“I had the strangest experience today,” Arlene said, sitting down next to her friend, Skye, at Skye’s kitchen table. “During my lunch hour I went to the makeup counter of the big department store, and the woman at the counter reminded me so much of my brother, Matt. It was just… completely startling.”

Skye was confused. “You never mentioned a brother Matt before.”

Arlene winced. “He disappeared about sixteen or seventeen years ago. After hearing nothing for so long I think we all assumed he was dead. But this lady…I looked at her name tag. It said Yvonne. She was very professional and took good care of me. But I still…” her voice faltered.

“What? Are you saying you think that’s really him?”

“I tried not to allow that thought to form. And she did nothing at all to show she knew who I was.” She heaved a sigh. “You have no idea how terrible I feel about this. The whole thing was awful, years ago with my parents. They decided Matt was… too feminine. My dad was kind of homophobic, and tried to make him man up, but it didn’t work at all. Matt just looked abused after each of those attempts. There were terrible, loud arguments. And Matt just got more and more depressed. I didn’t know what to think at the time, and I kind of turned my back on him. I didn’t understand or know how to handle it and I was completely unsympathetic, and so was my oldest brother, Joey. I had my own stupid teenaged problems to deal with, and I was also glad that negative attention wasn’t on me. So poor Matt had no one on his side, no one to confide in. It must have been so awful for him,” she said, her eyes dampening. “We were such assholes to him…” She stopped, looking into the infinite distance.

Skye sipped her water, silently waiting for her friend to continue.

“And then one day he was, just, gone. Both my parents seemed glad, but it woke me up to how terrible I had been. My own flesh and blood brother vanishes and my parents are happy about it?? How screwed up is that? Our family never seemed the same after that. My parents didn’t even acknowledge that a family member was missing. Believe it or not they actually removed his chair from the dining room table, cleaned out his room… it was as if he had never existed. That day changed my perception of them forever.”

“So you never heard from him again?”

“Not from that day to this. He never sent so much as a postcard. And who can blame him? If, by some fantastic twist of fate he turned into that Yvonne, would he even want to talk to me? I don’t think I would, if I was in her shoes.”

-o0o-

With this whole subject weighing heavily on her mind, that evening Arlene handwrote a heartfelt note to her brother, expressing her regrets and apologizing. She included her contact information at the bottom in the unlikely event there would be a reply. Sealing it in an envelope she wrote “Yvonne” on the front. No doubt it seemed crazy to give this note to a total stranger, but she hoped Yvonne would understand that this represented a kind of closure for her.

The next day at lunch she found her way back to the makeup counter, but first surreptitiously observed from a distance. There she was, a woman in a dark skirt suit and a pale yellow blouse, about five and a half feet tall. Could this really be Matt? She couldn’t remember any distinguishing marks, or any particular tics or twitches he had that would allow her to make a better assessment, which made her sad. Her parents had destroyed any photos of him, and she didn’t know her own brother well enough to be sure of the identification. Matt would now be something like thirty-five years old, and time does change people. Still, the longer she looked the more she sensed there was a good chance Yvonne had once been Matt. Within five minutes Yvonne left the area for a break. Arlene darted forward and left the envelope next to the register.

She left the store, wondering what would happen as a result of this letter. A bittersweet reunion? Or maybe nothing. Still, she felt better for having written it, at least getting some of her guilt off her chest… even if it was the wrong person.

-o0o-

At the store Yvonne finished her break, came back to her counter and her co-worker handed her the letter. She wasn’t terribly surprised, as earlier, out of the corner of her eye, she had seen Arlene skulking around. The day before she had noticed how Arlene had looked at her, and she had made sure to treat her like any other customer, hoping she wouldn’t recognize her. Sighing she put the letter into her purse to look at later.

That evening, at home alone in her depressing efficiency apartment, she finished washing the dinner dishes, then sat down and stared at the envelope. What if it was filled with more of the same hate-filled crap that her family threw at her so long ago? After what seemed like a half hour, she heaved a big sigh and opened it.

Dear Yvonne,

I don’t even know how to write this letter. It is going to seem very strange to you, since it is not actually to you.

Today I saw you at your counter at the store and I will just say that you remind me VERY much of a family member I wronged. Seeing you brought it all back to me—not that I have ever forgotten how terribly I acted. If you were my sibling I would apologize with my whole heart for my ignorance and lack of understanding and empathy. If you were my sibling I would explain that when you left I was jarred out of my apathy and only then did I realize how wrong I had been. This was further driven home by the way our parents reacted after you left. For them it was as if you had never existed, and I found it impossible to understand how any caring parent could ever think about doing that to their own flesh and blood.

I wish you really were my sibling, so that you would know I have regretted my actions or inactions every day since you left. And if you really were my sibling I would be so happy to know that you are still alive, and looking so well and beautiful.

Please forgive me using you for this letter, but I have not seen or heard from my sibling in many years, so you seem like the next best thing.

Yours,
Arlene Cabell

The contents very much moved her, but didn’t shock her. She hadn’t ever held Arlene responsible for the poor way she was treated, and had thought she was perhaps too influenced by their parents. She was younger and more impressionable. It seemed as though Arlene’s recollection was worse than the reality. Being ignored by her had seemed preferable to being taunted and physically abused, the way Joey had done all too often. And this letter just bled sincerity. Although she had to wonder about the ‘beautiful’ comment. Was Arlene in need of stronger glasses? She was certainly not beautiful! Anyhow, what would happen if she made contact with Arlene? It didn’t sound as if the parents rated very high in her book. And what about brother Joey? He wasn’t mentioned at all.

What should she do?

Picking up her phone she called Katherine, a confidant who was in her support group, and explained the odd circumstance of the letter, and how sincere and apologetic it was.

“…So I need your advice. Should I contact my sister and see what happens? Or just leave things as they are?”

“Yvonne, life’s too short to hold a grudge forever. It does you no good. A grudge is like a little black poison arrow stuck in your heart. You say she sounds sincere in feeling bad about how she treated you, so what do you have to lose by acknowledging her?”

Yvonne sighed again. “I know you’re right, Katherine; I just wanted to hear someone else say it. I’m hoping that if I go ahead with contacting her the little arrow will melt away.”

“I’m sure it will. Let me know how it goes, hon.”

Yvonne smiled. “You bet.”

-o0o-

Using the e-mail Arlene had provided Yvonne sent her a letter offering to meet her for coffee after work. She said nothing about her identity – just the offer to meet.

A reply from Arlene came in within five minutes. She seemed excited, as evidenced by many exclamation points. She offered to meet the next day, at whatever place Yvonne chose.

Yvonne giggled at the exclamation points and wrote back to suggest a coffee-and-tea house not far from the store where she worked.

“I will see you there at 5:30!!” came Arlene’s reply.

-o0o-

During the workday, Yvonne kept thinking about the upcoming meeting. It had been so long since she’d had any contact with any relative—she felt like she would be…rusty or something, in knowing how to act. Arlene had been around fifteen when she left; she felt as though she had hardly known her, it now seemed. Her life had been a hard and fairly lonely one since leaving her parents’ house. (She never thought of it as a Home.) So if she and Arlene did get along that would expand her circle of friends.

Arlene was certainly thinking about the meeting, and she was so excited at the thought of being back in contact, hoping that in some way she could atone for her long-ago actions. In her mind, just the fact that Yvonne had responded said that she was her sister. The idea that her brother had transitioned into her sister created barely a blip in her mind. Her job involved the counseling of transgender youth, a career inspired by the troubles her brother Matt had gone through.

When she got to the shop just after 5:30, she could see Yvonne was already there, sitting at a table with a steaming mug. She gave her a huge smile as she headed for the table.

“I’m Arlene. Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me.”

Yvonne suddenly found she had no idea what to say. She felt a little uncomfortable, wondering once again if she was doing the right thing. So she smiled and said, “Why don’t you go get something to drink, and then we can talk?” This would give her a few more moments to get her thoughts together.

Arlene smiled and removed her jacket, then went to the counter. When she returned with a mug of tea she sat down, looked Yvonne in the eye and asked the first thing on her mind. “Are you my sister?”

Yvonne was grateful she had used the feminine title, but even at this last moment she was still debating whether or not to admit to the relationship. She looked into Arlene’s eyes for what to Arlene seemed like a long time, saw nothing but sincerity there, and then simply said, “Yes, I am.”

Arlene smiled at her, reached across the table and took her hand. “I am so happy to see you again.”

Though reading the letter had prepared Yvonne, she still found herself tearing up. To find acceptance by her own flesh and blood was a more emotional experience than she had expected.

“Thank you, Arlene. That means a lot. That was a beautiful note you wrote,” she said, wiping at her eyes with a hanky.

“Oh, well, thank you. I just needed you to know how bad I felt about the way I acted.”

“Don’t sweat it. You were so young… I feel like I barely knew you.”

“Yvonne, being young doesn’t really excuse me. I could have supported you in some way.”

“You would have been putting yourself at odds with Arnold and May,” she said, referring to their parents.

“Well, I still feel bad about it.”

“Please don’t waste your energy on negative emotions. I did the right thing by getting out of that toxic atmosphere, and I haven’t regretted it.”

Changing the subject, she said, “So tell me what you’ve been doing with yourself. Are you married, have kids?”

Arlene smiled. “No, I’m single. My career was inspired by you, actually. I counsel transgender youth.”

Yvonne looked at her more appraisingly. “I’m impressed. There’s a real need for that, especially in the current political climate.” She looked thoughtful. “And I suppose that’s also why you don’t seem to have an issue with my current appearance.”

Arlene just smiled.

Then something occurred to Yvonne. “Wait, if that’s your field, how did Arnold and May react? I’d think it would horrify them.”

“Oh, they pretty much disowned me,” she cheerfully replied. “They said it was ‘against the Lord’s will,’” she said, trying to sound like Arnold, “and that I would burn in hell. They sold the house and moved to Tennessee about ten years ago. I never hear from them.”

“What a fine, fine family we come from!” Yvonne exclaimed. “And Joey? A criminal? A gigolo?”

Arlene laughed. “No, I really don’t know what he’s up to. We talk about once a year but I haven’t seen him in person for a long time…years. He’s really toned down the hateful rhetoric, but I don’t know what he does for a living or much else about him.”

“The word dysfunctional must have been invented with our family in mind. But it all stems from Arnold and May’s attitudes.”

Arlene wanted to change the subject to something more positive. “So Yvonne, tell me about your life. You work at the department store. What else is going on?”

“Oh,” she said, looking down into her mug. “Not a whole lot. I don’t have much of a social life, although I do belong to a support group.”

“That sounds like a healthy thing.”

“It’s been a life saver at times,” she admitted.

“Well, if you’re willing, you could broaden your social circle by one,” Arlene said, smiling.

Yvonne looked up at her. She really didn’t know this person, but she seemed to have a good personality, be totally unprejudiced about Yvonne’s lifestyle, and she seemed very pleasant. She smiled a soft smile.

“I think I’d like that.”

-o0o-

The two of them started to meet for meals and would sometimes get together at weekends. They each found qualities about the other that they appreciated, and a kind of nascent sisterhood started to develop. Arlene had a strong personality and seemed to have the smarts to know what to do in so many circumstances. Yvonne, being a middle child, was much more tentative, and felt like the follower, as if she was the younger of the two, though she was four years older. Life had made her leery of people, and it took a while for her to really trust Arlene, but Arlene was very patient about the whole process. She also introduced her to her friend Skye, and every so often the three of them would do something together. It was quite a step up from Yvonne’s lonely existence.

Months later things between the two had relaxed to the point where Yvonne really felt like Arlene and she were sisters. They had discovered common bonds and grew closer. She felt inferior to Arlene, but enjoyed the time they spent together. One Saturday they were out on the edges of the city to investigate a used clothing store which had a great reputation for retro and unusual stock. Each of them found a skirt they liked, and after stowing them in the car they looked around for a place to have lunch. Arlene spotted a small family-type restaurant within walking distance, and they made for it. It was not crowded, nor empty, and they sat in a booth along one side.

During the meal they were semi-aware of two men coming in and sitting across from them on the other side of the room. Arlene happened to look over at one point. She did a double-take, looked at Yvonne and then looked over at the men again.

“Yvonne,” she whispered, “I think that’s Joey.”

A small thrill of fear shot through Yvonne, instantly remembering the abuse their older sibling had subjected her to. She sneaked a look in their direction. That? That was Joey? This guy looked like he was tending toward fat and had short, thinning, colorless hair. Nothing at all like the hardbody he-man with the full head of dark greasy hair she remembered. The man across from Joey, who wore a black mustache and goatee, looked quite large. And Joey wasn’t a small man.

“Are you sure that’s him?” she asked doubtfully.

“Pretty sure.”

“Wow,” she said softly. “I don’t think I would have recognized him. Which is just as well. I hope he doesn’t recognize me either!”

They continued slowly with their meal, stealing glances every so often. The two men seemed to be…very, very fond of each other. At one point Joey reached over and held the other man’s hand for a few seconds, while smiling. Arlene and Yvonne didn’t know what to think.

The two men finished first, and when they got up they did something which shocked the sisters: they gave each other a little Bro hug, and then a kiss! On the lips! Could this actually be Joey the homophobe? They walked to the back to pay, and then came along the sisters’ side of the aisle on their way out. Arlene put up a hand, which made Yvonne turn pale. Attracting Joey’s attention was not something she was interested in.

“Excuse me. Joey, is that you?”

The man stopped and looked at her. To Yvonne’s surprise he broke out into a big smile.

“Arlene!! Wow! It’s so good to see you!”

To Yvonne’s further shock he leaned down and kissed Arlene’s cheek. Then he placed a hand on the other man’s arm. “This is my Significant Other, Marty. Marty, my little sister, Arlene. It’s probably been ten years since we last saw each other.”

The big man smiled at her and said, in a deep voice, “Pleasure to meet you, Arlene.”

Shaking his head, Joey said, “I can’t believe it’s you, Arlene! Oh, sorry, who’s your friend?” indicating Yvonne.

“Oh! Um, this is my girl friend, Yvonne.”

Yvonne, adrenalin flooding her body, wasn’t sure what to think, and just gave them a small frozen smile.

“Hey Yvonne,” Joey smiled. He studied her for a moment. “Gee, Arlene, she reminds me a little bit of Matt. Much better looking, of course!”

“I know, right? That’s kind of how we met. I told her the same thing.”

Yvonne felt even more frightened hearing that. What if Joey guessed who she was? Didn’t Arlene care what happened to her? What followed stunned her.

Joey continued, looking back to Arlene. “Have you ever heard from him? I always felt awful about the way I treated him. I was just overcompensating for being gay. If the old man thought I was on his side about Matt, that would take a lot of the heat off of me. It was a pretty terrible thing to do.”

Yvonne was having trouble believing her ears. All that grief and pain she got from him was… misdirection?? He was gay? Macho Joey?!

Arlene, who was also shocked, but taking it better than her sister, glanced at Yvonne and saw how ashen she looked.

“No, I never did hear from him. Listen, Joey, I have to go to the Ladies’ with Yvonne. Could you wait here for us?”

Joey looked at Marty. “Well…”

“Please?”

He shrugged. “Okay, sure.”

Arlene got up, and pulled on Yvonne’s hand. “Come on, honey.”

Yvonne’s limbs finally responded and she got up and the two of them headed towards the restrooms in the back.

Inside Arlene put her hands on Yvonne’s shoulders and looked at her closely. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m—I’m still trying to comprehend what he said. He beat me and treated me like crap so that he wouldn’t be a target??”

Arlene nodded. “Sure sounds like it. But on the plus side, it seems like he at least regrets it, maybe even wishes he hadn’t done it?”

Yvonne didn’t reply but just shook her head. She looked in the mirror, and laughed a tiny brittle laugh. “I look like a ghost!” Then the smile left her face. “When he came to the table I thought maybe he’d figure out who I was and beat me up again.”

Arlene put an arm around Yvonne’s waist. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, sis. How would you feel about letting him know who you are?”

Involuntarily her blood froze. “I, I really don’t know about that, Arlene.”

“I have a feeling it’ll be okay. Would it make you feel better if I kept my hand on my pepper spray while we introduce you?”

Yvonne actually smiled. “To tell the truth, I think that might help.”

When they got back to the table the men stood and let them sit down again. Arlene thought for a moment, and asked them to sit down too. Joey sat next to Arlene, facing Yvonne. Marty sat next to Yvonne, dwarfing her and making her even more nervous. There was a slightly suspenseful atmosphere, and the men sensed something was up. Joey looked back and forth at the two women.

“So what’s this all about?” he finally asked.

“Joey, Yvonne…is…” she stopped, not exactly sure how to put this.

“She’s what?”

She breathed out, “…our sister.”

There was dead silence. The way Joey stared searchingly at Yvonne she couldn’t tell if it was confusion or anger, but it made her feel terribly nervous. To her utter astonishment she saw tears forming in Joey’s eyes.

“Is it really you?”

Not trusting her voice, she slowly nodded.

“God, I can’t believe we’re face to face after all these years. I’m so sorry for the way I treated you! I cared more about Dad’s wrath than how much I hurt you.”

Yvonne didn’t know how to respond to this. All the abusive language, the punching…all of it just to shield himself. But, she reminded herself, the real villains were Arnold and May, creating an atmosphere of distrust and fear among their own children. She felt a lump in her throat. Never in her wildest imagination had she thought she’d see him again, let alone hear him apologize.

When she didn’t say anything, he asked, “Can you forgive me, Yvonne? I’d really love to make it up to you.”

Happy he hadn’t dead-named her, she took a very deep and shaky breath and let it out. “Yes, I suppose I can. It was a long time ago. And it’s really Arnold and May who are the bad guys in this whole picture.”

Arlene and Joey both nodded their heads yes.

“They easily managed to alienate all their children,” Yvonne continued. “I’m guessing you are not in contact with them either?”

“No way, sis! I was so glad to get out of that house, you wouldn’t believe!” Then, considering… “Well, maybe you of all people would!”

He looked around the table. “This is actually amazing, the three of us being here together after all this time.” Then, glancing at his friend, “Not forgetting you, Marty!”

“Like I would ever let you forget me!” Marty grinned.

“Listen,” Joey said to Arlene, “Marty and I have to run, but I’d like to invite you and Yvonne to our place for dinner tomorrow. We can get a little more comfortable and bring each other up to date. What do you say?”

Arlene looked at Yvonne, who had relaxed just a bit. She nodded. Arlene smiled.

“Sure. Give me your address and tell us when to be there.”

He scribbled the address down on a piece of note paper he took from his jacket pocket. “Say 6:30? And you don’t have to bring anything.”

The men slid out of the booth. Joey leaned down and kissed Arlene’s cheek again, and then moved over and did the same with Yvonne, to her immense shock. They walked out.

Yvonne stared at Arlene. “What in the heck just happened? Is this the Twilight Zone?”

“It sure seems to be, although suddenly everything looks normal again!” she grinned, looking around the diner. “Maybe it was just the two guys who were from the Twilight Zone.”

Yvonne giggled, feeling a bit more settled.

“This whole chain of events is a bit mind-boggling,” she said. “First you happen to come to my makeup counter. Then you and I come to this out-of-the-way location and just happen to run into our brother. I’d say reality is being manipulated!” she said, grinning.

Arlene was happy to see Yvonne relaxing enough for her humor to return. “It seems that the greater purpose of this manipulation is for the three of us to get together.”

Yvonne stopped smiling. She couldn’t stop the small thread of fear she felt at the idea of being in close quarters with Joey, even though she knew she probably didn’t have to be afraid now.

Arlene guessed what she was thinking and reached over and held her hand. “It’ll be fine. I’d say he’s a changed man. Apparently even when we were young he knew he was gay, although either totally closeted or in denial. He almost seems like a different person now.”

“Aren’t we all…” Yvonne replied softly, her thoughts turning to the past.

-o0o-

The next evening Arlene picked up Yvonne and drove them to the address Joey had given her, about twenty minutes away. This was not a neighborhood either had ever visited before, and the houses were grand. As they drove slowly along both were craning their necks to look at all the splendor.

“This is where Joey lives??” Yvonne said. “How in the world did he do so well?”

“We’ll definitely have to ask about that,” Arlene replied, just as amazed.

They arrived at the address, and both checked it twice. The house was huge and set back, the grounds nicely landscaped, the driveway long and shaded by trees. Arlene parked on the street, and the two slowly walked up the drive with unbelieving eyes.

“I feel like I should be using the servants’ entrance,” Yvonne quietly told Arlene, who lightly slapped her arm.

“Stop that! You are not a servant!”

Yvonne shut up, and they walked to the front door. In ten seconds it was opened by Joey, who gave them a big smile and ushered them inside.

“I’m so glad you both could come!” He gave each of them a big hug, and if he felt Yvonne tensing up, he didn’t mention it.

“This place is unbelievable, Joey! What sort of business are you in?” Arlene asked.

“Let’s talk about that when Marty’s with us, okay?”

“Okay, sure.”

He led them around the vast first floor with a running commentary on each room and select pieces. Everything felt light and airy. The furnishings were trendy and tasteful, the colors light and complementary, the few knickknacks were not kitschy. Both women were impressed. When they reached the kitchen they poked their heads in the door and saw Marty at work. He looked up and smiled.

“Hey you two. Thanks for coming. I’ll be ready to serve in a couple minutes. Why don’t you go in and sit down?”

Joey got them seated at a table sufficiently large for a party of twelve, and then went back to the kitchen to help bring out the meal. Arlene and Yvonne just looked at each other with wide-eyed expressions on their faces.

The food was gourmet, delicious, and very nicely presented.

“So, to answer your question,” Joey said, picking up the earlier conversation, “Marty and I own and run a restaurant. We’ve had pretty good success with it.”

“Joey takes care of the business aspect and I oversee the kitchen,” Marty said.

“You must be doing extraordinarily well, judging from this house!” Arlene exclaimed.

Joey smiled. “Yeah, not bad at all.”

From there the conversation ranged over how the two men met at college, fell in love, and scraped together the cash to get a restaurant started. As a first attempt it was just okay, but they learned from the experience and opened the current restaurant, Charade, about seven years ago. Things had started off well and just kept getting better. Among other things, they discovered that when they had music, the diners were happier when they could still hear to carry on a conversation, so all musical acts had to keep the volume down. That decision had been a real winner.

Then Arlene related how she had chosen her career after she graduated. The parents were under the impression she was merely going to be a wholesome social worker, and she was careful to keep up the deception until after graduation. That disclosure led to a blow-up and a parting of the ways.

That left Yvonne, who felt like a failure compared to her siblings. She didn’t really want to talk about her life. However, Joey turned out to have a talent for drawing information out of people and was able to gently get past Yvonne’s defenses and find out her history.

She’d had to quit college when she left home. Soon she found a job, took night classes and earned an Associates Degree, then found a job as a legal assistant. By scrimping and saving she did that work for enough years to pay for her GRS. Her transition made some people at the firm uncomfortable and they found an unfair but legal way to let her go. She was able to find another legal assistant position at a smaller firm, but there suffered a layoff after only one year. After that was a long period of unemployment while she searched for another job in the legal field. Money was running low so she took unskilled jobs and eventually ended up at the makeup counter. It was enough to pay for HRT, but it was a meager living.

She gave a very condensed version of this story and left a lot of the personal aspects out. The others could sense they were not hearing all the details, but they didn’t press her.

“Yvonne, if you’re interested, I might be able to find a job for you in the legal field,” Joey said. “I know a lot of lawyers.”

Yvonne was tempted, but some part of her still mistrusted him, and she didn’t want to owe him. She found it hard to believe how easily he had drawn her out.

Joey, who was more empathetic than Yvonne would have given him credit for, felt he understood how difficult telling her story had been for her, and that she was not anxious for his help. Still, he wanted to do what he could for her, not only to try and make up for his early inexcusable behavior, but to help her out because she was his sister.

He added that there were also positions available at the restaurant, like accounting.

“Thank you, Joey, but I’m doing okay for now,” she said.

He doubted it, but smiled. “Just let me know if you change your mind.”

-o0o-

On the way home Yvonne was very quiet. Arlene glanced over at her and asked, “So why don’t you let him help you?”

She sighed. “Maybe it doesn’t make sense, but I don’t trust him, and I don’t want to be beholden to him.”

“I guess that’s understandable, with your history,” Arlene said. “But you can see he’s really making an effort to help. And the way he sees it, he owes you.”

Yvonne nodded and looked out her window.

Arlene hadn’t realized until that point just how deep was the hurt that Yvonne had suffered under Joey. It was probably another thing she had deliberately ignored at the time. She was aware her sister did not have a high sense of self-worth, and wished she could help, but it was evident she still some solid walls in place, and just wasn’t ready to be helped.

-o0o-

Back at Joey’s, he and Marty were discussing Arlene and Yvonne as they loaded the dishwasher. Of course Marty knew all about Joey’s early treatment of Yvonne.

“What do you think of my sisters, Marty?”

Marty considered for a minute. “I like them. Arlene’s got a lot on the ball. She seems really intelligent, and kind of fun.”

Joey could sense that Marty was reluctant to give his opinion of Yvonne.

“And Yvonne?”

Marty looked uncomfortable. “I feel bad for her. She’s had to give up so much. It’s obvious she’s been hurt, and it doesn’t seem like she has ever gotten over it. She seems like an abused puppy.”

“I agree with you. I wish she’d let me help, but I get that she’s leery of me. I know I really did a number on her,” Joey said, shaking his head. “I really hurt her, both physically and psychically. It’s amazing that she’s even willing to talk to me.”

“You tried. And you left the door open.”

“Maybe somewhere along the line I’ll get an opportunity to help. I’d really like to do something for her.”

-o0o-

When Arlene dropped Yvonne off at her apartment she offered to come in and talk.

“Oh, thanks, but no. I’m kind of tired. Thank you so much for driving and for all your kindnesses.”

Arlene smiled at her and waited until she got inside the front door before driving away. It occurred to her that she’d never been inside Yvonne’s place; something always popped up to stop that from happening.

She was a little concerned about her sister’s frame of mind. She definitely seemed depressed, whereas Arlene had really enjoyed the dinner and getting to know the grown-up-and-improved Joey, and Marty. She wished Yvonne would really open up to her, and also let Joey help her.

-o0o-

Once inside her apartment Yvonne threw her purse onto the table and sat down and stared into space. Arlene and Joey were successful and even happy with their lives. She was glad for them…really, but she felt so inadequate next to them, making it harder to spend time with them. Although it was nice reconnecting with Arlene, when you added Joey and Marty into the mix she started to feel more like she had with the family years ago, when it always felt like four against one. Before Arlene showed up, when she was alone, she wasn’t being compared to anyone. ‘Or,’ she corrected herself, ‘comparing myself to anyone.’ In some ways—like this—it was easier being all alone, but at the same time it also felt good to be part of a group. Just maybe not this group. It was all so hard.

‘What, then? Would you rather be part of a group of losers?’ she asked herself? ‘No, not really. I don’t need any reminders that I’m a failure too,’ she answered. ‘Okay then, quit whining.’ Rolling her eyes at this interior conversation, she got up and started to get ready for bed.

-o0o-

The year wore on and the weather gradually turned cold. Yvonne was still getting together most weekends with Arlene, and on occasion they’d meet up with Joey and Marty. She was a bit more comfortable with them, but it was happening very slowly. She and Arlene had yet to visit their restaurant, which Arlene was looking forward to.

On this particular frigid day, Yvonne was just arriving home from work. It had rained and then snowed. She heard her phone chirp and pulled it out as she was walking up the hilly and icy front walk of her apartment building. At the same moment she looked at the phone and discovered it was a robocall, she slipped and fell badly, the phone landing some distance away in the bushes. Lying there in pain she wondered what might go wrong next. Getting up was out of the question; something felt broken. She just had to lie there until someone noticed her. Around twenty minutes passed as she got colder and colder, her teeth chattering. She shivered too, but that hurt, a lot. Finally a passing car turned out to be the police, and in short order an ambulance arrived to take her to the emergency room, the business at hand resulting in her completely forgetting about her phone.

Though in pain she was forced to give her personal and medical information to Admitting, then taken in, where it was found she had broken a hip. ‘What am I? An old lady already??’ she asked herself and shook her head. At least they had put nice, warm blankets on her.

After surgery she was in her hospital room, just thinking. She couldn’t call Arlene, because she didn’t know her number—it was on the phone she had lost. But that was just as well. This situation would just prove to her siblings that she was bad luck and a loser.

-o0o-

About forty minutes after the fall Arlene called Yvonne’s number to ask about getting together on the weekend. At that moment a woman was walking near Yvonne’s building and heard the chirping of a phone, but there was no one around. Without too much trouble she located the phone in the bushes, but almost fell getting to it. She answered the call just before it would have gone to voicemail.

“Hello?”

Arlene was surprised; that was not Yvonne’s voice.

“Hi. Um, is Yvonne there?”

“I’m afraid there’s no Yvonne here. Only me, and I just found this phone in the bushes.”

Arlene felt a rush of fear. “I’m her sister. Where did you find the phone?”

The woman gave Yvonne’s address, and Arlene felt only a little better.

“If you want my opinion, I think she probably fell. It’s like a skating rink here. I almost fell when I found the phone.”

“This is not good. If she somehow got inside I have no way to call her now… Would you be willing to go and buzz her apartment?”

“Of course, I’d be glad to help. Let me just step inside here… Okay. What’s the name?”

“Look for Y. Donahoe. Thank you so much for helping!”

“Well, there’s no reply, but we’ll give her another minute.”

Arlene was getting really worried. What if Yvonne had been mugged and taken off somewhere?

“No, sorry. There’s no answer.”

“Well, thank you for your help. We should make arrangements for me to get the phone for her. Oh, I’m Arlene Cabell.”

“And I’m Nina Taylor. I don’t think I can meet you today. How about tomorrow morning?”

The two made arrangements to meet at a coffee house they both knew, and ended the call. Before Nina left she took a few pictures of the area. She even found a metal lawn chair nearby, which she placed on the walk and filmed it sliding down toward the street, in case there was a question about liability.

-o0o-

Nina was a very self-confident and self-sufficient young woman, aged thirty-four, not so unlike Arlene in personality. She was intelligent and, like Arlene, seemed to know just what needed to be done in a wide variety of situations. She was also the sort of person who loved a mystery, and she couldn’t just wait until tomorrow to find out the story about this Yvonne person. She decided that if Yvonne had slipped and wasn’t in her apartment, then she was probably in the hospital. The nearest hospital was St. Vincent’s, so when she got home she found the number and inquired if there was a Yvonne Donahoe as a patient. And Bingo!

If she were to go to the hospital and deliver the phone, then Yvonne could call her sister and relieve her mind; that would be a nice surprise for Arlene. After an early dinner she drove to St. Vincent’s, parked and found the reception area. She was directed to Yvonne’s room.

It took Arlene a bit longer to come to the same conclusion, since she wasn’t as familiar with the area, but she went through the same mental steps as Nina.

-o0o-

Yvonne was lying in the hospital bed, under the influence of some pain medication and feeling sorry for herself. She wondered what would happen at work, as she had been told it could take up to twelve weeks just for the fracture to heal. She couldn’t afford to lose her job.

A little knock on the open door snapped her out of her thoughts, and a very attractive, smiling woman walked in.

“Are you Yvonne Donahoe?”

“Umm, yes. Who are you?”

“I’m the woman who found your phone.” She moved to the bedside and put out a hand, smiling. “Nina Taylor.”

Taking the hand Yvonne stared up at her. “I—I’m pleased to meet you. Yvonne Donahoe,” she stuttered. She couldn’t believe those warm and pleasant eyes.

Nina smiled. “Yes, I think we have established that.” She giggled a little. “So I’m guessing my theory is correct, and you slipped on the ice in front of your building, fell, and the phone went too far for you to reach?”

Yvonne hadn’t taken her eyes away from Nina’s. “I’m sorry, what?”

Nina laughed, a really wonderful sound, and repeated her theory.

“Oh, yes, that’s exactly what happened. How in the world did you find the phone?”

“I was just passing by when I heard it ring, so I followed the noise and answered it. It was your sister, Arlene, calling.”

Yvonne’s face fell.

“What’s the matter? Don’t you like your sister?”

“No, I love her, but now she’ll think I’m even more of a loser than I already am.”

“Oh, I don’t think so, Yvonne. She sounded very concerned. In fact, I brought the phone tonight so that you’d be able to call her. Incidentally, why haven’t you called her on the hospital phone?”

“Oh, I don’t know her number. It’s on my phone.”

“I understand. And why don’t I just give you that phone?” she said, reaching into her bag.

The two started talking, and Yvonne found her so sympathetic and easy to talk to that she ended up pouring out her true life story, and with far more detail than she had ever given Arlene. She shocked herself that she had done that. The flow of information was mostly in Nina’s direction. Yvonne felt instantly at ease with and very attracted to her. Over the years she really hadn’t allowed herself to feel attraction to anyone, sure that no one could be interested. Now, at this low point, and her emotions loosened up a bit by the drugs, she found herself hoping that Nina liked her, at least a little bit.

Nina found herself drawn to this pitiful person in the bed. She was an excellent listener and found Yvonne’s story both fascinating and sad. The fact that she had once been a man didn’t bother her. Her story also showed how resilient she was, though she clearly didn’t seem to appreciate that. Nina had taken off her coat and drawn a chair up next to the bed. The two had been talking for an hour and were holding hands (when did that happen?) when Arlene walked into the room.

She was almost shocked to see the beaming smile Yvonne gave her. A smile that big and true was something she had never seen on her sister. She didn’t fail to notice that Yvonne was holding hands with the strange woman.

Once she registered it was Arlene, Yvonne felt almost guilty for smiling like that. She was having such a pleasant time with Nina.

“Arlene! I was going to call you, but Nina here and I got to talking. Sorry!”

“That’s okay, honey. I’m just glad to find you.” She looked her over. “Did you break something?”

“Hip.”

“Ouch!”

“I also bruised my elbow bone, but yeah, ‘ouch’ pretty much sums it up.”

“My grandma broke her hip a couple years ago,” Nina said. “She took almost half a year to get back to normal.” To the shocked looks of the sisters, she added, “Of course she was quite a lot older than Yvonne, and not in the best health.”

“They told me it might be something like twelve weeks.”

“We’ll get you through it,” assured Arlene. “And Nina, so nice to meet you. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Well, the situation was a mystery, and I couldn’t let it rest. Looks like you figured it out the same as I did!” she giggled.

“I was just so worried. No way I could wait to see if Yvonne just suddenly popped up somewhere.” Turning to Yvonne, “How long do you have to stay in the hospital?”

“Umm, I think they said anywhere from four to eight days.” Then she looked very distressed. “I just don’t know what’s going to happen with my job. I can’t afford to be off for three months!”

“Calm down, Yvonne,” said Nina. “Your sister and I will find out what you need to know. You’re going to heal better if you’re not worried and upset.”

“But Nina, you don’t even know me! Why involve yourself?”

Nina smiled. “Haven’t we been just getting to know each other? I like you, so I want to help.”

Yvonne stared at her with stars in her eyes. “How in the world did I get so lucky?” she asked softly, mostly talking to herself.

“How? You fell,” chuckled Nina.

Yvonne lay there for a moment looking puzzled, then started to smile, and then laugh. The other two had to join in.

-o0o-

A year later Yvonne was completely healed and she and Nina were living together happily. With Nina’s help and urging, Yvonne had taken a legal aide job with a firm Joey did business with, and was enjoying the challenge.

Arlene, who discovered she felt far more settled once Yvonne was back in her life, as if she couldn’t move on until the issue with Matt was resolved, found herself a very wonderful woman and the two were deliriously in love.

With Joey and Marty, the three couples got along very agreeably, and socialized every other month, more or less.

At one of these occasions, Joey glanced at his two sisters and told them of an idea in the back of his mind.

“What would you two think of all six of us going to a photo studio and having a professional portrait made?

Arlene and Yvonne looked at each other.

“I—well, I don’t see any problem with that, but what’s the occasion?” Yvonne asked.

Joey got a mischievous glint in his eye. “Oh, I was just thinking how much the folks would love a picture of all their wonderful children together!”

After both women digested that, and imagining their parents’ reactions, they began to laugh, and all six of them ended up laughing hysterically.

“Oh, that’s just too good, Joey!” gasped Arlene.

“We would have to have a shot where we’re all embracing our mate to really sell the picture, don’t you think?”

“Definitely!” Arlene and Yvonne said together.

-o0o-

A few weeks later the three couples met at a photography studio and had a number of shots taken. Their favorite was one where each couple had their cheeks pressed together, arms around each other, and huge smiles on their faces. That was the one chosen to send to Arnold and May Cabell.

A week later a large envelope arrived at a small home in Tennessee. There was no return address on it. Not long after the envelope was opened, and after the yelling and swearing had stopped, the contents were roasting in a galvanized bucket in the backyard.

The End.