My Sister Kate
This is an incest story. It's pure fiction, not biographical. I don't secretly lust after my sister because I don't have one. To those who feel it's their 'mission' to trawl through my stories for mistakes, to make themselves feel superior, then fine. If on the other hand, you have constructive criticism to make, then I am always willing to listen. However, I would point out that although I studied English at University, I'm only human, and my mistakes are more often down to 'typos' rather than ignorance of grammar, spelling, and proper English language usage. Thank you for reading my stories.
My sister Kate and I have always been very close. There is only two years between us age wise. I am the elder of the two, and she has always been my darling little sister, even though she is all grown up, and married, with children of her own. As you can already guess, this will not be a story of raging teenage hormones, or the recklessness of youth. It's more a story of lasting and abiding love between two mature human beings, thrown together at a time of crisis who come to depend upon and support each other.
Although we had lived apart for at least twenty years, we kept in regular contact, and I don't mean once every three or four months. I mean every single week we would phone and talk to each other, and we'd visit for the occasional weekend together at least two or three times every year, even though we were hundreds of miles apart. It didn't matter that we were separated by distance, we were never separated by lack of love and care for each other.
I had been married too, with grown up kids just like Kate, when my wife took it upon herself to divorce me. She said we'd grown apart, and she felt I didn't love her anymore, and what's more she added, she didn't love me. As usual, she was dead right, so we sat down and discussed what we would do about it, and what was best for our grown up kids. We split up very amicably, no bad feelings either way, it was just over, as simple as that, and we didn't see the point in even thinking about anything acrimonious and giving the divorce layers heaps of our hard earned assets.
My wife said to me a few weeks after the divorce was finalised, when it was all done and dusted, that if only I had loved her as much as I loved Kate, then we'd probably still be married. That was really the only jarring note, during the entire proceedings. We both had regrets, but I wished her well and hoped she would find someone who made her happy, and she wished me well too. We remain, 'friends,' for the sake of the kids and because we have a lot of shared history, not all of it bad.
Kate of course was upset that I was on my own at my age, and urged me not to mope, or turn inward. Get out and find someone who makes you happier than you were before was her advice. Truthfully, I had no intention of being alone for the rest of my life. I was fifty years old, with plenty of life in the old dog yet, but at the same time I was in no hurry to rush out and find someone, just anyone, to stop me feeling lonely. I was alone, not desperate.
At the same time Kate had her own problems, which I was more able to support her with now that I was single with more time to spare. Her husband had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, and it was simply a matter of time before she too would be on her own. I visited a bit more often and gave her all the emotional support I could, but even though his death was expected, it was still a great shock when her husband passed away. I was there by her side when he passed, along with her two sons, who had come home when they knew there was no hope for their dad.
'Come and stay with me for a few days if you can,' Kate offered me the day after the funeral. I had come down and stayed a couple of nights at a local hotel, because with her sons being home for the funeral there was no room at her house. Now that the funeral was over, her sons were returning to their own lives again, and although they had offered to stay longer, Kate had thanked them profusely and urged them to carry on with their lives. They had after all, good jobs with excellent careers, but funeral 'leave,' was limited, and she didn't want to appear needy. She is a strong woman my sister Kate.
Anxious to provide a shoulder to cry on if required, I agreed, and accepted Kate's invitation to stay a few days. I booked out of my hotel the next morning and arrived at her house just before lunchtime. We all sat down together for lunch, Kate, my two nephews and myself, and talked over some family business, mostly concerned with their father's will, his insurance policies, and so forth.
He'd left Kate well provided for which was a great relief to my nephews and me too. I didn't say too much, letting her sons deal with the bulk of it. After all, it was their mother and father's private business, and I was only their uncle. Of course, I was anxious that everything was done right, because these two young men were my nephews, my sister Kate's boys, they were part of my family and I loved them.
Shortly after lunchtime the boys regretfully took their leave. They had a long journey ahead of them. We stood in the driveway, as they reversed their cars out and we waved them goodbye. We watched them, Kate and, I hand in hand as they turned the corner at the end of the street, and then they were gone. Kate and I were alone, and walked back into the house. She stood in the middle of the lounge, her head cocked slightly to one side as if listening for something. I did the same trying to hear what it was she was listening to, but I could hear nothing. Silence reigned supreme.
'That's what I'm afraid of,' she finally said, and when I asked her what she was talking about, she replied, 'the silence. After all these years, the sound of the children's laughter and noise, his voice calling to me from the next room. The everyday sounds of a family home, I'm going to be alone,' and she turned to me, tears in her eyes, and I held her in a tight embrace as she sobbed helplessly against my chest. I told her there was no way I was going to leave her, and I would always be there for her, no matter what.
I knew she was exhausted, for it had been a very harrowing time for her these last couple of weeks, so I persuaded her to go and have a nap. I escorted her up to her bedroom, found a warm, fleecy blanket in a closet, and covered her with it to keep her warm. Kissing her cheek and forehead, I told her that I loved her. She gave me a wan little smile, closed her eyes, and I left her to get some much needed sleep.
To tell the truth I was pretty exhausted myself. It had been a harrowing time all round, so I had myself a little nap too. I never 'nap' for more than an hour, and I was up again before Kate was awake, and down stairs again having a long think to myself.
The company I did consultancy work for had a branch office here in the same city as Kate lived in. If I could get a temporary transfer in place, I could just maybe stay a week or two longer, and help Kate over the worst of her grieving, but first I'd have to talk it over with Kate. It wasn't in my nature to take things for granted, and the most important thing was that Kate had room to say yes or no to my idea and not feel it was what I expected, or think that I may feel hurt if she refused.
Eventually, I could hear her moving about upstairs, her footsteps moving between her bedroom and bathroom, then back to her room, and then a few minutes later she appeared downstairs. I looked at her as she came to me, and she smiled a little wistful smile with just a hint of tears in her eyes, and then she was in my arms again.
'Thank you for being here when I need you so much. You're a "godsend," a life saver. Sometimes I don't know what I'd do without you,' she said quietly.
'You're a strong, capable woman Kate, you'd manage just fine, but I