high roller with two queen-size beds and a gleaming bathroom with enough towels for a small army. There was a big TV with a remote, and by playing with the buttons, she found she could get all kinds of movies right here in the room. She decided to watch every single one to keep the fear of tomorrow’s return flight at bay.
When the third movie ended, she thought about going out to eat all by herself. Nasty. Everybody would think she was some ugly person that no one liked. Then her eye fell on an ad for pizza delivered right to your room. She watched the next three movies as she chomped her way through a large pizza with everything including anchovies, which she could never get at home because Vinnie hated them. She fell asleep happy.
Now she was happy again, back home in Seaside in her little third-floor apartment, checking out the suitcase before Vinniecame for it. She wanted to see what was in it. Nosy her mother always called her. Personally, Jo liked the word
curious
better.
Under the books were women’s clothes—sweaters and sweatshirts, jeans, slacks, a denim skirt, tops in lots of different colors, pajamas, and at the bottom some very pretty underwear, very pretty indeed. Too bad it wasn’t her size. Last came two pairs of shoes with deodorant tucked in one of the shoes, a bottle of perfume in another. Clever.
Slipped in among the clothes were several pretty things. She liked the glass ball with lots of different colors swirled through it. She didn’t know what you did with it, but it would look pretty sitting on a table or something. She put it on her end table under the light. It sort of glowed, and she loved it.
The silver and gold picture frame was just the right size for the picture of her and Vinnie taken at the beach last summer. He looked so handsome with his curly black hair and great tan. She didn’t look too bad either in her red and white bikini. Since she never went into the ocean, her hair was just right, and her nose wasn’t even red from the sun.
There were a couple of neckties in the suitcase too. One had pill bottles all over it, spilling colorful pills onto a bright red background. Who would ever wear an ugly thing like that? The other had books and more books in lots of colors on a bright blue background. Well, maybe a teacher might wear that. She tossed them in the general direction of the wastebasket.
The door opened and Vinnie came in with a six-pack in his hand.
“Hey, what are you doing?” he yelled, dropping the beer and rushing to her.
She blinked, scared. “J-just looking. I didn’t hurt nothing! Honest!”
Vinnie fell to his knees and flipped up the lining at the bottom of the empty suitcase. He stared, not moving for a minute, then turned to her, his face white with horror. “What did you do with them?”
“I didn’t do nothing with nothing.” She backed behind the stuffed chair. “Unless you mean that glass thing.” She pointed a shaking finger at the table.
“You dumb—I should never have trusted you!” Vinnie grabbed the glass ball and threw it as hard as he could against the wall. It didn’t break, but the wall did.
And she knew she was in very big trouble.
S ix
Y OU WHAT ?”
Trev would have laughed at Phil’s horrified expression if the subject weren’t so painful. “I married her,” he repeated.
Phil was outraged. “But she’s our sister!”
Trev shook his head. “She’s not.”
Some of Phil’s anger dropped away. “Or as good as.”
“Yours maybe.” Trev thought of Dori’s vibrant, laughing face. He thought of the wrenching pain of her long absence. “Not mine.”
Phil ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t believe you fell in love with her
that
way.”
“Big-time, big brother. Big-time.”
Phil still looked poleaxed. “Why did I never know this?”
Trev shrugged. “You’re not very observant?”
“Don’t give me that. I’m as observant as the next man.”
Trev didn’t say anything. What was there to say when
When the third movie ended, she thought about going out to eat all by herself. Nasty. Everybody would think she was some ugly person that no one liked. Then her eye fell on an ad for pizza delivered right to your room. She watched the next three movies as she chomped her way through a large pizza with everything including anchovies, which she could never get at home because Vinnie hated them. She fell asleep happy.
Now she was happy again, back home in Seaside in her little third-floor apartment, checking out the suitcase before Vinniecame for it. She wanted to see what was in it. Nosy her mother always called her. Personally, Jo liked the word
curious
better.
Under the books were women’s clothes—sweaters and sweatshirts, jeans, slacks, a denim skirt, tops in lots of different colors, pajamas, and at the bottom some very pretty underwear, very pretty indeed. Too bad it wasn’t her size. Last came two pairs of shoes with deodorant tucked in one of the shoes, a bottle of perfume in another. Clever.
Slipped in among the clothes were several pretty things. She liked the glass ball with lots of different colors swirled through it. She didn’t know what you did with it, but it would look pretty sitting on a table or something. She put it on her end table under the light. It sort of glowed, and she loved it.
The silver and gold picture frame was just the right size for the picture of her and Vinnie taken at the beach last summer. He looked so handsome with his curly black hair and great tan. She didn’t look too bad either in her red and white bikini. Since she never went into the ocean, her hair was just right, and her nose wasn’t even red from the sun.
There were a couple of neckties in the suitcase too. One had pill bottles all over it, spilling colorful pills onto a bright red background. Who would ever wear an ugly thing like that? The other had books and more books in lots of colors on a bright blue background. Well, maybe a teacher might wear that. She tossed them in the general direction of the wastebasket.
The door opened and Vinnie came in with a six-pack in his hand.
“Hey, what are you doing?” he yelled, dropping the beer and rushing to her.
She blinked, scared. “J-just looking. I didn’t hurt nothing! Honest!”
Vinnie fell to his knees and flipped up the lining at the bottom of the empty suitcase. He stared, not moving for a minute, then turned to her, his face white with horror. “What did you do with them?”
“I didn’t do nothing with nothing.” She backed behind the stuffed chair. “Unless you mean that glass thing.” She pointed a shaking finger at the table.
“You dumb—I should never have trusted you!” Vinnie grabbed the glass ball and threw it as hard as he could against the wall. It didn’t break, but the wall did.
And she knew she was in very big trouble.
S ix
Y OU WHAT ?”
Trev would have laughed at Phil’s horrified expression if the subject weren’t so painful. “I married her,” he repeated.
Phil was outraged. “But she’s our sister!”
Trev shook his head. “She’s not.”
Some of Phil’s anger dropped away. “Or as good as.”
“Yours maybe.” Trev thought of Dori’s vibrant, laughing face. He thought of the wrenching pain of her long absence. “Not mine.”
Phil ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t believe you fell in love with her
that
way.”
“Big-time, big brother. Big-time.”
Phil still looked poleaxed. “Why did I never know this?”
Trev shrugged. “You’re not very observant?”
“Don’t give me that. I’m as observant as the next man.”
Trev didn’t say anything. What was there to say when
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