Sister Sister - Episode 7/7

Sister Sister - E7/7

New beginnings.

One of the first things Julia and Martin did was agree with Bryan and Susan that the business needed to change. Julia did not want Martin to follow Bryan into intensive care, and Susan did not want Bryan to go back there.

Susan had been a bookkeeper in her earlier career, so she took on the company finances, with monthly oversight from a financial adviser. This left Bryan free to concentrate on looking after the stakeholders.

Martin enjoyed managing research programmes but not managing a business, whereas Julia enjoyed orchestrating things, so she came on board. She wrote the business proposals once she had dragged the words out of Martin and Bryan, and under her style they became more successful.

The business was now part of their relationships, not a barrier to it. They picked up several new contracts in the year after the change and were being courted by a larger competitor for a buy-out. Julia was keen, and Martin seemed to come round to the idea of life after work.

*

Justine's holiday experience was an epiphany. She saw more of Julia and Martin afterwards. She toned down the act and felt better in herself for not having to be the life and soul of the party. A chestnut shade replaced the platinum blond hair, nearer to the natural colour she shared with Julia. They looked like sisters again. One day Martin came up behind them as they stood together at the cooker, Julia showing Justine some new technique she'd learnt.

"You both look the same. I don't know which of you sexy ladies will be sharing my bed tonight?" he joked.

Julia looked at Justine as they recalled their holiday conversation about men wanting to know what the other sister was like in bed. They both turned on him with a stony stare and he jumped back like a beaten dog.

"Looks like I'm in the spare room then," he said, and they both laughed at him.

"Maybe it will be both of us?" said Julia, and Martin's eyes opened wide.

"Yeah, on your 75th birthday." Justine quipped. "And with a couple of young blokes for us, to finish the job," added Julia. Tears of laughter were in both their eyes.

"I think I liked it better when you didn't speak," he said, and left in a huff, and they both burst out laughed again.

Justine felt optimistic for the first time in ages. "Something good will happen to you. I can feel it," said Julia. Justine dismissed it as nonsense but hoped it was true.

One day, when Justine's salon was quiet, a man turned up with two young kids. He had a frazzled, weary look about him. "I don't have a clue what I'm doing. Can you make my daughter look like a princess?" He slumped into a seat in reception. A six-year-old girl in a princess dress stood glumly by his side, her brother behind. Justine took pity on him, getting the part-time girl to make him a cup of tea and get the boy a can of fizzy drink.

Justine took the little girl over to one of the hair-washing chairs and towelled her up before rinsing whatever it was the dad had put in her hair. "My dad tries, but he is not very good at girl things," she said in good natured resignation.

Justine smiled at her. She had visions of him as a weekend dad overcompensating for his absence.

"Is it your birthday, then?"

"No, it's my mums. We're going to see her, she's in hospital. She's been there a long time," the little girl added matter-of-factly.

Justine realised the problem was more serious, and the man was coping full time with his children. She looked over at him as she towelled the girl's hair. She's put him in his early forties. Not attractive, but with a kind, honest face. He was trying to reassure the young lad, who seemed about to burst into tears.

"Is he alright?" Justine asked.

"He's supposed to be a pirate, but he's got no beard," said the dad.

Justine got the part-time girl to draw a Desperate Dan beard onto his face with an eyebrow pencil. The addition of a fake stitched scar soon had the boy beaming.

Justine curled the girl's hair into sausage ringlets and added some blusher to her cheeks. She smiled for the first time. "Look Dad look, the lady made me into a princess." The father beamed at his daughter and gave Justine a heartfelt look of thanks. Justine scratched in a draw and found a glittery tiara she used when showing wedding hair.

"You can borrow this if you are good," she said, placing the tiara on the girl's head like a crown.

Her eyes widened like saucers. "Dad, dad, I'm the best princess ever. She jumped up out of the chair and ran over to show him. Then she came back and took Justine by the hand and brought her over. Justine felt herself wobble inside at the child's touch. Both kids were smiling now and the look of relief on the man's face was obvious. He seemed 10 years younger.

"Say thank you Princess Alice, and you too Pirate Eddie," said the dad.

"We don't know the lady's name, they chorused."

"I'm Justine."

"Thank you, Justine," they sang.

"Thank you from plain old David as well," said the man, looking Justine in the eyes. His eyes were a smoky grey colour and rather attractive. Justine felt herself blush and noticed his face had reddened.

"My dad likes you," said Eddie bluntly, and they both looked away embarrassed.

"Never tell a kid a secret," said David as he went to pay.

"No please, it's my gift towards your wife's birthday," said Justine. "Is it a special one?" David's face clouded for a moment. "I hope I haven't said the wrong thing."

"No, no, you haven't. Thank you again. Kids we need to go. Say goodbye to Justine."

Unexpectedly, the children both gave her a hug and a kiss and Justine felt that wobble again.

"They rarely take to unfamiliar people, but you're a big hit," said David.

"You have lovely children," said Justine, and she watched them leave and get into an old car across the road. The kids waved as they drove away, and Justine waved back. She felt tearful at the thought of the family she never have.

A few days later, the salon door opened and Alice and Eddie in ran. "We came to give you this back," said Alice, holding the tiara. "And to give you these," said Eddie, revealing a box of chocolates.

"I thought I told you two to wait for me," said David's voice from the door. He smiled and Justine was surprised how happy she was to see him. They left the kids to play pretend hairdresser in the spare chair, while David and Justine shared a cup of tea.

"My wife Emma, sends her thanks for what you did for the kids. You made it a special birthday for her."

"I'm glad to have helped. Will your wife be coming home soon?"

David's face darkened. "No... no, she won't. She's got leukaemia, she won't be coming home again. It's her last birthday."

Julia felt her knees go weak in shock. David held her arm to steady her. "I'm sorry, Justine; I should not have said it like that. God knows how I will tell the kids."

Justine looked at the kids playing, and her heart went out to all of them. "I'm so sorry, David." She put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, and he put his hand over hers. She wanted to hug him, to hug them all together and take their pain away.

"I'd better be going," said David through a snotty noise.

"Come back. Come and talk to me when you need to. Take this card, I'll stick my mobile number on the back."

"You're very kind Justine, you're a good person. I will."

David kept in touch with Justine. They talked often and one day he asked if she would visit Emma in the hospital as she had asked to meet her.

"What shall I do, Julia? Nothing has happened between me and David. We are just friends, honest."

"I know Justine. I think the poor woman wants to know that when she's not there, her family will be in good hands. "

"No way, Julia, we've said nothing like that."

"I know it is difficult to talk about these things, but is the idea something would consider?"

"He is a very nice man and they are lovely kids. But... but we should not be talking like this." Justine was confused by her mixed feelings.

"Justine, just see the woman. In her position, and thank God I am not, I would like to know Martin and the kids were with someone I trusted."

Justine went to see Emma and was surprised to find a woman she liked. Emma said the kids told her their dad spoke to her on the phone often, and she was glad he had someone to talk to. Justine reassured her that was all they were doing and Emma said it would be a waste if that was all they ever did, making Justine blush. They became friends and Justine visited her on her own once a week. David was relieved he did not have to watch what he said to his wife.

When Emma died three months later, Justine and David were with her. Her last words were to give them her blessing. They waited 18 months before they got married, by which time the transition from Auntie Justine to new mummy Justine was seamless.

*

Paul had a hard time going back to his life with Teri. He knew there was no prospect of a genuine relationship with Julia, but that did not mean there was not someone else like her out there for him. Someone who could make him feel alive, who could give themselves to him as openly as he would to them.

He'd tried to put more effort in with Teri, hoping she would respond in kind, but there was no more for her to give. Paul had a blinding realisation that her first love was the law. Her obsession gave her highs and lows. It consumed her like an ungrateful lover. He was just there to pick her up and give her a hug when things were going badly. When she was winning, she was on her own or with other legal types who would fawn over her.

Months later he confessed, he'd had an affair while on holiday in Spain. Teri wrote it off as an occupational hazard of holidays and confessed to a couple of one-night stands since they'd been together. She did not think it changed anything between them.

One-night Teri came home to find him standing in the dark, looking at the view from the full-length windows of their Docklands penthouse. When she asked him what he was doing, he said he was taking a last look at the only thing he would miss.

Paul moved back into the small flat in Dalston he'd had the good sense to keep. He knew he had done the right thing, but he felt so alone. It was more desperate than being alone in a relationship. Alan was an enormous help, reassuring him it would never have been right with Teri and he needed to detox before he would be right for another relationship.

Paul thought about Julia often, and even tracked down her husband's business, which listed her as the company secretary. He rang the office, and a man answered and called her to the phone. She said, "Hello, Julia Johnson speaking," Paul was tongue tied. He could not find words for the woman he bared his soul to and begged to stay with him less than a year ago, "Sorry, wrong person," he stammered before putting the phone down.

When he told his brother what he'd done, Alan begged him not to become a creepy stalker. They got very drunk together and signed him up to several online dating sites. 'Heartless and cruel bastard seeks new victims.' Thankfully, his profile was a complete spoof and the site admins pulled it down the next day.

Alan encouraged Paul to try again when sober. He gave it a proper go this time. Paul did not tell Alan, but he put as his perfect partner someone with the characteristics he fell in love with Julia for; openness, compassion, intelligence, and grace. It took Paul a year with disappointments along the way.

But finally, he found the one.

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