Chapter 51

"I can't believe you're going away after all," Theresa complained as she stirred the sugar in her cup of tea. She and Lou were to meet Emily at this coffee shop and then they were going to the wedding shop for Lou's last fitting with her dress. "I thought marriage would cut your wings."

Louise sighed wearily. She had already lost count of the times they had the same conversation in the week she had stayed at Theresa's. Her sister had almost had an attack when she had first told her that Kid and she planned to leave for Rwanda in the summer. After that, Theresa did not miss a single opportunity to complain about her sister's decision and try to change her mind. "Tessie, this is something Kid and I feel very strongly about... you know that."

"I hate to think that you aren't going to be close," Theresa continued her protests. "You're my only sister, and now that you're gonna get married, I thought we could see each other more often... you know, share things."

"Honey, I'm going to miss you too," Louise voiced what her sister's vague comment had clearly implied, "but, well, you know this is the era of communication... there's Internet, the phone or we can even resort to the traditional system of letter writing!"

"Yeah, and have the Pony Express deliver the mail to your door!" Theresa replied sarcastically. "You know it's not the same! I already went through this when you were in Guam. It wasn't nice, and I would have liked to have my sister with me when I was pregnant with Annie!"

"I know," Lou muttered uncomfortably.

"And Lou, have you thought what you're gonna do if you get pregnant there in the wild?" Theresa insisted. "You might pick up some strange disease and pass it to the baby! Have you given any thought to that, Louise?"

Lou internally cringed as she listened to her sister. She did not feel comfortable with the topic, so instead of answering Theresa's question, she simply said, "Remember that the man I'm marrying is one of the best obstetricians in this city. Besides, I thought you were the one who wanted to get pregnant?"

Theresa snorted bitterly. "I don't think that's going to happen... at least not now."

Her words and her mood intrigued Lou instantly and after taking a sip of her tea, she asked, "Is there anything wrong, Tessie?"

Theresa shrugged her shoulders in indifference as she replied to her sister's question, "It's just... lately I have doubts that my husband knows I exist."

"What?" Louise exclaimed with a frown.

"Seems all I'm to him is the woman who looks after his daughter, cleans his house and keeps his bed warm. Of course I'm not going to play with him at night when he hardly looks at me during the day... Gosh, he pays more attention to everybody else but his wife, even to you!"

"Have you talked to him, Tessie?"

Theresa shook her head wryly. "Lou, I think there's another woman, and I'm too scared to know for sure."

"That's impossible, honey," Louise replied as she squeezed her arm encouragingly. "David loves you... I still remember the crazy stunts he pulled to impress you when you first went together." Lou let out a peal of laughter before she said, "Remember when he snuck into the convent to see you and hid in Sister Frances's room by mistake. Poor woman got a heck of a scare... she thought he was a thief and almost called the police."

Theresa smiled ruefully at the tale, but could not bring herself to join her sister's mirth. "That's what I used to like about him. He was so spontaneous and totally crazy... but he's changed. I don't know if he's got bored with me... or if married life is killing the passion between us." Theresa let out a sigh and added, "You know, you still have time to back out of this mess you're so eager to step into."

"Tessie..."

"Yeah... don't say anything," Theresa let out ironically. "Kid's different and can't do anything wrong to your smitten eyes."

"Tessie, Kid's not different... I just think that you should talk to your husband. I've learned the hard way that's the key to make things work. Kid and I almost lost each other because I felt unable to talk to him about what worried me. But since we tell each other everything, our relationship has really improved."

"Yeah... I can see that," Theresa replied and before she could add anything else, Emily showed up, interrupting the moment of confidences between the two sisters. The receptionist joined them for coffee and a piece of apple pie, and when they were done, they set off to their business.

About half an hour later, Lou stood before a full-length mirror, wrapped in white layers of silk and net. The seamstress was pinning the hem of the skirt while her friend and her sister stared at her with pleased expressions.

"Oh Lou, you look beautiful!" Emily exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Yeah?" was all Louise replied to the compliment. She did not feel very comfortable in this attire. This was the most modest dress she had found, but she looked at her figure in the mirror, she could hardly recognize herself. This was not her and if she could, she would get married in jeans instead of this gown. She could not deny the dress was beautiful. It was not so low-cut as the dozens she had seen and tried on but Lou still felt too weird. The dress was straight, reaching her feet and framed her body and highlighted her curves. The silky material was cut above her chest, and a lacy net insert covered the rest of the way to her neck.

"Kid's going to be very pleased when he sees you like this," Theresa added.

"I still feel a bit awkward in this thing," Louise admitted weakly.

"You should listen to your friends, Ma'am. This dress seems to be made just for you," the shop assistant said before excusing herself and leaving the three women in the fitting area.

"She's right... you know," Emily offered.

"Yeah... I imagine she's got no interest whatsoever in the commission she's going to get from this purchase," Lou replied sarcastically as she walked to the fitting booth to slide off the dress.

Emily and Theresa exchanged an amused look from the other side of the curtain. They knew Lou could be quite difficult and a handful to deal with in these matters. It had taken them days of visiting every shop in the city before Lou had made up her mind about the dress and still she did not feel satisfied. "Lou," the receptionist called, trying to divert the attention to other matters, "I imagine this isn't the first wedding dress you've worn, is it?"

Louise frowned as she struggled to slide the dress from her shoulders in the tiny cubicle. "What do you mean by that?"

"Once I saw a movie about nuns... they were wearing nice wedding dresses the day of their profession," Emily explained. "That's a wedding to God, isn't it?"

"Well... yeah, it is like that... sometimes, but in my order we simply wear our habit... the Sunday one for the occasion. That's all."

Theresa nodded, confirming Lou's words, and added, "The community has quite simple tastes in their philosophy. The ceremony where my sister took her perpetual vows was quite impressive actually. There was a moment she had to lie face down on the floor of the church as the bishop granted her his blessing. Strange, but nice."

The curtain in the booth opened abruptly and Lou stepped out with an unhappy expression. "Theresa, don't talk about things you don't know anything about!"

"I know what I'm saying! I was there!" Theresa retorted gruffly.

"You don't even know what that means!" Lou said and walked past the two other women towards the main shop. She gave the dress to the shop assistant for the last alterations and after conveying their thanks, the three women left the place. As they stepped out, Lou bumped into a passer-by and when she lifted her eyes, she found a familiar face looking at her. "My, Jimmy! I can't even get rid of you outside the clinic!"

The doctor grinned amused. "Hello, ladies! What are you up to?" the man greeted them and spying the shop the woman had just left, he added, "Shopping for the big day, Lou?"

"Yeah... something like that," Louise replied, rolling her eyes.

"And she's being a total pest," Emily joked. "Isn't she, Tessie?"

Theresa nodded as she locked eyes with Jimmy, who was smiling in her direction. Lou noticed the silent exchange between the two of them and said, "Jimmy, do you remember my sister?"

"Of course. How could I forget such a beautiful woman?" he replied as he dramatically took Theresa's hand in his and kissed it in an old-fashioned way.

Lou made an unhappy gesture and aware of Jimmy's reputation with women, she added, "Then you'll also remember that she's married and a mother of a three-year-old." Since the matter with Sarah Downs, Jimmy had not had a serious relationship with a woman but that did not mean he was leading a totally chaste life, but rather the opposite. He always hung out with different women and even though he never talked to Lou directly about his conquests for evident reasons, unwillingly or not she heard of them when he indiscreetly boasted with his other colleagues. Even though this womanizing streak of his did not bother Lou too much, if he tried something with her sister, then that was another story.

"Well, Lou, I'm not the jealous type... you know that," Jimmy said without averting his eyes from Theresa.

"Me neither," the young woman replied, evidently pleased with the doctor's flirtatious looks and words.

Emily was chuckling amusedly but Lou did not find the situation humorous at all and decided to take matters in her hands. "Look, Jimmy. It's been nice seeing you, but we gotta go now."

Lou hooked her arm around Theresa's and almost yanked her from the place, dragging her along. "You should be ashamed of yourself, Theresa Dickinson," Louise exclaimed irritated.

Hearing her sister's angry voice, Theresa forced herself to look away from Jimmy's figure in the distance and said, "Why? I wasn't doing anything wrong."

"You were flirting with him!"

Theresa grinned wickedly and added, "Sure I was! And Lou, if I were in your shoes, working with such a hot guy like him, I'd do much more than innocently flirting!"

Lou stopped and stared at her sister as if Tessie had slapped her across the face. She could not believe that Teresa could be so blatant. On seeing her expression of shock, Theresa burst out laughing as she exclaimed, "I was joking! For God's sake, relax or you'll have an attack."

"Don't mix God in your dirty games!" Lou retorted, not liking her sister's playfulness at all.

"Girls, please calm down!" Emily cut in, trying to soothe things between the two sisters. "What if we drop into this shop?" she asked as she pointed at the place she was referring to.

"Uhm... good choice, Em," Theresa agreed.

"A lingerie shop?" Louise let out with evident unease.

"How's your underwear, Lou, ... you know for your passionate nights with Kid?" the receptionist asked with a crooked smile.

"I don't need to buy anything and..."

"Don't believe a word she says," Theresa said, cutting her sister off. "I've had a look at her "delicates" and they look like something not even my grandmother would wear in her day... you know, quite 'nunnish'."

Both girls burst out laughing once again while Lou remained with a serious expression. The afternoon was proving to be much longer than she had thought. Theresa and Emily did not miss a single opportunity to tease her, and she was getting tired of it all. She had often heard that brides felt like princesses during these special days, but Lou did not feel very special, but rather the opposite... like Cinderella with her two wicked stepsisters, and she just could not wait for her prince to show up and save her from these two. Kid was supposed to pick her up later and they would go to therapy for a co-session and strangely she was even looking forward to that time with Dr. Schneider.

Emily and Theresa scurried into the shop and quickly started to rummage among the stalls of underwear, selecting different garments for Louise. The doctor joined them and as she grasped one of the pieces Theresa had in her hand, her eyes widened in shock. It was a tiny throng, made of just a scarce bit of flimsy material. "Tessie, I can't wear that! It's totally indecent!" Lou exclaimed as she held the panties in front of her eyes.

"Lou, you aren't going to keep anything on for long that night," Emily replied. "Kid will surely snatch any stitch off your body."

Involuntarily, Lou shivered at the implications behind Emily's words as images of the terrible day that a man had gruffly tore off her swimsuit came to her mind, but she breathed in deeply, trying to hush the thought. She told herself that Emily was talking about Kid, the man she loved and he would never hurt her.

"Lou..." Theresa called, interrupting her train of thought, while sharing a mischievous look with Emily. "I was wondering... has... has he ever seen you ... uh... you know... stark naked?"

"No! Of course not!"

"And you him?" Emily added. "Have you seen him... you know... in the flesh?"

"No...no!" Lou exclaimed, blushing hotly. "Well... we go swimming regularly and... I've seen him in his trunks."

"That doesn't count, Lou. That hides his best treasure," Emily replied, sniggering amused. "To tell you the truth, it's incredible that you haven't tried to get a discreet peek when he's in the shower... after all, you've lived together for months."

"I couldn't do something like that! It would be totally outrageous!" Lou exclaimed, shocked at Emily's suggestion. "That would be like violating his privacy."

"Lou, for goodness' sake, it's not a crime or anything!" Theresa exclaimed. "He's your fiancé, and I imagine he wouldn't mind. In your case I'd have explored every inch and crevice of his hot body long ago... and I don't mean only with my eyes."

"Me too," Emily admitted among giggles.

Louise stared at them with a disgusted expression. "Stop talking about him like that! You girls are... are... totally nuts."

"Lou, you're such a prude," Theresa remarked, exchanging a glance with Emily. "You've always been."

"I'm not a prude!" Louise retorted, folding her arms over her chest. "It's just... well... I guess I'm a little worried about... you know... being with Kid in the biblical sense."

"Lou, there's nothing to be afraid of," Emily said.

"And once you do it, you'll wish you'd tried it before," Theresa added.

"There are no secrets to it... it's like ... uh... learning to ride a bike."

"Actually it is in more than one sense," Theresa commented, which made Emily join her in a hysterical fit of laughter.

Louise shook her head to the girls' silly behavior and glancing at her watch she said, "Let's go and pay for what you have here." She wanted to hurry up and finish with this as quickly as possible.

"Aren't you going to try these on?" Theresa asked as she pointed at the several sexy negligees she was holding.

"Uh no... I'm sure they'll fit. I don't have time to try anything on," Louise replied, having a second glimpse at her watch. "I'm meeting Kid in half an hour."

Emily and Theresa made disappointed faces. "But, Lou, I thought today was for us girls," her sister said in a whining voice. "Why don't you call him and cancel your date?"

"It's not a date... I have an appointment with Dr. Schneider."

"With the psychiatrist?" Emily asked, surprised. "I didn't know you were in therapy for the shooting, Lou."

"It isn't for that."

"Then what?" Theresa asked.

Louise did not answer as they were before the checkout counter and after paying for the garments her sister and Emily had picked for her, she led the way out, followed by the other two girls.

"Lou, you haven't answered us," Teresa insisted.

Louise slowed down until she stopped, and turned her eyes to the two women. "You sound very mysterious," Emily remarked.

Lou stood there in silence, wondering whether to tell them because she knew they would not give up so easily. Dr. Schneider had told her that her recovery also implied she should be open about the matter, so she finally reached a decision. She breathed in deeply and asked, "Tessie... uh... do you remember the time when you were moved out of the bedroom we shared in the convent because... because I had mumps?"

"Gosh... that was ages ago!" Theresa exclaimed. "How old was I then? Nine or so. And I had to sleep with that conceited girl... Nancy Peterson."

The expression on Theresa's face would have made her laugh in other circumstances, but Lou remained serious as she carried on in a weak voice. "I... I've never had the mumps... Uh... the truth was that ... I... I was assaulted."

"Assaulted?" Emily repeated, her face scrunched up with a confused frown.

"I... I was ... I was raped," Lou finally managed to say. "And ... well... and even though it happened years ago, I still have issues about the matter... especially now that I'm with Kid," she explained, her eyes directed to the toes of her shoes as she felt unable to look at the two women.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, tears of shame, pain and disbelief covered Theresa's eyes while Emily stared at Lou in shock. They painfully realized that their innocent teasing about Lou's seeming prudishness became a callous joke which clearly contrasted with the reality that her behavior actually hid. Theresa let out a guttural sob, which made Lou look up and notice how upset she was. "Please Tessie, don't cry. It's fine. It happened like an eternity ago and I'm better now. I just need to fix a few things... only that."

"I'm so sorry..." Theresa wailed. "I didn't mean to make fun of that... I was cruel and insensitive... but I never meant to hurt you."

"You didn't, silly," Lou tried to reassure her and without minding the funny looks that passers-by gave them, she drew Theresa in a tight embrace. Over her sister's shoulder, she smiled at Emily, who had not said a word since she had spilled the beans, and stretching her arm to her, she reached for her hand and gave her a strong squeeze. This was not the reaction she had expected from them; she would have thought that they would be somehow surprised and even full of pity, but it was as if they felt they had committed a major sin against her with their behavior. Lou did not see it that way. What happened was in the past and she did not want to be treated differently. Even though she sometimes found it hard to cope with their comments, she knew neither her sister nor friend meant any harm and she was actually glad to be part of their world. She would not want it any other way, but now while she listened to Theresa's sobs and watched Emily's astonished expression, she felt very fortunate to have people who laughed and suffered alongside her in such a genuine way. This was part of her life and she absolutely adored it.