The Chicago sky was divided: the sun glinted off the waters of Lake Michigan in the East as the leading edge of a storm from the western plains lined up with the lakefront, lightning flashes playing on the Western Horizon. Justin D'Enfer sat a his corner table 95 stories above Lake Shore Drive, sipping his glass of iced tea. He was dressed formally this day: wearing a tan suit with a white shirt and a peach tie, a well groomed and dapper young businessman in his mid twenties. The restaurant was sparsely populated at the beginning of lunchtime, and a generous tip ensured the tables farther away from him would be filled first.
If he were there with his mistress Brenda, he would have booked the entire restaurant to ensure their privacy, but today he wanted strangers around. His sister Justine was unpredictable, and after seven years absence he wanted a more public context for their encounter. Great Aunt Adele simply told him to be there to meet his sister and she would tell him why.
A tall young woman entered the restaurant wearing a pink striped halter dress, spike heels, and rimless sunglasses. She took off her shades and he saw his doppelganger. Her body was still beautifully proportioned and lascivious, her chestnut hair hung low down her bare back, and her brown eyes still danced with the mischief he'd known his entire life. All watched her procession to his table: she glided across the floor, her small black purse in her left hand, her skin golden but not bronzed, her nipples perking proudly in the air conditioning without restraint, her eyes fixed on his the entire time. He stood to greet her, unsure of how she would greet him, but she clasped him in a full body embrace and gave him a hard, open mouth kiss directly on his lips. "Hello, Teenie Weenie," she teased softly as their lips parted.
"Hello, Slut Sister," he replied. "It's been a long time."
"Too damn long," she said looking him up and down with a broad smile on her lips. "You're looking good; glad to see you aren't turning into a fat bastard like Dad."
"You're looking good, too. Glad to see you're not turning into a dumpy broad like Auntie Pru."
She smiled and gave him another quick kiss. "Two more years until 30, and I plan to turn heads for thirty more years at least. Let's order and we can catch up."
He held her chair and thunder boomed in the distance. A waiter appeared as he settled in his chair: "May I bring you a beverage, Madam?"
"Spring water with a twist of lime."
"Would you care to see a menu?"
"No, I know what I want and I imagine my brother does as well. I'll have a Mediterranean salad and he'll have a New York Strip, rare."
"Would you care for shrimp with your salad?"
"Yes. And Calamari for appetizer."
"Very good. Would you care for wine with your luncheon?"
"No," she said, her eyes dancing. "We'll wait until after lunch for intoxication."
He smiled as the waiter retreated, tapping his fingers on the table. "Do you come to Chicago often?"
"A couple times a year. Uncle Ferd had an apartment downstairs he left me, and we used to have dinner up here late. He always wanted to take in a couple of games in the Wrigley Field bleachers, and I love to shop the Miracle Mile."
"Sorry to hear about the accident."
She looked out the window and bit her lip. "Yeah. I'm just now feeling normal most of the time. It was so, so sudden: one moment we're tacking in the English Channel and he's handling the sails and lines like a pro, and the next he's over the side and I can't get back to him soon enough. Must have hit his head as he went over, that's what the coroner said. Sometimes it seems like five minutes ago and sometimes it seems like a decade."
"I'm sorry, Justine," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "A year isn't enough, is it?"
"No, I'm all right," she said, batting back a tear. "Got some counseling and I can cope with it. Until Cousin Chelsea sent me the e-mail, I've been just sitting on the estate in Kent, tending the gardens. It's time I got back into life and the family again."
"That's super. How's Chelsea these days?"
Their calamari arrived and they spent a few hungry moments giving their appetizer their attention. Finally Justine said: "She's almost completely domesticated. Child rearing suits her. How's your household doing?"
"Fine, fine. Aunt Adele is almost indestructible."
Justine smiled slyly: "I could have guessed that. And her nurse is satisfactory?"
"Oh yes, definitely," he commented, looking out the window with a smirk.
"Good. Wouldn't want you to be bored or lonely after your sojourn in Saudi Arabia. And how is your portfolio these days?"
Justin smiled. "Dumping all those oil stocks was timely, got rid of them just before the disaster in the Gulf. Managed to rebuild the portfolio since I returned to civilization a few months ago, even increased it with some nice play on the Chicago Commodities Exchange this morning. I've still got the touch."
Their main course arrived with a flourish. The storm continued to build in the West, crawling across the sky and darkening the landscape. In the distance, people scurried along the walking trail next to Lake Michigan as they saw the oncoming rain and sought shelter. The two young people savored their meal, chatting about old friends and reminiscing about their childhood together. They finished and after their plates were cleared, Justin ordered a scoop of the finest French Vanilla Ice Cream with Creme du Menthe for dessert. After it was delivered, Justine watched as the server disappeared leaving them alone in the southeast corner of the room. "An old terror has arisen, Brother."
"That being?"
"Our Mother."
Justin shook his head. "But she and Dad are in Morocco. I helped send them there. How can she be a threat to us here?"
She looked at him quizzically. "Don't be stupid, Justin. Mom would mess with us just for the fun of it."
"So? If she comes back to this country, she gets arrested for all those charges she was convicted of in absentia. She's on the wanted list."
"Do you think she'd be so stupid as to return on her own passport?"
He put his spoon down and thought. "All right, give. Where's Mother these days?"
Looking around, she saw most of the others in the place had migrated toward the exit, directed by the staff, who was asking them to take shelter by the elevators. The storm was closing in, lightning flashing dramatically, and rain harshly spattered the windows. "Don't you want to go someplace safer?" she asked.