Free The Sisters by Nadine Matheson Page B

which he recognised as the sign to shut up.
    ‘You’ve spoken to your sister?’
    ‘Not yet.’ Felicia watched Lucinda. She knew there was a lot more going on here even though Richard had tried to dismiss any talk of there being more to Lucinda’s return.
    ‘So, you’re going to record again? Perform?’
    ‘Well, one step at a time, mum. But yes that’s the plan.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘What do you mean why? It’s what I do. It’s what I’m good at.’
    ‘But you haven’t done it for so long. Things have changed.’
    ‘Mum things haven’t changed that much, people still appreciate good music. I still have fans out there.’
    ‘Where?’ Katelyn said.
    ‘Don’t be facety,’ Lucinda said sharply. ‘I have friends and it’ll work.’
    ‘Well for your sake I hope it does because crapo smokes yuh pipe if it doesn’t,’ Felicia said as she picked up a fishcake, dipped it in the pepper sauce and ate it.
    If Lucinda didn’t know better, she could have sworn that her mother had already gone to Ladbrokes and placed a bet on her comeback being an epic failure.

TWELVE
    LUCINDA WAS still reeling from her mum’s comment when she got home.
    “ Crapo smoke your pipe if it doesn’t .” She’d always hated it when her mother said that. As though it would kill her to wish her luck instead of telling her that she was about to enter Dante’s inferno. It infuriated her.
    The first two attempts to call Jessica had failed and Lucinda wondered when Jessica had changed her phone number, completely cutting her sister out of her life. She had to call Beatrice in the end, to get Jessica’s number. As she dialled the number she crossed her fingers and said a quick prayer that Jessica would pick up.
     
    ‘Jessica. It’s me. It’s Lou.’
    Lucinda heard Jessica take a sharp inhale of breath and could almost hear the words running through Jessica’s brain. Why didn’t I press decline . Instead Jessica said, ‘I don’t usually pick up unknown numbers but I thought you were someone else.’
    ‘Sorry, I’m afraid that you’ve got me. How are you?’
    ‘I’m fine. How are the kids?’
    ‘They’re good. They’re looking forward to seeing you,’ Lucinda answered as she sat down on the stairs and waited for Jessica to stop behaving as though she was talking to a debt collector.
    ‘As I said, I’m busy. So what do you want?’ Jessica said coldly.
    ‘I’ve spoken to dad. He’s told me,’ Lucinda said ignoring the sternness in Jessica’s voice. She knew her sister didn’t want to talk to her but to hear that forcefully in her voice, hurt.
    ‘Has he told the twins?’
    ‘No, he wants to tell them all together. I don’t know, safety in numbers I suppose.’
    ‘So now you know I really don’t see what there is for us to talk about.’
    ‘Look, Jess,’ Lucinda said finally having enough of Jessica’s obtuseness. ‘We’re going to have to see each other at some point. So I was thinking that if you were free tonight, we could meet. Just the two of us.’
    ‘Fine,’ Jessica replied but only in an effort to get Lucinda off the phone.
    ‘Good. Hopefully we can finally sort things out once and for all.’
    ‘Let’s get one thing clear, Lucinda. The only thing that we have to talk about is dad. Other than that, there’s absolutely nothing that we have to sort out.’
     
     
    Jessica leaned her head against the shower wall and let the water beat down on her shoulders. She’d been standing there for at least fifteen minutes with the hot water scalding her skin, trying to forget about the conversation with Lucinda. It’d annoyed her that Lucinda had sounded so confident and sure of herself, as if the past five years hadn’t happened. It pissed her off.
    She finally stepped out of the shower, took the shower cap of her head and wrapped the thick cream towel around her. She wondered why she was even making the effort as she wiped the condensation off the bathroom mirror and watched her reflection. She was only