Between Sisters

She turned and walked away, let the door slam shut behind her. She was halfway to the car when she heard his voice again.

“She’s happy, you know. With this fella,” he said.

Meghann slowly turned around. “If I remember correctly, you were happy when you married Mama. I was happy when I married Eric. ”

Sam walked toward her. “Your mama is a piece of work, that’s for sure, and I was mad at her for a lot of years, but I’m glad I married her. ”

“You must be on drugs. ”

“Claire” was all he said.

“Oh. ” Meghann felt a pinch of jealousy. There it was again—the Claire father-daughter thing. It pissed her off. She ought to be long past that.

“Be careful with her,” he said. “You’re her sister. ”

“I know I’m her sister. ”

“Do you?”

“Yeah, I do. ” Once again, she walked away. She strolled through the campground, surprised at the number of guests who were there. All of them seemed to be having a good time. The place was well maintained and perfectly situated. Every view was a picture postcard of mountain, trees, and water. Finally, she returned to her car and drove to Claire’s house.

This time when she knocked on the front door, she heard the patter of feet come from inside. The door burst open.

Alison stood there, dressed in daisy-festooned denim overalls and a pretty yellow eyelet blouse.

“You can’t be Alison Katherine Cavenaugh. She’s a baby. ”

Ali beamed at that. “I’m a big girl now. ”

“Yes, you are. ”

Alison frowned up at her. “Your hair is longer and there’s gray in it. ”

“Why, thank you for noticing. Can you give your Aunt Meg a hug?”

“You look like you’re breathing okay. ”

Meg had no idea what the child meant by that. “I am. ”

Alison moved forward and gave her a lukewarm hug. When she stepped back, Meg said, “I brought you a present. ”

“Let me guess. ” Claire emerged from the shadows at the end of the hallway. “You thought every five year old needs a Swiss Army Knife. ”

“No. A BB gun. ”

“You didn’t. ”

Meghann laughed. “I went into the bowels of Hell—a toy store at Northgate—and found the dullest-looking salesperson. She recommended this instead. ” She handed Alison a brightly wrapped box.

Ali ripped it open. “It’s a Groovy Girl, Mommy. A Groovy Girl!” She flung herself at Meghann, this time hugging for real. She showed the doll to Claire, then ran upstairs.

Meghann handed Claire a bottle of wine—Far Niente 1997. “This is one of my favorites. ”

“Thank you. ”

They stared at each other. Their last meeting had been a year ago, when Mama was in town for the Fan-ference. Mama had taken Claire and Ali to the zoo, then later, Meghann had joined them at the Seattle Center. They’d spent most of their time taking Alison for rides in the Fun Forest. That way, they didn’t need to talk.

Finally Claire surged forward, pulled Meghann into a quickie hug, then let her go.