She ignored Luke’s calls. She called in sick at the salon for the next week, refusing to leave the house at all.
With her tears down to a minimum by the following Monday, she went back to work. Rather than deal with the customers, she stayed behind the scenes sorting through paperwork. One of the girls had said she needed to get back into the swing of things by dealing with the clients. Sandy pointed out they worked in a beauty salon and she looked like a bag of shit.
Since the conversation, the girls brought her coffee, then left her to her own devices.
Sandy’s daily struggle to contain her heartache as his cruel words continued to haunt her was unending. She hated him more and more each day as his nasty words rang in her ears. If he was standing in front of her right now, she’d punch his face in.
A knock on the door disrupted her thoughts. Glancing in the mirror, she wiped her cheeks to rid the tears falling down her face. She’d decided to forgo mascara in case of an emotional outbreak.
“Come in,” she called, cringing as the croak in her voice gave way to her emotions. She looked up and saw her sister in the doorway. Her sister who’d become a lawyer fighting other people’s problems, Natalie.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I came to see how my sister is doing.”
No, Natalie never had the time to see what went on in her youngest sister’s life.
“Also, I wondered if you could do my nails.”
“There’s a table outside. One of the girls will deal with you. I’ve got stuff to do.” Sandy didn’t like the insecure feeling going through her at being near her sister.
“No. I don’t mean professionally done. I just thought we could catch up. Girl talk and all that.”
Something must be up. Even when she was growing up at home Natalie had never asked for the girl talk or to catch up.
“Natalie, what do you want? I haven’t got the time or energy to be playing mind games. Just tell me what you came for and get out.” She knew she sounded harsh but her life was running away from her. She didn’t need one more thing preventing her from catching up.
She sighed, watching her sister take a seat.
“You know, I stood in court the other day with a girl wanting an emancipation order from her parents. Nothing big really, only everything about this girl reminded me of you.”
“What a successful screw up whose latest boyfriend thinks she sleeps with every man who crosses her path?” Sandy asked, unable to keep the cynical tone out of her voice.
“No. A woman not afraid to tell other people no. Sandy, you didn’t want to be a lawyer or a doctor or anything else Mom and Dad demanded you consider,” her sister said. “You got excellent grades and opened up a beauty salon with a friend. You haven’t jumped into the marriage bag.”
“Your point being?”
“I envy you.”
“You, envy me? Get real Natalie. You’re a successful lawyer with a husband and the house.”
“I’m trapped. My husband is having an affair with his secretary and I hate my job.”
Sandy stopped and stared at her sister. For the first time she noticed the lines on her older sister’s face—the lines of a woman who worried and spent too much time working. There wasn’t a single trace of happiness inside Natalie.
“I look at you and I wish I’d had the guts to turn around and tell them to screw it. I heard what happened with Neal. You two have broken up. I see the sadness.”
“Have you come to gloat?”
“Regardless of what you think I never hated you, Sandy. I loved you. You were my youngest sister.”#p#分页标题#e#
“You had a shitty way of showing it.”
“While you were busy rebelling against Mom, I was busy making a life. Being told what my dreams were instead of thinking for myself.”
Sandy glanced around her office. She loved the shabby little hole with the old sofa and wonky files.
“What do you want, Natalie?” So much time had passed she didn’t even understand her own sister.
“Never feel you have to stick around here to be happy. You’re an amazing talented person. Don’t let Neal Haney drag you down.”
“That’s your splendid advice?”
“I wish someone had given that to me when I was forced to marry my husband.”
“If you hate him so much, why do you stay together?”
“Because, unlike you, I’m not strong enough to do something about it.” Natalie got up from her seat, walked around the desk, leaned down, and hugged Sandy. “I’m so proud of you.”
Moments later, her sister walked out, leaving her baffled.