Chapter Thirty-Six
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A few hours later, they arrived in Philadelphia and headed towards Isabella's house. Driving through the tree lined streets, Sally sighed. "What's wrong?" Gillian said, glancing over at her sister.
Sally gestured out the windows to the large houses on either side of them. "Don't you ever wish that we were, I don't know, like normal people?" Sally asked.
"Normal people? That would be boring," Gillian replied, shaking her head slightly.
"I wonder sometimes. You know, getting married, having a family, a mortgage," Sally trailed off.
"You want a mortgage?" Gillian asked her incredulously.
"You know what I mean, Gilly," Sally replied. Gillian nodded.
"I guess sometimes I do think about it but, I like what we do too much. Hunting is our lives. I mean, I wouldn't know what to do without it," Gillian replied.
Sally nodded. "Yeah, I know, just wishful thinking. That's Isabella's house," Sally said, pointing at the large, white house.
Gillian indicated and turned into the driveway. They stepped out of the car and made their way up the porch steps and to the front door. Gillian raised her hand and knocked. A few seconds later, the door swung open to reveal a petite woman with long blonde hair. Her expression turned to one of surprise and then joy when she saw Sally and Gillian.
"Oh my God, hi!" she cried, as she reached out to hug them both.
"Hey, Isabella," Sally said, hugging her back.
"What are you guys doing here?" Isabella asked as she ushered them inside, into the large hallway.
"We were just passing through and we thought we'd pay you a visit. You're not busy are you?" Gillian asked her. Isabella shook her head.
"No, you've come at a good time. The kids are off with Ben at his parents house in Florida for the weekend so I'm here on my own," she explained, leading them into the kitchen.
"Sit down," she gestured at the table and Sally and Gillian obeyed.
"Did you guys eat? I was just about to put on some dinner and you're welcome to join me," she offered.
Gillian nodded. "That would be great, thanks," she replied, smiling. Isabella nodded and set to work, preparing the meal.
"So, how are your aunts?" she asked them.
"They're good," Sally told her.
"And the girls?" she continued.
"Oh, they're good. Still as mischievous as ever," Gillian replied. Isabella laughed.
"What about yours? What ages are they now?" Sally asked her.
"Brent is 7 and Rosie is 5," Isabella replied.
"Same as Kylie and Antonia," Gillian said.
They stayed in the kitchen for the evening, chatting and laughing about old times. "Remember the Midnight Margaritas?" Isabella asked, laughing.
"Yeah, that time when you and Stephanie came home and I was 12. That was the first time I ever drank," Sally said, chuckling at the memory.
"Yeah, I remember that. The aunts came home and you were so drunk. You puked all over Aunt Francis's new shoes," Gillian said. They all laughed at the memory of that night.
"God, that was 10 years ago," Sally said, as they stopped laughing.
"Yeah, it doesn't seem all that long ago, does it?" Isabella agreed. "I miss her so much sometimes," she continued sadly, glancing towards a picture on the mantlepiece.
Sally and Gillian followed her gaze and looked at the picture showing two women, smiling happily for the camera. It was Isabella and Stephanie. "When was that taken?" Sally asked her.
"About 3 years ago. It was a couple of months before she died. She came over with Bill and the girls and stayed for a couple of days," she replied. There was a silence as each of them thought about their absent friend.
Gillian glanced down at her watch.
"Oh my God, look at the time. It's almost midnight. We should get going," she said in surprise.
"Oh, don't worry. Why don't you stay here tonight," Isabella offered.
"Oh, no, we don't want to impose," Sally replied.
"Don't be silly. You wouldn't be imposing. The kids aren't here so it's just me. We could have a girls night. Just like old times," Isabella assured her.
"Well, if you're sure you're not busy," Gillian said.
"Of course not," Isabella said, waving her hand in the air. "Now, I'll go get the tequila," she continued, as she headed out the door.
xxxxxx
The next morning, Gillian slowly opened her eyes and blinked at the bright sunlight that was streaming in on her. She groaned and sat up, looking around at her sister and friend sprawled out on the floor beside her. She clutched at her head when she sat up too quickly and the room began to spin. Noticing the two empty tequila bottles, fuzzy images of the night before flashed in her mind. They must have nodded off at around three after finishing off the two bottles.
She glanced down at her watch. "2 o'clock," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She stood up and walked towards her sister.
"Sal," she said, nudging her arm with her foot.
"Sally," she said louder. Her sister stirred and then groaned.
"Go away," she muttered, turning over and cradling the cushion she was lying on. Gillian shook her head and was about to kick her sister again, when Isabella sat up.
"Oh my God," she rasped as she put her head in her hands.
"Killer headache?" Gillian asked her. Isabella didn't reply but nodded her head.
"Me too," Gillian said.
"I'll go make us some breakfast," Isabella said as she climbed slowly to her feet.
"Better make that lunch," Gillian called after her. She heard Isabella's answering laugh.
"Sally, get up," Gillian ordered her sister, as she turned around. When Sally didn't move, Gillian bent down and leaned towards her.
"SALLY," she shouted into her ear.
"Gillian," Sally muttered as she pushed her sister away, and opened her eyes. She sat up and looked around.
"Oh," she moaned as she rubbed her temples.
"Come on, it's ready," Isabella called from the kitchen and Sally stood up unsteadily and they made their way to the kitchen.
xxxxxx
Two hours later, they felt much better after eating and showering. They had said goodbye to Isabella with promises to visit again and were currently just leaving Philadelphia. Suddenly, Sally's phone rang. She looked down at it, flipping it open. "Hello?" she said.
"Hey, Sally. It's Sam," came the reply.
"Hi, Sam. What's up?" Sally asked.
"Um, I'm kinda worried about Dean," Sam replied.
"Dean? Why? What's wrong?" she asked. Gillian looked over.
"Uh, we kinda had this fight and I was heading for California and he was going to Indiana. Well, I rang him last night and he said that he was hunting some pagan god or something. Anyway, I've been trying to call him and he's not picking up. I was just wondering if you had heard from him?" Sam explained.
"No, we haven't," she told him.
"Oh, okay, then, thanks," he said.
"Where are you now?" Sally asked him.
"Uh, at a bus stop in Nebraska. I'm going to head back, I think, just to make sure he's not in trouble or anything," he replied.
"Hey, we can head back and check it out," Sally said.
"Oh, you're probably home by now," Sam said.
"No, we're in Philadelphia. We stopped off to see an old friend. Seriously, Sam, it would be no problem," Sally assured him.
"Are you sure? That would be great," Sam said, thankfully.
"Yeah, I'll call you when we get there," Sally replied before hanging up.
"What's wrong?" Gillian asked her sister.
"Dean's not answering his phone so Sam's worried. I said we'd go back and check it out," Sally replied.
"Go back to Indiana? Sally, we just left," Gillian complained.
"Gillian, he could be in trouble," Sally replied. Gillian nodded.
"Okay, okay," she relented, indicating and turning the car to head for the opposite direction.