When her parents, sister, and soon-to-be brother-in-law returned from their yachting trip, Lucia missed the solitude. The men were talking loudly about the fish they had caught. Caroline was not to be outdone either. She wanted to go on a yachting trip around the world with her husband as their first vacation after marriage.
"How was your afternoon, Lucy?" Caroline asked Lucia after she had run out of steam.
She noticed that everyone except them had left the foyer.
"Nice and quiet," Lucia told her sister drily.
"Oh, my poor girl!" Caroline cooed.
Lucia watched as she walked to the staircase leading upstairs to the bedrooms.
"We need to do something about your seasickness," she called out over her shoulder, "It cramps your style."
Lucia rolled her eyes at her sister's back and began walking back to the foyer where she'd been before her family came back. She noticed that Prince Michael had gone to the kitchen with his brother and with her father. They were probably marvelling at whatever fish had been caught on the yacht.
She was not interested in smelly fish or whatever it was her mother and sister were doing. She made her way back to the patio and settled on the couch again.
She went back to reading her book. The only thing that disturbed her reading was the sound of a car in the driveway. She wondered if she should go and see who it was, but then decided to stay put. Her mother was there to play hostess and she didn't think her social battery was at a point where she could be nice to anyone.
She went back to reading her book. She was swiping to the next page when the patio doors slid open and an excited Caroline poked her head through.
"There you are!" she said with a huge grin.
Lucia looked at her sister with a slight frown on her face. What did Caroline want from her? She did not trust the cheerful grin on her sister's face. She was sure she was about to be dragged into the house for one reason or another.
Farewell solitude, she thought with a sigh of resignation.
"What is it?" she asked her voice already sounding defeated.
Her shoulders were drooped.
"Della and Lee are here!" Caroline announced with joy, "Didn't you hear their car?"
Lucia felt nerves work their way into her. She had not seen Adela since she had left. She wondered if Adela still hated her.
"Where are they now?" Lucia asked as she got up from the couch.
"They are settling into their rooms," Caroline said with a grin, "I bet they would be happy to see how grown up you look now."
Lucia smiled back tightly. Leroy would be happy to see her. He had called her whenever he could while she had been away. Adela on the other hand, had never reached out. Not once. Lucia had not had the courage to write to her sister. So, she had not. She wondered how Adela had changed in the time they were not in contact, if Adela missed her at all.
Lucia slowly walked into the house. Caroline smiled at her and offered her hand. Lucia unconsciously took it. She wondered if Caroline knew how nervous she was. Sometimes she had a feeling that Caroline saw more than she let on.
The two sisters walked through the living room where they could hear the men talking in the kitchen in low voices. They walked into the foyer and began making their way up the stairs. Lucia could swear each step she took was amplified and heavier than it should have been.
It has been three years, she reminded herself, Dela can't be that bad. She can't hold the past over your head. Not after all these years.
They made it to the door to Adela's room and Caroline softly knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Adela's voice called out and Lucia felt her heart increase its tempo.
Adela's voice had not changed much.
"Dela," Caroline said as she opened the door and stepped into the room pulling Lucia behind her.
"It's us."
Lucia took no notice of the clean space that was Adela's room. She did not see the earthy tones of the walls and the wood trimmings. She did not notice the bed covered by terracotta rose sheets, duvet and pillows. She did not see the open suitcase on that bed or the open doors to the small walk-in closet. All she saw was her sister, Adela.
Adela had changed. She had switched out her long chestnut brown for a curly bob. Instead of the elegant dresses she had worn three years ago, she was wearing a tee shirt and tight jeans. The delicate slippers were switched out for combat boots. Lucia wondered how her mother was taking these changes. She also wondered if Adela still held resentment over her.
"Hello Dela," she said uncertainly.
Lucia did not know if her sister wanted her in her life or if her last words still held true. She wondered if Adela remembered that day as vividly as she did. She wondered if it haunted her as much as it did Lucia.
"Hello Lucy," Adela's voice was a shaky whisper.
Lucia stared at her sister drinking her in, she did not know what else to say. She did not have to say anything. Caroline was with them. Caroline never let the silence be pregnant.
"You missed the yachting trip, Dela!" she said as she let go of Lucia and went to Adela.
"You went yachting?" Adela's gaze was on Lucia.
"Yes," Caroline, "Well not Lucy, she stayed here with Prince Michael."
Lucia froze as those words came out. She did not miss the brief flash of emotion in Adela's eyes. Was Adela still holding out a candle for the Crown Prince of Vershia?
Do I have to watch everything I do around Prince Michael? She wondered with dismay. After all these years, is this still an issue between us?
"You cannot believe what the boys are doing downstairs," Lucia continued, "Taking pictures of a fish. Boys will be boys, right?"
She was not aware of their reactions to her previous statement. At times like this Lucia was certain Caroline was not aware of anything beyond her emotional bubble.
"Of course," Adela responded but Lucia could hear the strain in her voice.
"I did not see mother when I came in," she said, "Where is she?"
"She is in her room," Caroline said confidently, "I think she is washing off the sea salt and sleeping off the sun and wine."
"She drank?" Lucia could not believe it.
"I convinced her to," Caroline said cheekily, "The perks of being a bride. Mom listens."
"The perk of you getting married is that she lays off me for a while," Adela said with a humourless smile.
Lucia could not help but see the sadness in her eyes.
Is she still bothering you? She wanted to ask but she knew better than to ask.
It could not be said that she did not learn. She had learnt the last time to not talk to her sister about anything related to how their mother treated her or Prince Michael.
"Yeah," Caroline said gently with a soft smile.
She took Adela's hands into hers. And Lucia felt a stab of pain as she watched her sisters touch each other comfortably. She did not dare get close to Adela. She feared that Adela would lash out at her.
"Another perk is me seeing you in a dress again," Caroline said to Adela who grinned back.
That happy look brought more pain to Lucia.
Will you ever look at me like that or are we doomed to never be close again? She wondered.
She backed towards the door which they'd left open and quietly stepped out of the room. She doubted her sister would ever smile at her again. Their relationship had been ruined three years ago. They were proper sisters once but she had unwittingly betrayed Adela. She did not think she would ever be forgiven for that. She gently closed the door and turned towards her room. Had she made a mistake by coming back? Maybe she could have made some excuses and then showed up as a guest on the day of Caroline's marriage. But Caroline would have never forgiven her. She did not want to lose another sister.