Pieces of My Sister's Life Read Free Page B

about our identical faces made tourists treat us the way they’d treat pregnant women, as prized rarities, a symbol of miraculous possibilities. Still we smiled because smiling was expected, and they rewarded my father with five-dollar tips.
    After they left, Daddy pressed us briefly against him, the bristles of his beard scratching against my forehead, his chest smelling of scotch, of sea and sweat. We jumped onto the boat as Daddy folded his cardboard sign.
See the island as only birds can see,
it said.
    Eve was first, as always—first born, first to walk, even first to wear a bra. She strapped the parasail harness between her legs as Daddy took the helm and rumbled through the obstacle course of anchored boats. As we reached the open sea, Eve gave a thumbs-up and Daddy gunned the motor, floating her into the air. I leaned over the bow and let the cold water spit into my face.
    When I turned back I saw that Daddy’s eyes were red. I felt a pinch of fear and I walked quickly to the stern, peering up like I was suddenly totally fascinated by the sky. Above me Eve swung her legs scissor-like to make herself dip and sway.
    Minutes later Daddy walked towards me, also watching the sky. “School starts next week,” he said. “You girls just won’t stop growing up, hunh? Getting closer and closer to leaving me.”
    I shrugged and fixed my mind on trying to divide ten by three so my expression would look suitably distracted. Was today Mom’s birthday? Would that be enough to make him cry? Mom leaving, walking away like a tourist boarding the ferry, with that same resignation and superficial regret. I couldn’t ask because we didn’t mention our mother to him, that was the unspoken rule. Instead I raised my eyebrows. “Actually, what we decided is after high school we’re doing like Justin, staying here to work. We’ll open a shop, a gift shop, maybe, with those lamps made out of conch shells. And we’ll take care of you when you get old.”
    Daddy smiled and pulled a metal flask from his pocket. He took a swig and began to reel Eve back to the boat. “Hell, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. No, sweetheart, you’re too smart for that. You’ll study fish, what’s it called? A marine biologist. And Eve, she’ll study law. She could argue the hair off a dog. And then you’ll fall in love with millionaires, live in some fancy high-rise on the mainland and buy pocketbooks to match your shoes. You’ll forget all about me.”
    “That’s stupid,” I said, but I didn’t tell him how really wrong he was, since I knew my plans would be more of a disappointment than a comfort. I couldn’t see the point in wasting four years on college, and the man I knew I’d marry was right here.
    It was my turn with the parasail, the boat dropping from beneath my feet, the heart-plunging freedom, wind tearing my eyes and biting my nose. I looked out over our island, the green hills, the interweaving stone fences and the waves battering the cliffs. The land was so narrow between Great Salt Pond and the ocean, like all it would take was a good-sized wave to snap the island in two.
    Below, Eve stood at the bow, laughing, arms flung and head thrown back. I looked out over the horizon at a sailboat topping its reflection, a tiny white, impervious diamond. I pictured my mother at that safe distance, watching for land and wondering if we were watching her. There was a sudden fisting of my stomach and I saw it then, that loss was easier when you convinced yourself the loss was not worth mourning. This was something Eve must have already understood.
             
    “Blue,” Eve said. It was later that afternoon and we were sitting in the bedroom with our elbows on my desk, eyes closed, palm against palm.
    “Good,” I said. “And…?”
    “And something swimming, I don’t know. All I see is spots. Is it fish?”
    This was a game we played weekly, practicing. We were pretty good at it usually, had about a fifty percent success