn't come. They had all agreed not to tell her about her mother's death yet. She had only just woken up, and it seemed cruel to hit her with that before she regained at least a little of her strength, particularly with the shock she had in store about her sight.

“You scared the hell out of us,” Tammy said, kissing her again and again. They were so grateful to have her back, and Candy lay down next to her on the bed, and dangled her feet off, which made them all laugh. She snuggled up to Annie, and smiled for the first time in four days.

“I missed you,” Candy said softly, lying as close to her as she could, like a child cuddling up to her mother.

“Me too,” Annie said in a tired voice, reaching out to touch each of them. Chris even came into the room for a few minutes, but said he didn't want to wear her out. “You're here too?” she said when she heard his voice, and smiled. He was like a big brother to all of them.

“I am. I came out for the Fourth of July, and never left.” He didn't tell her he'd been cooking for all of them, or she would have wondered where their mother was.

“This wasn't how I was planning to spend my vacation,” she said with a wan smile, and touched the bandages on her eyes again.

“You'll be up and running in a few days,” Tammy promised.

“I don't feel like running yet,” she admitted. “I have a terrible headache.” Tammy and Sabrina promised to tell the nurse. She came in to check on Annie a few minutes later, and reminded them not wear Annie out. She offered her medication for the headache, and after kissing and hugging her, a few minutes later, they all left. Every one of them looked drained. It had been an unbelievably tough day. Their mother's funeral, all the guests at home afterward, and now Annie was awake. All in one day.

“When are they taking the bandages off?” Chris asked as he drove them home.

“I think in about a week,” Sabrina said with a worried look. She had already called her office that morning, and was taking the next two weeks off. Chris had finagled four days, so he could spend the rest of the week in Connecticut with her. And Tammy had done the same, but she had to go back without fail by the coming Monday. She didn't see how she could stay even another day. Candy had called her agency and asked to get out of the booking in Japan. They were furious about it, but she insisted she was too upset to work, and told them why. So at least for the rest of the week, they could all be together, and at Annie's side. Sabrina knew she was going to need each one of them, maybe for a long time, or even forever. They hadn't worked out the future yet. First Annie had to wake up, and now that she had, they had to make plans. Sabrina was relieved that Annie hadn't said anything about Charlie that night. She was still too tired, but sooner or later, she would ask. It was yet another blow coming her way, along with her mother's death and the loss of her sight. It just wasn't fair for one human being to have to face so much. Sabrina would have done anything to lighten the load for her, but no one could.

They were sitting in the kitchen late that night, after their father went to bed, when Sabrina looked at her sisters with a frown.

“Uh-oh,” Tammy teased her, and poured herself another glass of wine. She was beginning to enjoy the gatherings they shared every night, in spite of the reason they were still there. She was deriving enormous comfort from her sisters, more than ever before. Even their collective dogs were starting to get along. “I know that face,” Tammy commented as she took a sip of the wine. They were raiding their father's wine cellar every night, just as they had when they were young. And when he found out then, he had had a fit. Tammy smiled at the memory, and savored his excellent wine. She reminded herself to send him a case of good Bordeaux after she left. They had been drinking some of his best wines. “You've had an idea,” Tammy finished the thought, looking at her older sister. Sabrina looked as though she was hatching a plan. In the old days, when they were kids, it would have meant something forbidden, like giving a party when their parents went away for the weekend. She used to pay Tammy five dollars not to squeal. “I used to make money on these deals,” she explained to Chris. “So what is it now?”

“Annie,” she said succinctly, as though they could read her mind.

“I figured. What about her?” They were all dreading telling her about their mom. They would have to do it soon. It wasn't fair to her not to know for much longer, and inevitably, she would wonder where she was. Even that night, it had been hard to explain. Their mother would have been there in a flash, and camped out in the room. Her absence was sorely felt by them all, and would be by Annie too.

“She can't go back to Florence, and Charlie is a jerk.”

“Yes, I think we all agree on that.” He had been a huge disappointment to all of them, and would be to Annie most of all. But now she had bigger problems to solve. He was just one more source of grief. “You're right, she can't go back to Florence. I don't see how she could manage there in a fifth-floor apartment, no matter how independent she wants to be. She should probably move home, with Dad. It would be company for him.”

“And way too depressing for her. She'll feel like a child again. And without Mom here, she'd be really sad.” They were all feeling her absence in the house. Even in the three days since she had died, it felt as though everything had changed. And they knew their father was feeling it too. The housekeeper had come that day, and all she did was cry. And at twenty-six, Annie would not want to come home, not after living on her own in Italy for two years.

“She can stay with me, if she wants to. But I don't think she knows anyone in L.A., and without being able to drive or get around, she'd feel trapped. And I'm out all day.” They all knew that Tammy worked impossible hours, and Sabrina did too, but at least she was in New York, which was familiar to Annie. She had lived there briefly before she left for Paris four years before, although she said it was too hectic for her. She had liked France, and then Italy much better, but now it was out of the question. She needed to be closer to home, for a while anyway, until she adjusted to her situation. They all agreed on that.