Sisters and Friends

Chapter 4

Water Under The Bridge

Quinn reached over and stopped her laptop's media player, and then closed the window. Sighing, she removed her earbuds, having dozed off while waiting for Annie to finish the final draft. She glanced over at her friend, who was asleep at her desk. She quickly scanned the text, satisfied that the changes had been made.

At least they were able to finish Annie's term paper. They could print it out in the morning.

"Go to bed, Nichols. You're gonna give yourself a cramp in your neck like that. Did you save that document?"

"Mrrrffgghyeah..." Annie slowly got to her feet. "Teeth. Brush...'kay?"

Quinn got the impression that Annie was a heavy sleeper. She watched, bemused, as her friend pulled some clothes out of her dresser and sleepwalked to the bathroom. She seemed to remember that Jane was like that too, that time she and Trent had stayed over at the Morgendorffer home.

This was the last of the summer session's work. In two weeks, she and Annie would be starting at Lawndale State.

Annie's mom, as it turned out, was a tiny, pretty woman, even smaller than Daria.

She was also a very good cook. Quinn and Annie quickly cleared the dishes from the table, and found that her mother had cleaned up after herself as she cooked. Quinn unboxed the small cheesecake she had brought for dessert as Annie produced small plates and forks.

"Thank you for dinner, Ms. Nichols, it was really good!" Quinn smiled, placing a slice of cheesecake in front of the older woman.

"Thank you for dessert, Quinn, you didn't have to go through the trouble. I'm very glad you came to help Annie with her English paper. And please call me Sara."

They have the same smile; it's pretty clear where Annie got her good looks from.

Sara was definitely Asian, although it wasn't obvious to Quinn where in that vast continent her ancestors had come from.

"Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost part of Japan," Sara smiled, "My Great Grandparents were from there. Halfway between the major islands of Japan and Taiwan, also known as the Ryukyu Islands. Ethnically and culturally, quite different. Even the native language is different from Japanese, although since the end of World War II the standard Tokyo dialect has been taught in the schools there."

"So you're Japanese?" Quinn had asked, fascinated. She looked between Sara and Annie; Sara herself looked Eurasian somehow.

"Ethnically, I suppose you could say that. The bloodlines there are different than in Japan proper; in past times Okinawa was a trading center. I suppose quite a few Dutch and other European sailors jumped ship." Sara smiled. "Many Okinawans look different; the women were considered to be somewhat exotic to the Japanese eye."

Quinn tried not to be obvious about it, but she looked carefully at the older woman. Her eyes are hazel, and her hair's much lighter than Jane's.

"I was born and raised in Glendale, near Los Angeles; so I think that makes me American."

Annie sat back in her chair. Her eyes blazed as she began speaking, arms crossed. "Not according to Dad's-"

"That's quite enough, young lady," Sara said quietly. Annie fell silent. "We have some family conflicts that have not been fully resolved."

Quinn looked at her friend, wondering what she could do to help. Annie was her friend, and she was hurting. What was it that bothered her so much? She wasn't going to stick her nose where it wasn't wanted, but she was ready to listen, and to help if she could.

Sara studied the faces of the two young women in front of her. Her daughter, shaking with suppressed anger; and her friend, concern and helplessness evident on her features. She saw how the young woman was leaning forward towards Annie, wondering what she could do.

At least, she deserved to understand.

"Annie's father's family had issues with me; they didn't want their son marrying someone Asian, and especially Japanese. His father had been a POW in the Pacific, and the anger he carried had spilled over to my husband's family. When we married, they cut off all contact."

"That's…I…" Quinn started. She could feel her face flush in anger, and suddenly she understood why Annie had identified with the difficulty Daria was having with their mom.

"That's just…unfair," Quinn managed. "Did they even know you?" She'd met Sara just a short time ago, but clearly Annie's sweet, affable personality was inherited from her mother. How could…

"The scars were deep, of course. His parents wouldn't meet, let alone talk to me. All they had was a photograph that Martin had sent them, and that was enough to set them off."

"Dad never tried to bridge that chasm, and when his parents passed- first his father, and then his mother, a year later- he never acknowledged them. He had two brothers, and had gotten into a huge fight with them before he and Mom married. He never spoke to them again either."

Sara looked first at her daughter, and then at Quinn, who was still in shock.

"I'm so sorry," Quinn finally managed. She reached over and squeezed Annie's hand, who returned a small but appreciative smile. "No wonder you wanted to help Daria."

Sara smiled at the two girls. "Life is too short to be lost to anger."

She looked over to the fireplace, and Quinn followed her gaze. In the center of the mantle was a triangular glass-fronted walnut case. Inside was a tightly folded flag. To the side was a small framed photograph of a distinguished, handsome man in a dark suit.

"Oh, no," Quinn whispered, realizing now why Annie's dad was not here.

"Martin was formerly a Marine, and was employed as an Analyst by the Government. At least that's what he was supposed to be. He died during a fact-finding assignment in Afghanistan."

"We don't know what he really did," Annie said quietly. "He never spoke about his work. A lot of things were left unsaid before he died."

"The animosity between Martin and his parents seemed to come mostly from his father. After he passed, his mother began to make changes to the will, as the control of their assets passed to her. After she had died, we heard that Annie had been given an equal share of the estate as the rest of the grandchildren, with an additional sum as compensation for a young lifetime of missed birthdays, Christmases and other gifts. In addition, Martin's inheritance was restored."

"Mom did receive Dad's share of the estate after he died; but my portion, which was held in trust, was mostly lost. My uncles took it upon themselves to "remedy" that part of the will by taking us to court. It seems that they intended to carry out my Grandfather's wishes, and of course to even argue for the relinquishment of Dad's share. They really didn't have a legal basis to stand on, but Dad's younger brother is a Lawyer. They put us into a position where we were forced to choose between an expensive, long legal fight and simply giving in. Our attorney advised us to seek a negotiated settlement so we were at least able to walk away with something."

"We've already spent thousands on legal services," Sara said sadly. "It's not so much the money that bothers me, but the bad feelings."

Quinn sat back in her chair, seething with rage.

"We are still grateful for what we did get, though," Sara went on. "We expected nothing. Martin had some insurance, and his government position, whatever it really was, provides a surviving spousal stipend. All together, we have enough to get by. So, we're lucky that we have enough left so Annie can go to college."

Quinn settled in; the odd, blocky, cloth-covered chair in Annie' room unfolded into a surprisingly comfortable futon. Still, tired as she was, sleep eluded her.

That is just so damn unfair.