The plane was still taxiing to the terminal when I turned my phone on. I found a text from Robin amid the noise from the office. "I'm picking you up" was all she wrote, but even that was enough to make me smile.
I was on the concourse before I called my big sister. "This is Brady. Mom said I might not see much of you this weekend because of all your wedding stuff."
Robin's voice came with the background noise from being in her car. "She didn't lie, but she's exhausted, so I'm picking you up. At least we'll have this chance to talk. Where are you going to wait?"
I'd looked forward to seeing Robin—even if only for a little while—but it wasn't until I heard her voice that it really hit me how much I missed her. I stopped walking and let the walkway moved me along. "I'll go all the way to the east end of the pickup area. I should be easy to find there."
"I think I'm about ten minutes away. I'll see you there."
The heat of early evening was stifling even in the sheltered pickup area, and dust and exhaust from the traffic made it worse. It was sometimes hard to see the drivers behind their windshields, but Robin was easy to recognize. I stepped off the curb to wave her down, and she lurched to a stop beside me.
The car's trunk popped open before Robin climbed out. She met me at the back of the car while I arranged party supplies to make room for my bag. "The air here is just disgusting," she said. She coughed and waved her hand in front of her face.
Robin hesitated for just a moment after I stood up. "Oh, kid. I don't care if it's a hundred and fifty out here, you still get a hug." She pulled me into a hug and talked with her cheek against my shoulder—the two years between us made her my big sister, not her size. "I'm glad you could come. It wouldn't be right without you."
I'd somehow imagined that moment as a calm, adult greeting. Instead, I picked Robin up, and she squealed in surprise when I spun her around. "I can't believe you're getting married!" She was breathless when her feet touched the concrete again. "I couldn't miss it! I hinted that I'd quit, and they decided it was better to give me a few days off."
Robin touched my chest and looked up. "It's been too long. Two years? I'm going to have to stop calling you 'kid.' I hardly recognized you." Her scent was warm and still somehow familiar. She still had the same honey-colored pony tail that fell down her back, and her eyes were still the same shade of blue.
My face hurt from smiling. "But you look just like I remember, now let's get out of here."
I was still trying to get the seat adjusted when Robin pulled into traffic. I studied the curve of her breasts and the shape of her legs until she turned to look at me. "Where too?"
"I'm staying at the Hyatt by the freeway. Are you still running? You look just like you did when you were sixteen." That made Robin laugh.
"Running and yoga, but I can't keep a schedule right now. I'll probably blow up like a balloon." She turned up the freeway on-ramp as she talked. "Thanks, though. I should probably get a new look, but now Dan says he likes it." Robin shifted in her seat and I didn't realize what she was up to until she slugged my arm. "Where does a computer geek get guns like that?"
"Software designer." I rubbed my arm where Robin's sharp knuckles sunk in. "They're from lifting, and you haven't forgotten how to make that hurt." I waited while Robin dodged through the last of rush hour traffic. "What's the plan tonight?"
"For you? Mom wanted to cook dinner, but she's so tired now, and like the shit hits the fan tomorrow with the welcome party. I worry about her."
I wanted a different plan. "Let her rest. I've missed you. I feel like I've lost track of you. I don't even know your fiancé. That's Dan, right?"
Robin flicked on her signal and moved into the exit lane. "Yeah, Dan. You'll meet him tomorrow. So what do you want to do?"
"I saw Mom two months ago when she came out to San José. I don't need to see her as much as I need to see you." I pointed out the hotel. "I'll buy you dinner here, and we can catch up. It might be our only chance for a long time."
"I'll see what I can do." It was as close as Robin got to a commitment. She pulled off the freeway and into the hotel parking lot, and she leaned against the car to make a call while I dug my luggage out of the party supplies in the trunk.
Robin was still on her phone when I tugged her toward the hotel. She finished her last call and stuffed her phone into her back pocket as the lobby doors hissed shut behind us. "That was easier than I expected. It makes tomorrow morning worse, but I have an open schedule tonight." She pointed out the elevators. "I'll wait over there while you check in."
The desk clerk pulled up my reservation and gestured past my shoulder. "Does your wife need a key, too?"
Robin had caught a couple as they stepped out of the elevator, and she was gesturing while they talked. "My sister, and no. She's just here for dinner."
The desk clerk smiled and handed me the key card. "I always feel sorry for guys with pretty sisters."
I was off to rescue the couple that Robin captured. I didn't think about what he said until I was halfway to the elevator, and then I laughed. Robin waved goodbye to the couple when I nudged her toward the open elevator and asked, "What were you guys talking about?"
"The hotel. This is a pretty ritzy place for a guy who's like two years out of college. You could have stayed at Mom's."
"With the aunts staying there, too? No. I still live like I'm in college. Ask Mom, she saw it. I make more than I spend, so I have money, and I thought a nice place might be good for an after party or something.
"Besides, I started a side business and I think I can expense part of the cost. I have a meeting tomorrow morning, and maybe one on Friday, too."
My room was only a few doors away from the elevator. Robin started exploring while I hung my suit. "This place is huge!" she said. It's almost as big as my apartment. It's almost a suite. The bed is huge, too. Do you have plans for it?"
I called the restaurant, and Robin was standing at the window when I hung up. "We have a half-hour to wait. Let me think. Who's your maid of honor? Isn't it traditional for the brother of the bride to bed the maid of honor?"
She laughed without looking back at me. "That's not a tradition, but it's Evelyn, and she might like that.
"You know, the view from here is great."
"It is." But I meant that my view of Robin was great. The raking light from the setting sun outlined the shape of her legs and the contours of her butt. "I hope Dan likes the view as much as I do."
Robin glanced back at me. "Are you gawking at my butt?" She didn't wait for an answer. "I'm getting hungry. Can we just go downstairs and wait?"
They found us a small table far from the light from the bar and noise from the kitchen. We talked over dinner and white wine, and Robin slowly relaxed. I watched her every move and expression and finally asked, "Something's wrong, isn't it? How's work?"
"I'm just tired and my nerves are shot. Work hasn't been a problem. I told the hospital I'd be gone for two weeks, but that hasn't kept the charge nurse from trying to get me in almost every day. That's just a matter of saying 'no' every day."
"You haven't talked much about Dan."
"What's to talk about? You'll meet him at the welcome party. I want you two to get along. It's important to me because you're both important to me." She sipped at her wine, then emptied the glass in a gulp. "And then maybe you can tell
me
what's wrong."
I refilled Robin's glass and sat back. "You aren't getting along?"
"I'm sure it's just the stress and the schedule. We'll be okay when this is all over." She swirled her glass and sipped at the wine again. "This is going to my head a little. It feels good."
Robin glanced around to see if anyone was close. "We haven't been getting along very well since my bachelorette party. There were eight girls, and we rented a limo so we could all get smashed.
"I realized about halfway through that the driver was taking pictures. I threatened to complain to his company, and he said that Dan paid him to take pictures. I paid him half what Dan was going to pay him, and I deleted everything. It was a penis-themed night, and Dan didn't need to see any of that."
I had to laugh. "Penis-themed?"
"You know, penis hats, penis-shaped chocolates, stuff like that, and a real penis or two. Anyway, I was mad, Dan was mad, and then things got worse after his bachelor party. I don't know what happened, but we haven't talked very much since, and when we have it's been tense."
Robin flipped her hand. "Who am I kidding. The problem didn't really start with the bachelorette party. Dan never helped with the whole wedding thing, and that got old fast.
"We kind of had this plan—or maybe it was just me—that we wouldn't have sex for a couple weeks before the wedding, and that would make our wedding night more special. Right now, I'm not having any trouble holding out on him."
"It seems like the wrong time for arguments." I searched for a way to say what I needed to say. "I'm jealous. That's the only way I can put it, and it makes it worse if he's not making you happy."
"Dan and I will be happy when all the wedding stuff is over. This is about as calm as I've been in two weeks. I have a sedative prescription, but I haven't wanted to use it."
