Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

He always enjoyed listening to tourists trying to pronounce places like Snohomish, Issaquah or Cle Elum, or his personal favorite, Stillaguamish. Not that he knew anything about naming a craft mall.

He’d shown up for a musical showcase where local bands performed for friends and family. It was the audible equivalent to a train wreck—you really didn’t want to look and see anything bad, but it was impossible to turn away. In this case, there was the faint possibility of hearing something passably good, with the more likely outcome of wincing through the butchering of a perfectly good song. Or twenty.

Griffith wouldn’t normally bother coming. He had plenty to fill his time. But Leo’s son was playing tonight and Leo had asked Griffith to attend. Leo rarely asked for anything, plus he’d sounded so proud when he’d told Griffith about the showcase.

Apparently the band was going to perform a Beatles retrospective. Griffith hoped the Beatles who had already left the earth had reached a state of grace and forgiveness. If they chose to exact punishment for what was about to be done to their songs, there was no telling what could happen.

The room would hold a couple hundred people. There were about sixty there already. Leo and his family had claimed the entire front row of tables. Griffith waved at him, then settled in for what he would guess was going to be a very long evening.

The event was BYOB. He’d grabbed a six-pack of beer. As he found a seat at one of the tables, he wondered if he should have brought something stronger. Or more of it.

He’d just opened his first bottle when he saw Kelly walk in and look around. At first he thought she was looking for friends to sit with, but then he noticed she seemed tense and on edge. When she glanced in his direction, he waved her over.

Her look of relief was gratifying.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she approached. “I didn’t think anyone came without being obligated. You know the music is going to be awful, right?”

He stood and held out a chair. “I do. Leo, my floor supervisor, has a kid playing. He asked me to come. What’s your excuse?”

“I couldn’t stay home.” With that she pulled a bottle of vodka out of her large tote bag. “They still serve sodas and stuff here, right?”

He eyed the full bottle, then pointed to the concession stand by the wall. “Sure. What do you want?”

“A large glass with ice. Tonic water if they have it, otherwise club soda and a lime.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks.”

The room was filling up and the noise level rising. They were going to have a full house tonight. He walked over to the serve-yourself concession stand and filled a large Solo cup with ice and three inches of tonic and added a couple slices of lime. When he returned to their table, Kelly sat staring at the far wall. Her eyes were unfocused and her mouth trembled slightly.

He sat next to her and handed her the cup. “What’s wrong?”

“Is it that obvious?” She poured a healthy serving of vodka, then swirled the ice in the cup. “Don’t ask. I know the answer. It’s just... I don’t know. Everything was fine, you know? Sure, my life isn’t that interesting, but I like it. I have a good job and good friends and then bam, something smacks you upside the head.”

For a second he wondered if she was talking about what he’d suggested. No, that had been several days ago and when he’d seen her at the farm, she’d been friendly enough. It was something else.

“Olivia’s back,” she said flatly.

It took him a second to figure out who Olivia was. “Your sister?”

“That’s her. She’s home for the summer.” She took another drink. “I’m being punished. I get that. It’s fair, but damn. I don’t know how I’m going to get through it. She’s so perfect. Her clothes, her hair. Plus the way she talks about everything in Phoenix. Only if it’s all so great, what is she doing here?”

He had no idea what she was talking about, so he kept his mouth shut. Kelly needed someone to listen—him knowing or not knowing the subject seemed unimportant.

“It’s been so long. She was fifteen when Dad sent her to boarding school and I was eighteen. Getting ready to start college. I was so excited and—”

She looked at him. Tears filled her eyes. “I’m lying. Dad didn’t send her away. Okay, he did, but it was my idea. I’m the one who said she was acting out in school. She and Ryan were dating and it was getting serious and I was so scared she was going to be like our mom. I was worried for her, but mostly for myself. I knew if she screwed up and got pregnant, I would be stuck dealing with it all and I just didn’t want to. I know that makes me a horrible person.”

He shifted his chair closer and put his arm around her. “No, it doesn’t.”

She blinked away the tears. “It does. I was selfish.”

“Because you didn’t want your sister to get pregnant at fifteen? Yeah, you were a real bitch.”

“But we sent her away.”

He thought about his brother and the women in his life. Griffith had been away at college when his brother was in high school, but he’d heard plenty of stories.

“You did the right thing for both of them.”

“You’re being nice. Thank you.” She leaned against him and took another drink. “Now she’s back and she’s already mentioned seeing him.”

“Ryan has a girlfriend.”

“That’s what I thought. I’m not sure Olivia knows, but that’s not my rock. I just don’t know how I’m going to deal with her for the summer. Biologically we’re sisters, but in reality, we’re strangers.”

“Want to move in with me?”

She looked at him. “Wow, there’s an invitation.”

He grinned. “I meant into your own room. The house is big enough.”

“I’m not sure jumping from the frying pan to the fire is a good idea, but thank you for the offer.” She sighed. “Dad is happy. She’s his baby girl and now he has both of us together under one roof. Maybe this is a sign that I should get my own place.”

“Maybe you should see how things are going to go first.”

“Logic. How like a man.”

She poured more vodka into her cup. Griffith rubbed her arm and wondered how this was all going to turn out. It did seem strange that Olivia would simply leave everything for the summer. As for Ryan, God knew what trouble he was in now, what with his current girlfriend and his former girlfriend all in the same town. Maybe he would try to escape the trouble by showing up to work on time. Unlikely, but a guy could dream.

*

The band played for nearly an hour, although it seemed much longer what with their lack of understanding about music and staying in tune. When they were done, Griffith’s ears were ringing. He hoped the condition wasn’t permanent. He congratulated Leo and his son, then went back to the table and collected Kelly.

“That was great,” she said brightly as she tucked what was left of her vodka into her bag. “I think by the end, they were getting the hang of it.”

“I think you’re drunk.”

“Maybe. But that’s okay. I’m an adult.”

“You’re an adult who’s not driving home.”