Still floating from the night before, Tabitha daydreamed about her neighbour as she took the garbage out to the driveway for pickup in the morning.
"Hi Tabitha!"
Turning in the direction of the Tessio house, Tabitha saw Jeannie playing jacks on the front porch. "Hey Jeannie. How's your life?"
"Gooood," she giggled. "How is YOURS? Or should I be asking how's your NOSE doing?"
Holding back a grin, she climbed the porch steps and sat down next to her, wooden splinters digging into her bare legs. "And how did you find out about the whole nose thing?"
"Your sister told Jake, and Jake told me. And then I told my brother Billy and me and him have been making fun of Vern all day, but right now he's hiding from us." Jeannie leaned forward, disbelief in her eyes. "His lips actually TOUCHED you? Did you hurl?"
Smiling down at the girl, she shook her head. "It was really sweet. He--he's just really sweet."
"You're as disgusting as he is," Jeannie marveled.
"Just wait until you fall in love with the boy next door." Getting to her feet and dusting off the seat of her shorts, Tabitha said, "Thanks for the talk, Jeannie."
"My pleasure. Hey, maybe he'll get your mouth next time!"
Laughing, Tabitha said, "I hope so!"
When he was sure Tabitha had gone inside, and he heard Jeannie gather up her jacks and go in the house, Vern climbed out from under the porch.
"Hello?"
"Is Libby home?"
"Nope, she's in the bathroom. And she's been in the bathroom for hours. Every once in a while, I hear splashing sounds. Would you like an audiovisual? Imagine the sound of a dog drinking out of the toilet. That's the sound I hear from time to time. I will leave it up to you to think of what she must be doing in there."
"Who is that?" a voice demanded angrily in the background.
The boy that had answered the phone screamed and suddenly Libby's voice took over. "My apologies. Hello?"
"Your little brother, I presume?" Delia said.
"Yep. I'm sitting on him as we speak." She giggled. "Why are you calling?"
"I talked to your lover boy today."
"What? What the hell for?"
"You swore!" Jake yelled.
"I did not you damn liar!"
"I'm not sure why I felt the need to talk to him, but I went over anyway."
"And just for the record, what did he say?"
"Well, he said you were cute."
"Cute?" she cried. "That's for ducks and bunnies!"
"And you, apparently."
"Mind you, I hate bunnies because they're frightening and twitchy."
"Teddy said he wouldn't dump you for anyone else." Although what he'd actually said was he wouldn't dump her for Delia, but why worry over trivial matters?
Libby whined. "If he didn't drink so much and be all unfaithful, he'd be so perfect!"
"Are you still going to go out with him?"
"I do have some self-respect, you know."
"So...you're not going to go out with him."
"I didn't say that."
"Weiss residence," Andie said politely, picking up the phone.
"Guess what guess what guess what guess what!!!"
"Abby?" Andie wondered.
"Guess WHAT!" Abby cried.
Laughing at her excitement, she asked, "WHAT?"
"He kissed me!"
"Who did?"
"Who do you THINK?"
"Give me a hint."
"Who have I been wanting to kiss for MY ENTIRE LIFE?"
"Robert Duvall."
"Andie, you're a retard!" she exclaimed.
"What? He was a very sexy Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird! He had that whole sensitive air of mystery about him."
"Gordie! Kissed me! And it wasn't even an accident!"
"Abby!" Andie squeaked. "That's so great! How was it?"
"I don't really remember!"
Giggling, Andie said, "Heeyy, neat, we're best friends and our BOYFRIENDS are best friends."
"Gordie's my boyfriend?"
"No, Abby, he's just your kissing partner."
"I would settle for that, you know."
"Yes, I know you would."
"Who are you calling?" Delia asked Chris as he began to dial a phone number, sitting on the kitchen counter.
"Andie. Why do you care?" He gave her a questioning look.
"Oh...you're still, uh, together?"
"Yes..." Shaking his head, he dismissed this conversation to be one of Delia's odd moments. Getting a busy signal, he hung up the phone.
He went to the fridge and pulled out some leftovers. Delia watched him, hating how clueless he seemed to her right now. Usually he was the most perceptive guy she knew, but right now, he didn't have the slightest clue about what was going on.
She had to tell him. Maybe she didn't have to, but she felt so bad for him. "Chris?"
"Oh, did you want some?" he asked, gesturing to the plate of lasagna he was gorging on.
"No, thanks." She cleared her throat. "So, uh, are you Andie dating exclusively? You don't have any other girlfriends or anything?"
"No, we're exclusive. Why all the questions about Andie?"
"Well, do you remember how Andie cheated on Teddy with you?"
"Yeah, I felt like the biggest asshole for that, but he didn't treat her good."
"Hmm." She hesitated. "Um, it's the other way around now."
"What are you talking about, Delia?" he demanded.
"Andie's cheating on you, Chris," she said quietly.
Their gazes met, and the intensity that Chris stared at her with made Delia lower her eyes uncomfortably, almost guiltily. "You know what, Delia?"
She shook her head.
"I've always defended you when my friends say stuff about you, like how big a bitch you are and shit like that, because you're my sister. And maybe because you're my sister, that's why I never saw how right they were."
"Chris!" she said, shocked and offended.
"I can't believe even you would stoop this low. I'm your brother! What's in it for you?"
"I don't want you to get hurt!"
"Of course," he barked, sarcastically bitter. "Well fuck you, Delia."
"Hey, Gordo," Chris said unenthusiastically, opening the door for his friend to come inside.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Not much. Let's see, I'm getting suspicious of my girlfriend and I feel guilty for it and I hate my sister, but on the bright side, my aunt made pie."
Gordie raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay. Let's see. Why are you suspicious of Andie, which sister do you hate and why, and may I have some pie?"
"Andie might be cheating on me, the sister I hate is Delia and I hate her because I think she's lying about Andie and you can keep your grubby hands the hell away from my pie."
"Why would Andie cheat on you?" Gordie wondered, following his nose to the pie's location.
"I don't know, Gordie, I've been thinking about it all day," Chris sighed. "I blew up on Delia today when she told me, but I can't figure out why she would lie about something like that. She wouldn't get anything out of it."
"You know Delia gets bored and just likes to stir things up for her own amusement."
Shaking his head, he said helplessly, "Yeah, I know--but she wouldn't do that to me."
"How do you know?"
"Alright, Gordie, don't kill me for saying this, but do you think if Denny were still around, he would do something like that to you?"
Gordie shook his head solemnly.
"Well, Delia's my sister just like Denny was your brother. We might have a different relationship than you had with Denny, but the loyalties are still there."
"So you believe her then?"
"I don't want to." He shrugged. "It would suck to think that Andie doesn't care about me as much as she pretends to."
"She's capable of doing it, you know," Gordie reminded him gently. "She cheated on Teddy."
"I know. That's the only reason why I'm considering believing Delia."
"Delia?" Abby knocked on her sister's bedroom door. "Are you doing anything illegal in there or can I come in?"
"Go away."
"It's just me."
"I know. That's why I said go away."
Ignoring her sister's wishes, she entered the room, finding Delia curled up on her bed. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yes."
"Oh my Lord. Are you crying?"
"Abby, go play with your dolls."
"I can't, you stuck pins in all of them." She sighed. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, dammit, will you just leave?"
"I guess this isn't the time to ask you my question about Gordie."
"Gordie?" She looked up at her younger sister, her face tired and tight looking from the evident crying she'd been doing. "What about Gordie?"
"You sure you want to listen?" she asked. "You don't look up to sisterly bonding."
"I said, what about Gordie?"
"Okay, I'm going to ask you a philosophical question."
"I'm not a philosopher."
"Okay, if a guy kisses you, does that automatically mean that he's your boyfriend?"
Delia rolled over, groaning into her pillow, and Abby realized with horror that she was crying again, judging by her shaking shoulders.
"Oh dear. I upset you."
"That wasn't a philosophical question," she muttered.
"Sorry. What's the answer anyway?"
"You should talk to Gordie about this, not me." She reached out her hand, as if to grab something off the floor, but couldn't reach.
Abby looked at the floor and saw a grungy looking teddy bear. She picked it up gingerly, looked at it for a moment, and then handed it to her sister. It seemed odd to her that Delia was seeking comfort in a stuffed animal. Actually, it was also quite odd that she was crying. After all, this was Delia, the girl whose heart was an automatic ice machine.
"I don't have a whole lot of luck with guys," Delia said quietly.
"You like Gordie, don't you?"
"Always have. But Gordie would never go for someone like me. Now you, on the other hand, that's a different story. You're sweet and funny and nice and all that crap." She sniffled. "But I'm the Chambers kid that turned out bad."
"Delia, that's not true, all of us are turning out good despite everything we grew up with," Abby said, sitting on the edge of her bed, awkwardly stroking her perfectly glossy dark hair like their mother would have done. "And you, Deelie, are turning out great. You've grown up pretty, and smart, and occasionally amusing--"
"But not nice, or kind, or...worth loving." She tucked the bear under her arm. "Even Chris hates me. Chris doesn't hate anyone."
"You're retarded. Chris does love you. I love you. Aunt Marian and Uncle Gregg love you. Todd loves you. I also think Dexter might kinda have a thing for you, too."
"You're family though. You're bound by law to love me." She glanced up at her suddenly. "What about Dexter?" Dexter was Andie's older brother. He was blind, but unusually intelligent and observant, so Delia couldn't imagine how someone like him would ever like her.
"You need to stop acting like you don't feel anything, like you don't need anyone." Abby laid down next to her, resting her head on her shoulder. "Then maybe people would tell you they loved you more often. Honestly, people are just afraid that you're going to turn them away if they start to feel something for you."
"Oh, so I really am scary?"
"Yep." She grinned. "You're my sister, Delia. No matter what, I'm going to be able to see the good in you, so if you ever need reminding, just ask."
A tender, painful smile touched Delia's face. She sat up on her bed. "I'm happy for you and Gordie."
"Thanks," she said, also sitting up.
"I suppose we hug now? Isn't that what they do on TV?"
"I think so." Abby put her arms around her sister's shoulders and rested her chin against she crook of her neck.
"How long is this supposed to last?" Delia asked.
"I don't know, you started it."
Letting go, she said, "You should go downstairs. Gordie's here."
"He is? How do you know?"
"I listen for him on occasion," she giggled.
"I have to tell you something," Gordie said, eating his third piece of pie. This was sometime after Abby had come down from upstairs and visited for awhile.
"What?" Chris asked distractedly, involved in his food.
"You can't beat me up if I tell you."
"Well, yes I could beat you up effortlessly. You wouldn't stand a chance. But I promise not to get violent."
"Okay, I kissed your sister."
"WHICH sister?" Chris demanded.
"Your younger one..."
Chris glared at him. "My little sister? Asshole."
"She's a big girl, you know. She's capable of making decisions on her own."
"She's incredible immature. I mean, I think she still talks to her stuffed animals."
"Hey, wouldn't you rather it be me than say, Teddy or someone?"
"I would rather her become a nun. But I guess you're acceptable."
"Gee thanks, Chris."
"Hey, you're lucky I'm not giving you the hurt-her-and-die lecture." He smiled faintly. "You're also lucky I trust you to take care of her when I'm not around."