“No, Annie’s not actually a member of my family, though you’d never know it if you saw her with my mom.”
“Hey, girl,” China cried, running to greet me. “You come for the opening?”
“Yeah.” I gave her a hug, then turned. “This is my friend Alice.”
“Hi, Alice, nice to meet you.” They shook hands.
“Your shop is beautiful,” Alice said, looking around in awe. “So many colors.”
“Thanks. Have a look around.”
“I will.”
I watched Alice whip around, trying to check out all the displays. China’s shop was so intriguing, it was hard to decide what to look at first.
One whole wall was covered in square cubbyholes, each one stuffed with a different color and weight of yarn. There were wire baskets hanging at different levels from the ceiling, some piled high with luxurious yarns, others with bunches of colorful embroidery threads. Several tables showed off knitted and crocheted blankets, adult and baby sweaters, booties, gloves, and more. In one corner was a massive loom with a half-completed multicolored blanket, China’s latest work in progress. It would eventually sell for thousands of dollars.
China was a talented weaver with a fantastic sense of design. She was the one who helped me get my loft pulled together when I first moved in. While I loved all my sisters, she was my favorite, the one I could most relate to. This was probably because she ate red meat and made a point of sinning on a regular basis.
“Have you seen Mom today?” I asked.
“She’s at Annie’s right now, and she’s all wigged out of proportion about London and the boys coming to visit.”
“That’s so unfair,” I said.
“I know,” China said. “Everything stops when London shows up.”
We laughed, but it was true. London was our youngest sister, and though I would never say it to her face, the prettiest. Growing up, she’d always tried to keep up with me and China and our other sister, Savannah. And she usually succeeded. Even now that we were all grown up, she was still doing it. For instance, two months after China gave birth to her beautiful baby girl, Hannah, London had to go and have twins. One boy and one girl.
She’d also married the perfect man. Trevor was a handsome doctor who happened to own a popular winery up in Calistoga. I mean, really, a doctor and a winemaker? She was such a show-off! I loved London and Trevor and the boys, but she could never be my favorite sister. She was too perfect. Not that I would ever tell her that.
My mom insisted she didn’t play favorites, but she got all google-eyed whenever London and her babies came to visit.
“Is Trevor coming, too?” I asked.
“Of course. He’ll be by later this afternoon.”
“And what about Savannah?”
“She’s still a freak,” China said, crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue.
“Ah, feel the love,” I said, giving her a one-armed hug. “I’ve missed you so.”
“I’ve missed you, too. You’re my favorite. Don’t tell the others. By the way, you realize we’ve inherited another sister, right?”
“I know,” I said. “And I blame myself. Mom is insane about Annie, don’t you think? I guess it’s because of Abraham.”
China agreed. “I admit I’m a little protective of her myself.”
“Me, too, but don’t tell her I said so. She’s really fun to tease.”
Annie, or Anandalla, as her mother had named her, was Abraham Karastovsky’s daughter. A daughter he’d never met until the week before he died. That’s when Annie showed up, giving Abraham the shock of his life. In a good way, of course. They’d made plans and were looking forward to getting to know each other. Then he was killed and my mother took Annie under her wing.
Since Abraham hadn’t known about Annie, and hadn’t had a chance to change his will, he’d left his entire estate to me, his lifelong pupil and apprentice. I’d made some changes and now Annie had a small trust fund, and she and I were co-owners of Abraham’s palatial home in the hills overlooking Dharma. Those changes had assuaged a small part of the boatload of guilt I’d been dealing with ever since Abraham died.
Annie’s mom died shortly after that, and she moved to Dharma. The entire community had adopted her, especially my mother, who considered Annie the fifth daughter I’d never known she needed.
“We’ve got to go,” I said, hugging China. I told her we’d meet up with her at Annie’s store later. Then I grabbed Alice and we continued walking the Lane.
There was already a crowd gathered in front of Annie’s place. I was delighted when I saw what she’d named her store.
Anandalla!
It was perfect. It sounded so Dharma. Alice followed as I pushed my way into the packed store, stopping every few feet to greet old friends and introduce them to Alice. I spotted Robin on the other side of the spacious shop and we waved at each other. But I couldn’t get there from here, not through this crowd.