Chapter 10 – Sisters
"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child."
~Linda Sunshine
That night, when Beck brought Lily back home, Tori helped her bathe. It was always a difficult ritual for her because she could see everything - every mark that those terrible people had left on their beautiful child's skin. The spot on her back where she'd been beaten with the metal hairbrush was the worst. It was healed, but it was tender and still hurt if any pressure was applied, even that of a washrag. The skin was pocked and uneven - not the smooth baby skin it should have been. That night, after a long and difficult day, Tori tried her best not to look at anything as she washed Lily.
Unfolding a fluffy blue bath towel, Tori wrapped it around the little girl and plucked her from the tub. Lily yawned as the older woman dried her off and dressed her in a pair of pajamas with a ruffled pink top and pink and white polka-dotted pants. They had been a gift from Cat. Once she was ready for bed, Tori knew she needed to spend time trying to explain what had happened at dinner. They sat on the sofa in Tori's bedroom, facing one another. "Trina lost her job."
"Is that bad?" Lily asked, curiously.
"I can be really bad," Tori replied. "Your job is how you get money to buy things you need - like food and clothing and a place to live."
"Are you going to lose your job?" Tori smiled and shook her head.
"No. My job is to sing - and as long as people like to listen to me sing, I'll have a job. Don't ever worry about my job." She failed to mention the money she - unlike Trina - had stockpiled away. It would take many years of not having a career - and of mismanaging money - for Tori to be in any type of financial trouble. But the details behind her personal finances were more than the child could understand.
"I like when you sing," Lily told her.
"Well, thank you," Tori answered, pulling her closer and wrapping her arms around the child. "One of these days, I'm going to get you to sing with me." Lily giggled and relaxed into her lap. Tori had tried several times to get Lily to sing with her - even if it was just some silly song in some Disney movie - but the child had not sung a note. Even when she played with Violet and the young songbird was trying out her wings, Lily still refused to sing. When Tori asked her if she liked to sing, Lily told her that no, she did not. She was adamant about it. Tori kept trying. She knew that if Violet and Jade were any indication, vocal prowess ran in the family.
Lily lay her head back and looked up at Tori. "Trina lost her job?" She wanted Tori to explain what this meant to her; that was what mattered. Tori nodded and met her gaze.
"Yes. Trina lost her job. She needs help getting back on her feet. Finding another job, finding a place to live, and learning how to take care of the things she has."
"Do you have to help her?"
"I do," Tori said, almost apologetically. "I'll try to get her a different place to live as soon as I can - but she might be here for a few weeks."
"It's okay. I understand."
Tori peered at her. "You do?"
Lily bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders. "Not really."
Tori looked confused. "Then why did you say that?"
"When I say that, Dr. Katie stops talking about stuff I don't want to talk about." Tori laughed out loud, startling Lily. She tried to bite back the laughter that was bursting at her diaphragm.
"Lily, you can't do that," Tori said, trying to sound stern.
"Why not?"
"Because it's not being honest. And you have to be honest. You have to tell Dr. Kate the truth so she can help you. And if you say things just to get her to stop talking - then she can't help you."
"I won't do it anymore," Lily said. "I think she's starting to figure it out anyway." Tori hid a smile and kissed the top of Lily's chestnut curls.
"Good girl," she answered.
Once Lily was asleep that night, Tori made a pot of hot chocolate - the Belgian kind her mother had always made for them - back when she still made things for them. She knocked on the door to the guest room where Trina was staying and waited until her sister to answer. Trina opened it, revealing that she had also gotten ready for bed. She was dressed in a pair of yellow cotton pajamas, her hair pulled into a ponytail - and Tori could see that she'd been crying - heavily. Her makeup had been washed off and her eyes were ringed in red.
"I really don't want to talk right now." She even sounded like she'd been crying - congested and stuffy, like she'd had a sudden run-in with a cold.
"Just let me in," Tori answered. Trina stepped back - it was her sister's house, after all. Tori set the items on the small table in the room and poured two cups, plopping marshmallows into each. She handed a cup to Trina and took her own to the arm chair by the window. The drapes were open, giving them the view of the dark night sky.
Trina set aside the mug Tori had handed her and she remained standing in the center of the room. Neither woman spoke - and Trina didn't quite know what to do with herself. After half of her mug was drained, Tori finally posed a question that she hadn't been expecting herself to ask - but it was something that had occurred to her more than once over the years. "Do you think they really wanted us, after the reality set in? After we were grown up?"
"I think they wanted kids because it was what they were supposed to want," Trina answered honestly. "Dad seemed a little more willing to accept it than mom. I don't think either one of them really loved being a parent - or even liked it. But they loved you, Tori. They really did - as much as they knew how."
"They loved you too," Tori answered. "Even if you always made it harder than it had to be."
"Seems to be something I do," Trina said hollowly.
"Things don't have to be so hard," Tori told her sadly. "But you need to face some realities. And I know you don't like to do that." Trina said nothing. She picked up the hot chocolate and tasted it, her eyes lighting up ever so slightly. "It's the brand mom used to buy," Tori told her. Trina sipped it again and eventually sat on the window seat, close to Tori.
"If anyone has the ability to be a good mom, it's you," Trina said softly, catching her sister by surprise. "I really mean that. You care about people - even when they don't deserve it. That little girl couldn't be luckier." After she finished those words, she looked away, staring out the window.
"Trina - everyone deserves to have someone who cares about them." The older sister wiped tears from her eyes but said nothing.
A few minutes later, Trina spoke again. "If you repeat this, I'll deny it. But you aren't going to learn how to be a good mom by thinking about our mom. But you're lucky. Somehow, you ended up with a surprisingly good example close by."
"I know," Tori answered. "I know she's rough. But she doesn't hate you ask much as you think she does. And she will help you - if you're smart about things."
"Why would she do that?"
"For me," Tori answered.
"Why would you lift a finger to help me - after everything I've done?"
"You're my sister," Tori responded. "And when that stops meaning something, the world becomes a little bit of a sadder place. And I don't want that. I need every day to count. You said it yourself - I lost enough of them."
The sisters were silent for a long time before Tori wordlessly excused herself and went to her own bedroom, lying awake for the first sleepless night in a long time.
The next morning, after Tori and Jade convinced Lily to spend the day with Annie and Coral, Jade spent hours going through the bills Trina produced. Most of them had to be printed from online because she had not dragged the physical bills with her from New York. The brunette mother-of-two muttered as she circled due dates and amounts. She had a large blank calendar that she scribbled on occasionally. Tori had been planning to help, but every time she touched a piece of paper, Jade practically growled at her.
"Go get a copy of your lease faxed," Jade said, not even looking up at Trina. The older woman left the room to do so. Once she returned with that, Jade demanded something else. It was well past lunch time before she moved from the cluttered dining room table. She stood up and stretched, realizing for the first time that she was hungry.
Tori studied at her with concern. "You look pale again. Are you okay?"
"I haven't eaten since seven this morning," Jade responded. "I'm just hungry."
"I made soup and sandwiches - it's all waiting in the kitchen."
After Jade had eaten, she was willing to talk. She even looked at Trina - possibly for the first time that day. "First, let me say that you're an idiot for having so many open credit cards." Tori glared and Jade shook her head. "Sorry - I just had to get that out in the open and out of my system." She took a gulp from her glass of ice water and looked at the single sheet of paper she'd carried with her into the kitchen.
"I think about $12,000 will get you out of immediate crisis."
"Is that all?" the older woman asked sarcastically. "Who has $15,000 just sitting around?" she demanded. "I know that I need money, Einstein. If I had it, I wouldn't be in trouble."
"Watch it," Jade said sharply. "And the answered to your questions is - everyone within a five to ten mile radius, including their dogs."
"It's true," Tori said with a shrug. "Mrs. Price down the street opened a million-dollar trust for her poodle, Mindy, a few months ago - in case she passed away first - the dog would be cared for."
"She's an idiot," Jade muttered. She shook her head and got back to the topic at hand. "If your sister is foolish enough to lend you $15,000, then you can at least get the creditors to stop calling. If you can then get a job that pays a reasonable wage, the banks will probably give you a loan to consolidate the rest of your credit cards. Again, that depends on your sister being gullible enough—"
Tori interrupted. "Do you think you could stop insulting me? I know it's an attempt to antagonize Trina, but it's starting to hurt my feelings." Jade ignored her and continued.
"It depends on Tori being willing to co-sign for you. No one in their right mind would give you a loan. After that, if you stick to a budget, it should only take a few years to pay everything off."
"I've been looking for a job for almost a year," Trina whined. "Your little plan is useless if I can't find one."
"Look somewhere else," Jade told her sternly. They all knew that Trina had been looking for jobs onstage or choreographing - all in New York. She clearly was no longer welcome in that industry in that city. Tori winced at Jade's tone - but she knew her friend wasn't wrong.
"How much would it cost to eliminate the debt right now?" Tori asked.
"No," Jade said, dragging the word until it was two syllables. Tori stared at her until she huffed. "Over $90,000. Which is a large sum of money to give to anyone -"
"How much did you spend on my medical bills that first year?"
"That's different." Jade was still using a dry, quiet, low tone. She was clearly not happy with the direction of the conversation.
"But you did it," Tori told her. "And you told me that I couldn't tell you how to spend your money. Now, you're not going to tell me how to spend mine."
"If you give her all of it - she's never going to learn how to take care of herself."
"I'm right here," Trina said in agitation. "And I'm not five years old!"
"No," Jade agreed. "When my child was five, she could add and subtract. You've clearly never gained those skills."
"Stop," Tori pleaded. "Jade, you promised." Jade stopped talking and followed Tori and Trina back to the dining room. The two sisters stared at the stacks of paper until Tori finally looked back at Jade. "Alright. You can speak. But be nice. What do we do first?"
Jade shook her head and sighed. She had been showing Tori her finances for years - but it was only when the other woman moved into her own home that she paid any attention to them. She did a fine job of budgeting and balancing her checkbook, but Trina's mess was nothing she could navigate. "The lease." She looked at Trina. "Are you going back to New York?"
"She's staying here for now," Tori said, before Trina could answer.
Jade gritted her teeth before continuing. "Then, you want to pay off the lease through the end of the year - it's only a few months - it's not a huge loss. Hire movers to pack your things and either have them shipped here or put into storage. Having them shipped here would be cheaper." She looked at Tori. "But that is a big commitment of space." It wasn't only the commitment of space that Jade was worried about.
"Have it shipped here," Tori answered, ignoring Jade's pointed tone.
"Then the credit cards where you haven't been meeting the minimum payments - I'm assuming you're already getting phone calls?" Trina nodded.
Suddenly, Jade looked happy. She turned her eyes to Trina and Tori saw a dangerous glint behind the bright blue. "Where are your credit cards?"
"Why?"
"Go get them." Trina went and picked up her purse. She handed six cards to Jade.
"All of them," Jade prodded. With a lot of hesitation, Trina handed her four more. Jade walked into the room that Tori used as an office and put the first card through the shredder. Trina made a strangled sound. "You do the rest," Jade told her.
"What if? I should- That's not - "
"Trina," Tori said warningly. Trina didn't say another word - she fed all of the credit cards into the machine where they were made useless. By the end of the day, Trina had made phone calls to close all of her credit cards - some still had balances, but they could no longer be used to make purchases. Tori told her to pay off the balances - but Trina hesitated - and then told Tori that she wanted to get a job - that she would start paying on them herself. She had paid off her lease and canceled it for the following year. Utilities were also paid for and shut off after the current month. Movers were hired.
Jade left around three, giving Trina specific instructions on what to do next. She needed a resume, she needed to call and arrange consolidations for several of her bills. But Jade was finished – she was tired. Creeping into the house, she avoiding the living room where she could hear Annie playing with Coral and Lily. Instead, she climbed the stairs to her bedroom and lay down to take a quick nap.
Her quick nap lasted longer than she intended – it was past six when she woke to find Beck peeking into the room from the hallway. "Hi," she said softly.
"Hey," he answered, entering when he saw that she had woken. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he gently caressed her cheek and leaned down to kiss her. "Tired?" She nodded.
"I didn't do anything for dinner," she said, realization dawning.
"It's taken care of," Beck promised. "Why don't I bring up a plate? You look like you could use more rest." She agreed – which both surprised and slightly worried her husband. While he went to the kitchen to get her a bowl of the stew Tori had prepared, Jade slipped into the bathroom, washed her face, and straightened her hair. She curled back onto the bed, positioning herself as comfortably as possible; using the boppy pillow Beck had bought for her when she'd been pregnant with Violet. Now, at just over five months with her third child, she was bigger than she had been at seven months with Violet. It annoyed her – and it left her feeling more run down that she remembered from the other pregnancies.
When Beck returned with her dinner, she sat up and ate what she could. He sat behind her on the bed, holding her as she picked at the food. Eventually, she ate enough to feel satisfied and placed the bowl on the night stand. She resituated herself in bed and closed her eyes, clearly planning to nap again. He kissed her cheek and left the room, heading down the stairs to spend the rest of the evening with his daughters.
After dinner, Tori helped clean up the meal, kissed and hugged Coral and Violet goodbye, and took Lily back to their own house. Trina was there – not having wanted to join in the family dinner. Tori knew she was still embarrassed; she needed time to herself. She had made herself a sandwich and was finishing a cup of coffee when Tori and Lily walked in the door.
"Hey," Tori said.
"Hey," Trina answered, a weak smile reaching her lips. She fought hard to make her smile genuine – and turned it to Lily. "Hi, Lily."
"Hi," the child said, her voice tiny as she hid her face against Tori's leg. Tori gave Trina an apologetic look; it would take time for Lily to stop being weary of her.
"We're going upstairs to get ready for bed," Tori told her sister. "I'll be back down a little later." She led Lily up to her bedroom and – and hour later – had her tucked under the covers and ready for sleep. When she rejoined Trina, her sister had moved to the living room, nursing another cup of coffee.
Tori knew they had a lot to talk about. She went into the kitchen, made herself a cup of decaffeinated tea, and walked back to sit next to her sister. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Trina answered. "Embarrassed. But fine."
"Everyone makes mistakes."
"Mine seem bigger."
"That's because you avoid them until they turn colossal. If you had called me eleven months ago – or even six months ago – but it doesn't do us any good to talk about what you should have done. Because this situation is not going to occur again," she said, her voice firm. "After this mess gets cleaned up – you need to be more careful. You have to live within your means. You can't have every new piece of clothing or every new shoe or beauty product that comes along."
Trina nodded; she had learned at least one lesson – she never wanted to be in the position to need Jade's help again. And she never wanted her sister to look as disappointed as she had the night before.
"We can work on your resume tomorrow – then you can start looking for a job."
"I hear they're casting for a new Steven Spielberg television show," Trina said excitedly. Tori's eyes closed.
"Trina - why don't you focus on something you do really well? I don't know that acting is it."
"I can act, Tori. I graduated from Hollywood Arts, just like you and everyone else here."
"I know," Tori said. "I know you did. But Trine - you're not good. Mom and Dad - the teachers - so many people should have been more honest with you through the years. But you cannot act. And singing is out of the question."
"Don't sugar coat it or anything," Trina muttered.
"Clearly, I can't afford to anymore," Tori shot back. "Don't get defensive - just listen. There are things you can do. You're a great dancer. And you were amazing with martial arts. What about stunt work? Or teaching dance classes?" Trina made a face but didn't answer – Tori knew she was considering it. Nothing happened for several days. Trina avoided the Oliver family. Jade went to the studio some days, worked from home other days, and took care of her daughters. Tori took Lily to all of her different appointments and spent time with her at home. Mostly, she allowed Trina to stay to herself and mope.
The avoidance of the situation stopped when Beck brought it up to Jade as they were in their bedroom, a week after the news had first dropped. He was already in bed, browsing the web on his PearPad. Jade had already removed her makeup and changed into her pajamas – now she was choosing clothing for the next day. When she exited their walk-in closet, Beck placed aside his tablet and looked at her.
"What are we going to do about Trina?"
"Personally, I would like to send her to Siberia. But I don't think that's what you want to hear."
"No," Beck answered with an amused smile. "That's not the kind of helpful thought I was looking for." He waited for Jade to sit on her side of the bed and took her feet into his lap, rubbing them gently. "I spoke to my agent – but there's nothing he can get her without experience and killer references."
Jade sighed and shook her head.
"Come on," Beck said in a sincere, slightly pestering tone. "Out of all of us - you're the one that can get her in somewhere."
"But I don't like her," Jade answered angrily.
"Well, then she's going to be stuck in Tori's house for the infinite future. Next door. All the time." Jade gave him a hard glare. Beck shrugged and pulled her into his lap so that he could rub her shoulders. "Babe, it's up to you. But if anyone has the ability to help Trina succeed in this town, it's you. And you know I'm right."
"Can't we just pay her to go away? I'll even spring for somewhere warmer than Russia."
"I don't think Tori would approve."
Jade huffed. "She was so much more compliant when she lived here." Beck laughed; he knew Jade was being dramatic.
"Tori is allowed to make her own decisions. Her role in life is not to be pliable with your agenda."
Jade groaned. "Trina can't do anything!"
"Come on," Beck chided. "That's not true. She's a good dancer. She's talented at choreography – and she's down-right scary when it comes to martial arts. I'm sure she can do something with dance or stunt work."
Jade grumbled and walked away from him, disappearing into the bathroom. When she returned, she ordered him to stop talking about Trina. A week later, Trina had her first interview and audition to choreograph for a nearby studio.
Thank you for reading. And thank you to all of you who take the time to review - it is always great to know what you think and what you like or wonder about the story. Let me know what you liked about this chapter. Anything you disliked?