The Sisters Ch 01 3

The Sisters Part 1

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Note: Two things about this story. First, you will notice less sex in this story, though a strong leaning toward non-consent. This is intentional. It is my intent to write a story about love, familial bond, and a determination to find something bigger than yourself. So...more plot, less sex. Second, there are minors in this story. They are not involved in anything sexual. If those things are deal breakers, this story is not for you.

Thank you for understanding,

thesergeant

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Mary looked at her watch. She wore a black skirt suit. It was ill fitted to her as she had grown a few inches since her junior year in high school when her father had bought it for her. High school debate team. It seemed an eternity away. A lifetime ago when the biggest problem she could fathom was whether the loafers she wore looked stupid with tights.

Besides. Of course they did. Everything looks stupid with tights.

"Where is that damn kid?"

She dropped her wrist back to her side and furrowed her brow. She looked around the county court house. From the women's bathroom emerged a preteen wearing jeans and a t-shirt, sneakers rounding out her outfit. A look of worry was plastered on child's face. Mary spoke, a scowl ever so slightly crossing her face.

"Jeans? Really? And a t-shirt? This is an important day. I know designer clothes are a little out of our reach, but I think you could find something a little more formal than that. Go check the trunk for something dressier Stephanie."

Stephanie shook her head, a tress of reddish blonde hair falling in front of her eyes. She tucked it behind her ear.

"Sis, look...it's not going to matter. No matter what you do, I'm going to end up in foster care. We should just-"

"HEY!"

The older girl cut her sister off mid-sentence.

"I did not raise a quitter. And I sure as shit know mom and dad didn't raise a quitter either. I'm not giving up on you. Don't you dare give up on me. Trunk. Dress clothes. Go right now. And fix your hair! The judge is going to see two clean well maintained young women and no one is going to foster care."

The child marched off to the car. The truth is the car was their home. They had been living out of it for a month now. It was Mary's hope that the state wouldn't notice that the two girls were homeless. But that just wasn't meant to be. Mary and Stephanie Moore had lived a complicated existence over the last few months.

It all started years ago. Their mother, who was always of frail constitution, was always fighting one disease or another. She was constantly in and out of the hospital. The two girls were basically raised by their father, but they didn't mind. Their parents were good to them. Tragedy struck about a year and a half ago, when their father lost control of his car and hit a tree. The best consolation they received from the officer who reported the news was that it was all instantaneous...and that their father felt no pain. With no income from their father and their mother back in the hospital, Mary dropped out of high school and tried to work enough to pay all their bills. It was no use. Their mother gave up on living and the medical bills left them homeless and living out of Mary's shitty nineties sedan by the time mom passed.

With no one wanting to hire an eighteen-year-old high school dropout, things weren't improving. The truth was, Mary didn't want to give up custody of her sister...but she couldn't think of anything else to do. Stephanie was a growing twelve-year-old kid. She needed a warm place to live, and Mary knew she deserved more hot meals than they could get at the soup kitchen. It broke Mary's heart, but the truth was the judge was probably going to take custody of Stephanie away right here in family court today.

Stephanie returned in a pair of slacks and an old blouse.

"Better?"

Mary kissed her sister on the forehead as she approached.

"Much better. Now...let's head in there."

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A period of time passed before the girls stepped up to address the judge. He cleared his throat and read from the file, gently touching his glasses.

"Alright. Family court matter 214634. This is a hearing to determine if Mary Moore is able to provide for the basic needs of, and therefore maintain custody of, Stephanie Moore."

He peered over the file at the two.

"I'm going to trust that the girl in pants is Stephanie"

Mary nodded.

"That's correct your honor."

He continued reading.

"It says here you never finished high school and are unemployed. Is that still the case?"

She nodded.

"Yes, your honor."

"It further states that you have no stable housing, no stable income, and no stable way to provide groceries. Is that...also correct?"

She swallowed.

"It is your honor. But the two of us don't want to be separated. I've been calling all over the city applying with low-income housing, welfare service, and single parent grocery assistance...I just need a little more time."

He surveyed the two over the tops of his glasses.

"Stephanie..." The judge looked at the child. "...is it your wish to remain in your sister's custody?"

She nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "More than anything your honor. She's the only family I have left." Mary carefully glanced over at her sister. Stephanie was a tomboy, and tough as nails. More so than Mary had ever been. Still, the tears were a nice touch. She would have to compliment them later.

The judge lowered the file and took off his glasses. "Miss Moore, it is never the goal of the state to break up a family. And heaven knows we have enough kids in foster care as it is. But you both need to have a place to live. Clothes to wear. Food to eat. If you cannot provide the basic necessities for your sister, I have no choice but to take her into the care of the state temporarily until such a time as you can provide for her what she needs."

He chewed on his lip for a moment.

"Okay. Here's what we're going to do. The City of Azul Springs will provide you three days stay in the motel across the street. A room with two twin beds. It's not the Ritz, but it's got clean sheets and running water. And heat. The city will also provide a three-day stipend of 25 dollars apiece so you can buy some inexpensive food and drink. That comes to 150 dollars. Three days Miss Moore. I will see you in three days and you'd better damn well have this whole thing figured out by then. I see in your file you have an uncle...uh...Frank Moore. Have you consulted him at all?"

Stephanie interrupted; her eyes now dry again.

"Our dad told us we were never to speak to him under any conditions. He wouldn't say why, but I don't think he knows we exist."

Mary nodded.

"Yeah. Our dad was quite firm."

"Well..." The judge sighed. "...you might want to consider it. This court is adjourned."

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Mary turned the key on the motel room door and slid it open. Mary could see what the judge was talking about. The place was a little dingy and run down. No A list actor would ever stay here. But it was sure more comfortable than a car. Stephanie sprinted into the room and flopped on the bed closer to the bathroom. "OH MY GOD! A bed!" The young girl made a snow angel on the duvet. "And it's so warm in here! Sis, when I die I want to be buried in this cheap ass motel room."

Mary couldn't force back a grin. It faded quickly though. Why couldn't she provide these basic comforts for her sister. Stephanie met Mary's gaze. "So, what's the plan? You've been calling around for weeks. What are you going to do in three days?" Mary's phone vibrated and she pulled it from her pocket. She showed it to Stephanie.

"Well...what do you know? Evergreen Townhouses. The government housing I was just about the called." She took some of the food stipend from her pocket. "I'm going to talk to these people. I want YOU to go to the burger place across the street and get us each a couple of dollar burgers. Smallest bill I have is a five, so go ahead and get yourself a lemonade. NO SODA."

Stephanie shot up immediately, her stomach rumbling in expectation of the meal to come. "SERIOUSLY!? Two burgers? Each?"

Mary nodded with a laugh. "Thank the fine people of Azul Springs."

With that the girl was off like a shot. Mary gave a nervous sigh and answered the phone. "Mary Moore, how can I help you?"

"Hi, this is Shelby with Evergreen Townhouses. I have some good news for you." Mary held her breath, her heart beating out of her chest. "You've been approved..." Mary gasped. "...for our waiting list. We should have an apartment open in two to five months." Mary's heart hit the floor.

"Is there anything we could do to get a place sooner? I'd really like to have a place today or tomorrow. Unfurnished would be fine. We could sleep on the floor...anything would be-"

Shelby interrupted. "Oh, I'm sorry miss. No, I don't have any leases expiring until a few months from now."

Mary thanked the woman and thanked her for placing her on the wait list. Her fingers went numb as she dialed the court house and got the address of her estranged uncle. She resolved that, while Stephanie was at school tomorrow, she would visit this man. She would beg him to help her. Even if it just meant giving Stephanie a couch to sleep on and a peanut butter sandwich twice a day. Tears filled her eyes, unlike Stephanie's earlier tears, they were real. She couldn't bear feeling like a failure. And that's exactly what she felt like now.

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Mary held the scrap of paper that held the address of her long-lost uncle. She looked at the numbers on the house in an upper-class neighborhood and walked up the driveway. On the patio was a swing, suspended by chains leading to the bottom of an overhang that covered that same patio. On the swing sat a balding older man dressed in heavy pants and a coat. He gave a warm smile to the girl as she walked up. Mary paused, then spoke. "Excuse me...are you Frank Moore?" His smile widened.

"At your service miss. How can I help you?"

Mary went to speak again, then swallowed, then opened her mouth again. How could she do this? How could she make this complete stranger help her? "My name is Mary. I'm your niece. Steven Moore was my father...he uh...he passed. I..." She burst into tears. Real ones. "My sister and I need a place to live. We need any help you can give us!" A consoling arm went around her shoulders.

"Let's step in out of the snow."

He led her to kitchen. As though she had verbal diarrhea, the last two years of her life spilled out of her mouth in one long sobbing run on sentence. When she finished telling her Uncle Frank about the judge and the hotel he gave another warm smile. "I'd like to know about my nieces."

This took her off guard. "What do you mean?" She sniffled and hiccupped.

"Well let's talk about Stephanie. If money were no object, what would be her interests."

Mary steadied herself at the kitchen table and dried her eyes on her sleeve. She felt relieved that she had no makeup to smear. "Well, she loves the aquarium. She liked to sit upside down and watch the whale sharks. When she's sad she'll do it for hours. She's a bit of a tomboy. Doesn't like makeup or doing anything cute with her hair. She'll wear a dress every once in a while, but generally she's a jeans and a t shirt kinda girl. Um...she plays soccer."

"Is she any good?"

Mary couldn't help but smile. "She'll get a scholarship to State if she works at it."

"What's her favorite color?" Mary's smile widened.

"Yellow." She replied. "It reminds her of the middle of a daisy. For all her tough exterior, that kid LOVES daisies."

Mary felt a hand on her shoulder. "It sounds to me..." Her uncle spoke. "...like she's not the only tough kid in the family. Tell me about my other niece. Tell me about you."

Mary shook her head. "Oh, there's not much to tell. I'm a high school dropout. A fuck up my every metric."

Now it was Uncle Frank's turn to grin. "I'm friends with the registrar at the junior college. This time tomorrow I'll have you enrolled in classes to get your GED. We're going to figure this whole thing out. And I'll contact the judge." Mary opened her mouth to speak. Frank raised a hand to make her pause. "No...it's no trouble. You have the hotel room for three days, right? Okay then. I'll see you at noon tomorrow. That will give me time to prepare a bedroom for your sister and one for you. You'll keep custody. I'll just keep a roof over your heads."

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Part of Mary was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was all too perfect. But maybe, Mary thought, just maybe, the bad stuff was behind her. Maybe now she had a new beginning. A new family. Stephanie stepped through the door of their new home, kicking the snow off her shoes as she set foot on the hardwood floor of the foyer. Frank was waiting. "There's my two nieces! Stephanie, I'm so excited to meet you! I heard you like sharks!" An untrusting preteen nodded cautiously. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of getting something for each of you." He handed each girl a bag. "Stephanie you first. Tell me how I did."

The girl eyed him suspiciously, then looked in the bag. She lit up as she drew out a knee length sun dress; yellow with a floral daisy print. She gasped and looked to Mary. "SIS! Can I try it on!?" Mary chuckled and nodded. Frank directed her up the stairs to her new room.

While Stephanie was changing, Frank told Mary to open her bag as well. Inside was a pink bra and panty set. Very lacy. Very see through. Very sexy. Mary gasped and gave a hurt look to Frank. She opened her mouth to say something, but shut the bag as Stephanie emerged wearing the dress.

"TA DAH! What do you think sis?" Mary forced a smile. What had she gotten herself into?