Curtain Call

The phone rang while I was working and I was tempted to ignore it, annoyed that it had interrupted my concentration.
“Hello?” I said, a little shortly. The person on the other end was silent and I thought they might be a prank caller. “Listen, punk, I’ve had enough of –“
“Rach?” My sister’s voice was quieter than usual. She sounded tired.
“You sound tired,” I said. She sighed.
“I am.” She paused and sighed again. I imagined her standing by the window, staring down at the park across the street. She never went there, but she liked to watch the children playing. She said they made her feel young.
“Want to talk?” I put down my pen and filled the kettle. She’d only called like this a few times before, and it always meant she was upset about something. I put on my most patient voice. “What’s up Sarah? It better not be Troy, if he’s done something stupid again -”
“It’s not Troy.”
The last time she’d called was when she’d caught her boyfriend, Troy, cheating on her. Since then we’d all tried to convince her to end the relationship, but she still insisted that they were in love and that he was a changed man. They could be together for fifty years and die holding hands in their sleep, and I’d still never believe that.
“I’m just in a bit of a mood. Do you want to go shopping? There’s that nice shop that opened up just around the corner from here.” She was trying to sound more cheerful than she felt, that much was obvious. “And you really should get some new curtains or cushions or something, Rachel. Your living room is so tacky.”
“Tacky? Just because it doesn’t look like a page out of a homemaker’s magazine doesn’t mean it’s tacky!” Just like that I felt like we were kids again, arguing over whose turn it was to wash dishes, or who had lost whose hairbrush, or why there was glitter all over the bedroom.
“I hate bringing people over there,” she said. I couldn’t see her but I knew she shrugged.
“Then don’t bring people!”
“Rach, you’re practically famous. If I don’t bring people over, then how will they know I’m related to you? Would it kill you to pretend to be normal in just one room of the house?”
I caught myself before I said anything harsh.
“Don’t change the subject,” I said. She laughed.
“Your house is tacky and you are weird. I don’t know why it upsets you so much when I bring it up.” She laughed a bit more and then she sighed again. “It’s good to hear your voice, little sister.”
“It’s good to hear you laugh, big sister.”
We were silent for a few minutes. The kettle boiled and I made myself a cup of tea, wedging the phone between my ear and my shoulder in case she spoke.
“It was Troy, wasn’t it?”
For a few seconds she didn’t answer but I already knew what she was going to say.
“With his hairdresser. Apparently she was just too exciting to ignore. Kinky, and stuff.” Her voice was strained – she was trying not to cry. The urge to say ‘I told you so’ was almost a physical need, but I knew that I shouldn’t say anything. She felt bad enough right now without me adding to that. It was time to be diplomatic.
“I wish I hadn’t seen it coming, Sarah, but he’s just that kind of guy.”
Damn.
“Oh,” she groaned, “I just knew you would say that! Do you think you’re so much better than me? When was the last time you even had a boyfriend?”
I bit my tongue. We’d had this argument enough times before, and no matter what I said, she’d find a way to spin it around. One of us was bound to end up in tears. She continued to rant, not bothered in the least by my lack of response.
“Do you want to stay here for a while?” I asked softly, and she stopped mid-sentence. “I have a spare room.”
“You annoy the hell out of me,” she replied. I waited.
“We’ll drive each other crazy,” she insisted. I took a sip of my tea.
“Can you pick me up? Troy’s out right now and I don’t feel like asking him to drive me over.”
I picked up the keys and jingled them near the phone.
“I’ll be there in half an hour,” I said, as I slipped on a pair of shoes. “Just know that you will help me with chores, and you will not be touching my curtains.”
“See you in half an hour,” she replied, carefully not promising a thing.