Danielle Steel - Sisters

“She can stay with me if she wants,” Candy chimed in, and then looked at them apologetically. “But I'm away a lot.”

“That's my point. We'd all love her to live with us, but we each have some kind of problem that makes it difficult. Or at least you two do. I work crazy hours, but I think she could handle New York.”

“So? What part of this plan are you not telling us?” Tammy asked as she sipped her father's wine. She knew how Sabrina's brain worked. There was a master plan here somewhere that she hadn't exposed to them yet.

“What if she lives with all of us?” Sabrina said, smiling. The master plan was emerging.

“You mean move around and stay with each of us for a while? Don't you think that would be unsettling for her? I wouldn't mind, but I can't see Annie wanting to live out of a suitcase like a nomad, just because she's blind. I think she'd want her own place, though I have no idea where. I think we have to ask her,” Tammy said, looking pensive.

“Better than that,” Sabrina said, looking at her sisters. “I think eventually Annie will figure it out for herself, where she wants to be, and how she wants to live. But right now everything will be different for her, and she's going to need a lot of help at first. What if we all move in together for a year? Rent a big apartment, and all four of us live under one roof, until she gets on her feet? We can see how we all feel about it after a year. If it doesn't work, we move into our own apartments again, and if we like it, we sign on for another year. By then, Annie should be more adjusted. But for this year it could make a huge difference for her. What do you think?” Both Candy and Tammy looked stunned, and Chris looked surprised too. He wasn't sure where he fit in, although Sabrina kissed him reassuringly, whatever that meant.

“Am I part of this plan?” he inquired delicately.

“Of course. The way you are now. You could stay over whenever you want.”

“My very own harem,” he said with a wry grin. It sounded a little crazy to him, but was typical of them. He had never known four sisters quite like them, and without question, they took care of their own, more than most. And without their mother at the helm, he could sense Sabrina stepping into her shoes, to mother all of them. He knew that if she took it seriously, it was going to be a challenge for her, and maybe for him too. But he was willing to listen and see where they went with her idea. He could see advantages to it too, particularly for Annie, in her moment of need, initially anyway. In the long run, as hard as it was, Annie would have to find her way. Sabrina knew that too. But at least at first, they could help. And Sabrina had the feeling her mother would have approved of her plan.

“That's great for you,” Tammy said practically, looking a little unnerved by the idea. “You both live in New York. I live in L.A. What am I supposed to do? Quit my job? And then what? I'd be out of work in New York. And the show is going to be bigger than ever this year.” She loved her sister, but she couldn't give up everything for her. She had worked so hard for what she had.

“Can't you work in television here?” Sabrina asked. She knew embarrassingly little about her sister's business, despite how successful she was.

“There are no decent shows here,” Tammy said quietly. Sometimes she hated it when Sabrina came up with these harebrained schemes. “The only shows here are soaps, and a couple of reality shows. That's a major step down for me. And a huge salary cut.” She could afford it, since she had put plenty of money aside, but she didn't like playing with her career, and she really didn't want to leave the show. It was her baby now.

“What about you?” Sabrina asked Candy, who was thinking about it.

“I hate to give up my penthouse,” she said wistfully, and then smiled. “But I guess I could sublet it for a year. It would be fun living with the two of you.” She actually liked the idea. She was lonely at times in her own place, and she wouldn't be if she lived with them. Her sisters were great company, and she knew Annie needed them.

“Why don't I see what I can find that would be big enough for the three of us? And when Annie is ready for it, we can suggest the idea to her. I don't care about my apartment. I don't love it anyway. Chris, would you care?” she asked him, as part of the family, and he shook his head.

“As long as I can stay over and your sisters don't mind. It might get a little crazy at times. That's a lot of women under one roof, with three of you, but it might be fun for a year. And you can always stay with me,” Chris pointed out to Sabrina, and she nodded. As long as someone was home to help Annie, which was the whole point of it. But Candy was in town at least some of the time. The whole idea was to help get Annie on her feet and used to her blindness. And knowing how resourceful and determined Annie was, Sabrina thought a year might do it, as long as she wasn't in the depths of depression, which she hoped she wouldn't be.

“I really like the idea,” Sabrina said, and Candy giggled.

“Yeah, me too. Like going to boarding school,” which she had always wanted to do, and their mother wouldn't let her. She wanted to enjoy her last child at home, and she had never believed in boarding school. She believed in family. And so did they, which was at the root of Sabrina's idea. Their main goal was to help Annie. She was going to need them now, and this was one way to help her. Chris was actually impressed by the idea. Tammy was the only holdout, understandably, since she had a major career in L.A.

“And we'll be close enough to Dad, if he needs us. This is going to be a tough adjustment for him too.”

“What if you all hate it?” Tammy asked cautiously.

“Then I guess we give it up, and go back to our own places. A year isn't very long. I think we could stand each other for a year, don't you?”

“Maybe,” Tammy answered. “We haven't really lived together since before college. You left sixteen years ago. I left eleven. Annie left eight years ago, and Candy was an only child after we left. This should be interesting,” Tammy said with a grin. “Maybe the reason we get along is because we don't live together. Did you ever think of that?”

“I think it's worth a try for Annie,” Sabrina said stubbornly. She had been trying to think of a way to help their sister without making her feel humiliated and dependent. This might do it. And she was willing to sacrifice a year of her life for her, and so was Candy. That was something, at least. And even Sabrina could see why Tammy didn't want to do it, and didn't hold it against her. She had an important job on the West Coast, and they couldn't expect her to jeopardize that. She had worked hard to get there, and Sabrina respected her for it, so she didn't push her. “I'll call a realtor tomorrow and see if she can come up with something that would make sense for the three of us. I don't make as much as Candy, and Annie is subsidized by Mom and Dad. Maybe Dad would pay her share of the rent here instead of Florence, although I'm sure that's a lot cheaper. But she'll really need his help now.” And they all knew he could afford it. And then Sabrina frowned. “That reminds me. I guess someone is going to have to go over and close her apartment. She's in no shape to do it.”

“What if she wants to stay in Italy?” Tammy asked.

“I guess she could try it in a year, if she can take care of herself, but not right away. She has a lot to learn first, about surviving as a blind person and living on her own. She's better off doing that with us, and then she can always go back later.”

“I could pick up her stuff the next time I'm in Europe,” Candy volunteered, which was a nice gesture although Tammy and Sabrina knew that she was the least organized of the sisters, and very young. The others were always helping her, but this might help her grow up. She made an incredible living as a supermodel, but she was still very immature. And she was only twenty-one. As far as they were concerned, she was a baby. But maybe she could handle closing the apartment in Florence. It was worth a shot. Neither Tammy nor Sabrina had time to do it, nor their father.