A Tale of Two Sisters

This is the final part to this story. I hope you read it, and I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end. Vote if you like.

*****

So I guess I decided; it probably wasn't very smart, but I was going to get Virna to marry me. The whole idea probably didn't make any sense, but I'd made up my mind that's what I was going to do.

For sure Virna had pretty much been one hellaciously nasty bitch toward me, but then maybe she had her reasons. I remember when I was a kid; I hadn't been with my foster parents very long and the kids at school were roasting me for being what they called a 'rent a kid'. Most of the kids who taunted me were a whole lot bigger than me and I stood no chance at beating any of them. So I guess for four or five days in a row I came home and beat up on one of our dogs. I couldn't explain why I beat this one particular dog; she was an old bitch, she'd already had a couple litters and she was kind of crippled up.

Anyway my foster father heard me out in the barn with the dog. He came out and caught me smacking her with this switch. He yanked the switch out of my hand. I fully expected him to beat the shit out of me. He didn't. He dragged me over to a bale of hay, sat me down, and asked me what the problem was. I remember he held me real tight, but not so tight as to hurt.

I broke down and cried. I never cried, I mean hardly ever, but I cried then. I cried because of the three dogs on the farm it was that old bitch that had really taken to me; that old dog loved me and I'd repaid that love with pain.

I told my foster dad I was sorry. I didn't mean to hurt Maggie; that was the dog's name, Maggie. I told him I was just so mad. I even told him I wouldn't blame him if he took me back to the group home for what I did.

Well he got me to talk about school, and how the bigger kids were picking on me. He never got mad, and he didn't punish me or anything. He only explained that people always ended up hurting the ones they loved the most. He said I'd hurt Maggie because I loved her so much. Then he gave me two jobs. He said from then on Maggie was my dog. I had to be the one feed her, walk her, groom her and just generally take care of her. He said she was my responsibility. Second he said I was to go back to school, pick out my biggest tormentor, and beat him up. I told him I didn't think I could. He said he didn't care; all I had to do was try.

The next day I went to school, picked a fight with the biggest kid there, and got the living shit kicked out of me. I got suspended from school and since I was a foster child the principal called social services. My foster dad had to go to the school to see the principal and to talk to the social services lady.

I was really scared. I shouldn't have been. My foster dad told them he ordered me to start the fight. He told them why too. He told them what a good boy I'd been, and he was proud of me. The principal listened and warned me not to start anymore fights. He told my foster dad he couldn't discipline the other kid because I'd started the fight but that he'd have a talk with him. The social services lady warned my foster dad that he shouldn't have done that. He agreed with her, but he said at least this way 'his boy', he called me 'his boy', got a lesson in self-respect. That was the day I knew, I really knew, I had a home.

About Maggie; she was an old dog, and she was already all crippled up, but I took care of her. She lived another seven years after she became officially mine. As she got older she could hardly move around. My foster mom and dad had a policy; no animals in the house. But when Maggie got really feeble they let her come inside in the winter. That was the only time they ever did that.

I was in high school when her time finally came. I remember she'd gotten incontinent that last winter, and I'd often get to school late because I had to remake her bed and clean her up before I left.

On her last day I had to take her out back behind the barn and put a bullet in her head. I used my twenty-two to do it. I remember how I'd cried when I'd watched 'Old Yeller'. I cried like that over Maggie. Maggie was a big old black dog; she was mostly grey at the end. I had to dig her hole before I killed her. I remembered how she laid there beside me panting and watching me while I dug her grave.

After I shot her my foster dad and mom and my sisters and little brother came out and helped me put her in the ground. We buried her in an old blanket. I put one of my shoes and an old ball in the blanket with her. I loved that old dog. Instead of a cross I planted a maple tree on top of her. I did it for the shade for her.

So Virna had been extra nasty toward me. Maybe she was doing to me what I'd done to Maggie? I thought that was what most likely had been going on. I believed that. So I'd made up my mind; Virna was going to be my wife.

++++++++++

If I was going to get this woman to marry me I knew I'd have to find ways to get around her emotional roadblocks, by that I was thinking about her hostility toward men and me. I needed to tear down her artificial beliefs that she was somehow 'mother protector' of her kid sister. I needed to get her to see me as more than just the nurse and Marty's ex-husband, and I needed to get her out of that fucking leather coat. OK, I planned my strategies; I'd play the inside game to the doctor's outside game.

For the inside game I knew I had allies; though he was thousands of miles away I had Dominick, I thought I had Mrs. Milano, but most of all I had Tammy. Until the weather got a little warmer I'd play the inside; I'd play small ball.

+++++

I checked the newspapers. I studied the Internet. I called around. Blake Sheldon and Kelly Pickler were going to be at the Largo Arena down just outside D.C. The tickets cost and arm and a leg but I got three for the Friday night show. Inside move number one; take Virna and Tammy to a country music concert. This was good, because Blake Sheldon and Kelly Pickler, like almost all country music singers, were family types. We'd go and I bet there'd be dozens if not hundreds of kids there, mostly girls.

Ticket receipt in had I stopped by Virna's, "Hey guess what I got?'

"Herpes," Virna replied; she was her old self again.

"No I got three tickets to see Blake Sheldon and Kelly Pickler," I showed her the receipt.

She looked at the ticket receipt, "Oh that's too bad. Morgan and I have plans."

My first reaction was 'fuck'; then I thought so what. I replied, "Were you taking Tammy?"

Virna replied, "No I..."

I grinned, "Then it's settled. I'll take Tammy and your mom. You go have your fun with the doctor. I'll take Tammy to the concert."

By then Tammy was at the door, "Concert. We're going to a concert?"

Virna looked at Tammy with sad eyes, "No honey I..."

I was getting better at the interrupting thing, "Come on Virna. Where is Dr. Bicuspid taking you?"

She squared her shoulders back, "Dr. Benedict is taking me to New York to see 'Phantom of the Opera'."

"All right," I said, "while you're in New York at the opera with Dr. Kildaire I'll take your mom and Tammy to the 'Opry' to see Blake Sheldon and Kelly Pickler down in D.C."

Tammy was beside herself, "Oh mommy Blake Sheldon's married to Miranda Lambert! I love Miranda!"

I threw in the chaser, "They say Miranda might be there."

"Mommy", Tammy squealed!

Virna glared at me, "I know what you're doing."

I smiled, "So do I."

+++++

So we went to the concert. Kelly Pickler was there, Blake Sheldon sang, and Lady Antebellum was on hand. And guess what? Yes, Miranda made a cameo. She didn't sing, but she sure was a hit. Like I figured; the place was packed with families, kids were everywhere. Tammy made some new friends, and they exchanged addresses and emails. We ate pizza, drank soda, gobbled popcorn, and just had a whale of a good time. I got Mrs. Milano, Virna, and Tammy all Tee shirts, and we listed all the songs we liked. I had a second plan for the songs.

Virna's trip to New York had been only for one day. I was pleased; she didn't give in to an overnighter. They'd taken the rail, took in a matinee, and were back long before Tammy and me.

In fact Tammy, Mrs. Milano, and I didn't get back till after 1:00 a.m. Virna had been back for hours and she was frantic.

We walked in the door singing a Pickler song; Virna was at the door, and she was pissed. I mean deeply pissed. I thought, 'Oh Glory hallelujah!'

She stood there, arms folded on her chest, "Where have you been? The concert ended hours ago."

Mrs. Milano stared her down, "Give it up Virna. We were out having a good time"

Tammy kept singing.

Virna scowled at her daughter, "You upstairs. Get ready for bed!"

Tammy started crying, "Oh mommy, do you have to ruin everything," she ran upstairs.

Mrs. Milano scolded, "You had to do that didn't you. Up until we got home everything was perfect."

I had to say something, "How was your date with Shaka?"

She frowned, for a moment she'd forgotten Shaka was the name of a Zulu king. Then she remembered, "Get the fuck out of here!"

OK, the Shaka comment was kind of racist, but I wasn't into playing fair. I wasn't through, I gave her my best Cheshire, "But honey we bought you a Tee shirt?" I held up a Tee shirt with Blake Sheldon's name on it.

God was she pissed, "I said get the fuck out!"

Boy this was great. Virna never cussed. I added, "It'll look good under your big black leather."

She lost it, "All right I know what you're after; well if you must know my date sucked. I hated the play. We had lousy seats. The train ride was awful, and I was the only white person there."

I asked, "The coat?"

"The fucking coat weighs a ton, and I felt like I was on display the whole night. I was not only the only white person; I was the only woman! Morgan was fine, but some of his friends spent the whole night trying to look down my blouse. Now are you satisfied?"

I settled down, "Tammy and I have a date to go to the mall Monday evening. We're going to the record store and make a mix of some country songs on cd."

She placed her hands on her hips, "Did I say you could that? Besides I have to work Monday night. And how is it you're off so much?"

I had to admit to myself my classwork was suffering, but I'd made up the lost regular hours by picking up work from other nurses. I told her, "Overtime my dear and about permission, your mom said it would be OK."

"You son-of-a-bitch," was all she said.

I threw my coat over my shoulder, "Tell Tammy and your mom I'll be by for them around 6:00."

"My mom?"

"I can't take Tammy to the mall without a woman. What if she needs to pee?"

She yelled at me, "You bastard!" She slammed the door in my face.

++++++++++

Before I got to Virna's that Monday I stopped in at Walmart and bought Tammy a mid-priced cd player. I also had made up another special treat.

I got to Virna's; Virna, as expected was already gone. Mrs. Milano already had her coat on and was helping Tammy with hers. I said, "Before we leave I have two presents for you."

Tammy got real curious, but didn't say anything. I imagined her mother had warned her away from accepting anything else from me.

I was right, Tammy said, "You're not supposed to give me anything else unless mommy approves it."

I knelt down, "These will be OK," I handed her the cd player, "You'll need this to play our songs," then I pulled something from my pocket, "and this is a love checkbook."

Mrs. Milano knew what it was, but Tammy had never heard of it, "A love checkbook; what's that Uncle Gary?"

I said, "Its ten checks. One says I have to take you to any pizza parlor of your choice whenever you want. One is for three bedtimes stories. Another is for a free night of babysitting. There's one in there for a trip to the mall, one is for an afternoon of bowling, another is for the zoo, two are blank for things you might want to do or like, one just says free kisses, and the last one is a renewal. You get ten more any time you want."

Tammy held the little stapled checkbook in her hand, "What if I want more than three stories?"

I took the checkbook back, found the sheet that said stories and erased the number three, "Now you get all the stories you want."

Mrs. Milano was standing by. I thought she looked really happy.

Tammy burst into my arms and got her mouth up close to my ear. She whispered, "You know what I really want?"

I whispered back, "No what?"

"I want you to be my daddy."

I kissed the side of her head and whispered, "We're working on that."

She whispered even more quietly, "I know, we're a team."

I lifted her up, "Come on teammate. Off to the mall."

We had another great time. In fact I thought Mrs. Milano had more fun than Tammy or I. We made two cds. After I left the house that evening I had to laugh. Now every time Virna was home Tammy would be playing 'our songs'; just another not so subtle reminder that I was always nearby.

++++++

The checkbook turned out to be the smartest move I'd made so far. Virna couldn't turn it back, and it gave me free entry into her house almost whenever I wanted. I busted my ass to get my work schedule to match Virna's time off. If I could I wanted to be there every night when she put Tammy to bed. I bought a half dozen story books. I wasn't stupid though, I only brought over a couple at a time.

The doctor was turning up the pressure too. He'd bought Tammy a giant teddy bear, but other than that he concentrated all his efforts on Virna. Man he had the money. He bought himself and Virna two tickets on a local plane that flew them all over the region. They got an eagle eye view of the area. He took her to DC for a night of dining and dancing. They flew up to New York where he tried to surprise her with a cruise up the Hudson River. It was an overnighter and that didn't go over so well. He had to bring her back.

Meanwhile Virna joined Tammy and me on a date to Chucky Cheese. Though it was late in the season Virna was still wearing what I'd started calling her 'buffalo robe'. This was when I finally got her out of it.

I talked her into letting me take the two of them to Kohl's. The suede coat, or another version of it, was still there, plus there was a smaller child's coat that looked similar. It took some talking but with Tammy's help I got her to agree to let me buy them both the suede coats. Tammy was pleased on two counts. First she and her mommy were dressed alike, but second Tammy, not knowing suede was leather too, told her mom their coats were more 'eco-friendly'. Neither of us disabused her of the notion.

Virna looked like dynamite; the shorter coat with the modest fur collar made her look more feminine. She didn't say anything, but I could tell she thought so too. One thing though, she wondered where I was getting all the money. I told her not to worry.

++++++++++

Actually money had been a problem; it got so bad I did something I swore I'd never do. I called my foster parents. In all my life, though I had asked for things, I'd never asked for money. Well I needed it now, I really needed it.

I called home asked for my foster father, "Hello dad I need your help."

He gave me the usual, "Well we'll do what we can."

"Dad I need some money."

"Money!"

I heard my foster mother; she's gotten a little hard of hearing and dad must have put their phone on speaker, "Is that Gary? Did he say he needed money? Find out if he's in any trouble."

"You in any trouble son?"

"I'm not in trouble. I just need some money," I knew what was coming.

"What for?"

I knew this would never work, "You know dad I'm divorcing Marty..."

He interrupted me, "We're not paying for that mistake..."

I interrupted him. I knew I was probably shit out luck, "It's about my ex-wife's sister."

I heard my dad speak to my mom, "He's got a problem with his ex-wife's sister. I hope he didn't get her in trouble."

My mom, "Not Gary, not likely; ask him what it's for."

"What's it for?"

"Dad I know you're not going to believe this, but I'm in love with the older sister. I think she was the one I should have married all along..."

Dad interrupted me, "We knew that."

I started to say something smart like, 'why didn't you tell me', but I needed money so I said, "Dad I'm trying to win her over, but she'd dating this real rich guy. He's a doctor. He's been divorced once already. I just can't compete."

Dad said, "You think she's worth it?"

"Yeah dad I think so."

"You're sure?"

I heard my mom, "He needs money, what for?"

My dad told her, "He's trying get the older sister to marry him, but this rich guy's holding all the cards."

My mom said to my dad, "Oh he wants the good one now."

My dad said to my mom, "That's what he said."

My mom said, "Ask him how much he needs."

I heard my dad say to my mom, "You've got to be kidding. This is Gary; he won't ask for anything."

I said, "Dad I could use a little help; consider it a loan. I'll pay it back."

Dad said, "Loan my ass; is $10,000.00 enough?"

That was way more than I ever imagined. I told him, "Dad that's way too..."

Why does everybody think they can interrupt me? Dad said, "I'll wire you the money today. Let us know if you need more. When are you coming home?"

I felt like crying, but if I did anything like that over the phone he'd probably get mad and change his mind. I told him, "Classes end in May. I should be home shortly after that, and dad when I come home it'll be for good."

He answered, "Don't forget the girl."

"I'll try dad."

My dad hung up.

Not in my wildest imaginings had I thought they'd come up with that kind of money. I didn't know what to think. The next day I got a call from my older foster sister Allyson. I have two foster sisters, Allyson who's three years older than me and Miriam who's two years older.

Allyson, being the oldest had gotten out of the house as fast as she could. She found a good looking man who was starting his own carpentry business, married him, and started making babies. Her husband was a hard worker; he'd wanted me to come in with him, but I had my own dreams.

Allyson got me on the phone, "Gary mom and dad said you needed help. How much do you need?"

I was stupefied. I replied, "I'm good, thanks though."

She told me, "If you need more money call me first. I'm going to tell Miriam and Clell. They'll probably want to help too."

Miriam was a florist down by Ocean City. Clell was my younger foster brother. I heard he'd had a bad break up, and was pretty low. He had two fishing/cruise boats; he sometimes took vacationers out in the summer to fish.

++++++++++

For a while it was kind of back and forth, nip and tuck. The doctor had the bread; all I had was my imagination.

One Saturday he got Virna to accompany him to some political event outside Washington. I grabbed Tammy and Mrs. Milano. We whipped up a snack pack and drove down to Greenbrier State Park. Greenbrier has a nice lake; something like forty acres. Technically the park was still closed, but official opening was only two weeks away. The locals had been sneaking in since the end of February. I finagled a trip the same Saturday Virna was in D.C. with Dr. Zhivago. They got back around 6:00 p.m. Virna was flaunting some kind of bracelet on her left wrist.

Tammy shot her down. She held up a string with a small, maybe five inch fish, "Look mom! I got a bluegill!

Maundy Thursday came around and the good doctor talked her into some kind of lecture on Tachycardia; one of the aspects of arrhythmia, something Virna should have been interested in but wasn't. I played hooky from class and Tammy, Mrs. Milano and I dyed Easter eggs; that got to Virna, since that was something she'd been looking forward to.

The doctor shied away Easter Sunday. I pulled an all day and all-nighter to be able to be on hand when Tammy awakened Easter morning. I was dead on my ass, but we went to mass and then to the afternoon church Easter egg hunt. Though the air was a little crisp it was still a beautiful sunny day. Virna and Tammy wore their matching suede coats. They were beautiful. That was probably the best day we'd had so far.