Love Lessons

He didn’t really think of her as a scientist with a Ph.D. and all, when she wore her usual clothes, even though that was her work uniform, in a way. How ironic was it that what should have been a frivolous Halloween costume would do the very opposite? Okay, so maybe she looked like a vampire, but he was very aware that she was Dr. Vampira.

His sisters would surely laugh at him if they could hear him thinking such crazy things. And heaven only knew what Catherine herself would think.

Maybe his fake teeth were too tight.

The party was being held in the clubhouse of Laurie’s apartment complex, which wasn’t far from the one where Catherine and Mike lived. Mike had to drive carefully to get there, mindful of the groups of costumed trick-or-treaters being escorted around the residential area by parents in slow-moving vehicles.

The clubhouse was spacious, with high ceilings, glittering chandeliers, a stone floor, scattered couches and small bistro-style tables and a kitchen with a large serving bar. Laurie must have reserved the room a long time ago for this occasion, Catherine mused, knowing how popular the clubhouse at her own complex was.

There were, perhaps, forty people mingling in the room. Maybe more. The music was on the loud side and prerecorded, piped in through unseen speakers. Simple Halloween decorations were scattered around the room, just enough to convey the reason for the party without going overboard. Costumes ranged from simple to elaborate, from traditional to rather perplexing—such as the guy wrapped in aluminum foil with kitchen utensils taped to various body parts. Catherine had no idea what he was trying to be.

From everything he had said about them, Catherine expected to like Mike’s sisters. He was obviously crazy about them, in a long-suffering, younger brother way. He had talked about them teasing him and overindulging him and being there for him when he needed them. He had assured her that he was confident they would like her. Which made it all the more jarring when she got the distinct impression that they were fully prepared to dislike her from the beginning.

Two of the four sisters were at the party, and both descended on them as soon as they entered, as if they’d been waiting for their brother to show up. Apparently, the married sisters were spending Halloween evening with their children.

Laurie was dressed as a fairy, her stunningly perfect body draped in white gauze, small silver wings attached to her shoulders. Everything about her twinkled—the dress, the wings, her rhinestone sandals. Glitter dusted her exposed skin—of which there was rather a lot—and she wore sparkly eye shadow and lipstick. There were even rhinestones scattered in the mass of red hair that fell almost to her waist.

If Karen and Julia had thought Laurie was gorgeous in the restaurant, they should see her now, Catherine thought.

Charlie was almost as beautiful as her younger sister, though in perhaps a less obvious sort of way. Her hair was a mop of red curls, her face slightly more gamine than Laurie’s classic features. She had dressed as Peter Pan, and her escort as Captain Hook, though his broad, tanned face was much too genial and approachable to play the villain properly.

Mike greeted them, then made the introductions. “Catherine, these are my sisters, Laurie and Charlie Clancy, and Charlie’s friend Drew Conroy. Everyone, this is Dr. Catherine Travis.”

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Travis,” Drew said immediately, his voice a deep, country drawl. “You any kin to the Travises from Malvern? I went to school with some Travises there.”

“Please call me Catherine. And no, my family isn’t from Arkansas. I moved here a couple of years ago to accept a job with the medical sciences school.”

“My brother told us you’re a medical researcher,” Laurie said.

Catherine nodded. “I’m an associate professor in the immunology department.”

“Where did you study?” Charlie asked, her tone that of a person who felt obliged to ask polite questions.

“I earned my undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt, and my doctorate at Harvard, then did postdoctoral work at Johns Hopkins.”

“Harvard?” Mike turned to Catherine in surprise. “You never told me that.”

“You never asked,” she replied gently. As interested as he had been in hearing about her childhood, he hadn’t asked many questions about her higher education. She had assumed that he’d been a bit uncomfortable comparing their educational experiences after high school. She had mentioned to him that she’d lived in Boston for a few years, but she supposed he hadn’t put the clues together.

“No, I guess I didn’t.”

“Harvard to Little Rock?” Laurie asked, lifting one rhinestone-enhanced eyebrow. “That must have been quite a transition for you.”

Catherine held on tightly to her patience in the face of what felt increasingly like an inquisition. “I grew up primarily in Texas and Florida and attended three years of college in Tennessee. I’m comfortable in the South. I was offered several nice benefits here, so I accepted, and I haven’t regretted my decision.”

“Okay if Catherine and I get a drink now, or do you want to know her shoe size first?” Mike asked his sisters ironically.

“Seven and a half,” Catherine said, turning to him with a slightly strained smile. “And I would love a drink.”

He slipped an arm around her waist and turned with her toward the bar. “Come on, Vampira, I’ll try to find you a nice glass of blood. See you guys later.”

“Don’t forget, Mike, there’s someone I want you to meet before you leave,” Laurie called after them, raising her voice to be heard over the loud music.

Mike threw an annoyed look back at her, his fake scar twitching in irritation, then turned pointedly away.

“That was subtle,” Catherine murmured, accepting a glass of wine from him. Red wine, of course, she noted in wry amusement. “Your sister wanted to fix you up with someone tonight?”

He sighed and glanced back at Laurie and Charlie, who had their heads together while Drew