Part V

She'd been lying awake for hours. She could tell that Ruthie was asleep, but she just couldn't make herself relax enough. Part of it was that it had been so long since she'd had to fall asleep without the feeling of Dan's big arms around her, without his warm body pressed up against her. She missed him terribly.

Giving up on sleep for the moment, she got out of bed and tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen. After getting herself a glass of water, she stood in front of the window, staring out into the backyard. She noticed what seemed to be a tiny glowing spark floating in the air over by the garbage cans. It was the tip of a cigarette, she realized.

Dan was standing by the garbage cans. He had just put out his cigarette and was tucking the butt into one of the cans when she rounded the corner, and he looked up and treated her to one of his beautiful smiles. Those smiles were guaranteed to calm her down when she was feeling upset, and tonight was no different.

"You couldn't sleep either?" she asked lightly.

"Sorry, hon. I was going through major nicotine withdrawal."

She couldn't keep herself from running her eyes admiringly over his broad shoulders and chest. Clad only a wifebeater tank top and pajama bottoms, he looked so good that she found it hard to keep her hands off him.

"Honestly," he sighed, "I don't know if I'm gonna get any sleep. It's bad enough with those twin brothers of yours carrying on conversations where they can finish each other's sentences, for Christ's sake. But then, when they finally drop off, I've got Simon and Henry giggling and whispering like it's a goddamn slumber party."

"You homophobe," Lucy teased.

"Well, I don't want to be in the boys' room with them. Not when you're all the way upstairs in the friggin' attic. It's not fair."

He grabbed her and pulled her into a long kiss, and she relaxed into him gratefully. She parted her lips and he slid his tongue into her mouth, sending little shivers down her spine. She tasted his breath, smelled his familiar scents of tobacco and baby powder. He ran his hands over her shoulders and neck, then slid his fingers down to stroke her breasts. She gasped and he moaned. He was scrabbling at her pajama buttons when she heard the back door open.

"Someone's coming!" she hissed.

They sprang apart. A few seconds later, Ruthie appeared. "What are you guys doing?"

"We just wanted some fresh air before we went to bed," Lucy said lamely. "We're just going up now. Goodnight, honey." She leaned in and gave him a very chaste, close-lipped kiss.

Smiling in the teasing, sexy way that he knew drove her crazy, he gave her a peck on the lips in return. "Sleep tight, baby," he drawled, and headed back into the house.

Lucy thought that she should probably stay outside a few extra minutes in order to make it look good for her sister. Ruthie was now watching her rather intently, so she pretended to be looking at the stars and taking deep breaths, like she supposed a fresh-air addict might.  

Then Ruthie said abruptly, "By the way, I know the truth about you and Dan."

"What?"

"You know. You and Dan. I know that he plays in a bar band called the Inflatable Dolls and that the two of you are living together."

"Come on, Ruthie. I don't know where you got that idea!" Lucy declared, her heart pounding.

Ruthie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms on her chest. "Oh, please. Don't bother to deny it; I know I'm right. I always am. And it was totally easy to find out, too. Pathetically easy. But then, none of you siblings have been much of a challenge. All it takes is five seconds of detective work. It's just sad that I'm wasting my talents on you guys." Ruthie leaned back against the back door and smirked. "I know everything about all of you. I know that Matt's flunked out of med school and is working night shifts as a rent-a-cop, and that Sarah had to drop out of school to take care of the kids. I know that Mary's last job was modeling for the Frederick's of Hollywood catalogue. I know that Simon and Henry are more than just friends, although I think Mom and Dad must be the last two people in America who haven't caught on to that one. And," she finished, her eyes gleaming in triumph, "I know all about you."

Lucy was speechless.

"I can see that you're shocked," Ruthie gloated. "Don't be. I've always been the smartest one in the family. It just took me a while to figure out how to profit from my intellect."

"Profit?"

"Of course." Ruthie sighed exaggeratedly. "You really are slow, aren't you? Okay, I'll spell it out. I get two hundred a month from Matt, and another two hundred from Simon. Mary's making the least money, so she chips in a hundred. It really works out the best for everybody. Mom and Dad don't find out what I know, and I've got a lot of tuition money saved up for Stanford."

The light dawned, but Lucy still couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. "You want me to pay you?"

"Well, you want me to keep quiet, don't you? It's a very reasonable arrangement." Taking out her notebook, Ruthie did a quick calculation on one of the pages. "I was hoping to get at least two hundred from you, but from the looks of that boyfriend of yours, I don't think you guys can afford it. After all, I don't want to be a burden or anything. So I'll settle for a hundred and fifty a month. That's a bargain rate, just because you're my sister."

"I'm not going to let you blackmail me!"

Ruthie shook her head sadly. "You know, I would really hate to have Mom and Dad find out what you've been doing. They've always thought that, of all of us, you turned out the best. I hear them talking about how much they admire you for sticking to your principles all these years, even though you don't live at home and you're not married yet. It's going to suck, having to ruin their high opinion of you. I really hate to do that to them. "

Against her will, Lucy found herself nodding, agreeing to Ruthie's demented plan.

"Oh good. I take personal checks. And I don't start charging interest until the twentieth of the month. You definitely can't get a deal like that from any bank."

Still feeling somewhat dazed, Lucy turned and started to walk back into the house.

"Lucy?"

She stopped but didn't turn around. "What, Ruthie?"

"I'm so glad that we get to be together in the attic room again tonight. Isn't it fun! Just like old times!"

"Why … uh …sure, Ruthie, it's great," Lucy said unconvincingly. She told herself, only eight more hours. Dan won't mind leaving right after breakfast.

Ruthie took her sister's hand. Lucy found that she was so nervous, she almost jumped.

"I've really missed you since you left. I miss not having a sister around," Ruthie said sweetly. Lucy eyed her warily and wondered if leaving before breakfast might be a better idea.

Smiling beatifically, Ruthie led her back into the house, and the door swung shut behind them.