The Three Sisters: Family Like It Or Not

By Rose Borden

Fran Mattison is living peacefully in the hills of Vermont when her mother’s unexpected death plunges her back into a world she had left behind.

Her mother’s last wishes force Fran to take a long trip with her two sisters, overly cheerful Dixie and the irritating Carm, and to Fran that is the worst punishment ever. She hates to be with them, especially Carm who deceived her and broke her heart twelve years ago. Forget the fact that Carm never shuts up.

Fran would rather stay in the secluded, bitter shell she has created for herself, where there is no forgiveness. The task before her will not be easy but she has to try and do it for the mother she loves so much.

As they travel to different parts of the country to settle Mom’s affairs, the three sisters are in for one shock after another. They learn that their lives have been a lie from the start, they’ve been deceived, and their mother is not the person they thought she was.

A roller coaster of feelings is encountered as each new place they visit brings a new surprise. Their emotions keep blending and tearing apart as they face these situations together. A new layer is uncovered when Fran learns that there is yet another deep secret being hidden between the sisters themselves.

What should have been a simple road trip turns into life shattering changes that test the already strained bonds between the women. Their journey makes them question the true meaning of the word family. It may not be what they expected but it’s their family whether they like it or not.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rose Borden
• Release date: Oct 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370920624

Rose Borden

Rose Borden has enjoyed living in different parts of the U.S. and has spent the last 18 years in sunny North Carolina. She loves spending time with her family, writing, traveling, and relaxing at the beach.

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THE THREE SISTERS

Family like it or not

By Rose Borden

Copyright 2017 by Rose Borden

Smashwords Edition

License Notes

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission contact: [e-mail]

This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Cover design and formatting by Caligraphics

For my husband, my daughter, and my son

My love for you goes beyond words.

and

For Nancy V. of Greenwich NY

My friend wherever I’ve been.

PROLOGUE

I kept a secret until I died, never wanting to let go of my girls. But now they know. Doesn’t every mother have a secret?

The Mother

CHAPTER 1

Fran finished carving a design into the vase she was making, working carefully to soften the look of its hard edges. She stood up to stretch her back, eyeballing her work the whole time.

Okay, you stubborn little mule. You somehow managed to survive. This one had almost landed in the reject heap.

She emailed a pottery supply company, then spent some time repairing a squeaky potter’s wheel, moving the screwdriver slowly with each turn.

After pouring a fresh cup of coffee Fran settled into an old stuffed chair and pondered her next task. It couldn’t be put off any longer. She needed to tell her sisters that their mother had died yesterday, and her own shock hadn’t worn off yet.

Why had her step-father asked her to notify her sisters? How do you deliver news like that?

Fran refused to be at everyone’s beck and call, so she didn’t own a cell phone. She got up and reluctantly dragged herself to the old corded phone by the couch. Knowing that it would be easiest to start with Dixie, she looked up the number in her ragged address book and punched it in. Random thoughts pinged around her mind, trying to find the right thing to say.

After only one ring Dixie’s cheery voice sang hello on the other end.

Fran opened her mouth but nothing came out.

Hello? Dixie said again, a little bit louder.

Mom died, Fran blurted out.

What?

Mom died last night.

Fran took a sip of her strong, black coffee and pictured her sister digesting the news. She imagined that the sun was shining brightly through Dixie’s sparkling clean windows, lighting up the faces of her many happy children who were probably playing nicely together at the kitchen table. Ever-positive Dixie would be faking a smile in front of them while the bad news poured in.

Mom died? Dixie asked in a low voice. You’re kidding me.

Dixie, I have a warped sense of humor, but even I don’t go that far.

What happened to Mom?

Fran bent her head from one side to the other, listening to the brittle sound her neck made as it released some tension. She felt bad about being so blunt.

She died of pancreatic cancer last night. Apparently she hadn’t been feeling well for a while and she finally went to a doctor around three months ago. Parker said she thought she was tired out and didn’t have a good appetite because she wasn’t getting her usual exercise, but it turns out she had advanced cancer. They couldn’t save her life, they could just prolong it. She didn’t want to make herself sicker going through treatments, so she decided to bow out gracefully. She wouldn’t let Parker tell anyone about it, even us.

You’re kidding.

No, Dixie, once again, I’m not kidding.

Fran, this is just so unbelievable. Mom’s only fifty-nine and healthy, so full of life.

The last time I went out west to see her, I couldn’t keep up with her when we went hiking at the canyon. I can’t believe she’s gone, Fran said.

Me neither, Dixie said, choking a little on her words. How could she have cancer? She didn’t drink or smoke and she ate healthy food and got tons of exercise.

Parker said that Mom’s mother died of the same type of cancer, so she may have been genetically predisposed to getting it. Grandma died before I was born so I never knew what happened to her.

"Oh, I hope that we never get it, or the kids, Dixie said. I can’t believe that she left us out of all of this. It just doesn’t make sense."

Fran could tell that Dixie was trying not to cry. Her sister liked to keep her cool, especially during a crisis.

Does Carm know yet? Dixie asked.

The mention of Fran’s other sister snapped her back from thoughts of her mother.

No, I don’t want to be the one to tell her and here’s the kicker. Parker said that Mom made plans for you, me, and Carm to take a long trip together to take care of some business for her.

Why do we have to take a trip? Dixie asked. Forcing the three of us together to accomplish something is like trying to put a G-string on an alligator.

You’ve been living in Tennessee too long. What the hell did you just say? Fran asked, trying not to lose her patience.

I just mean it’s impossible to do since you and Carm started having your problems. We all can’t be together for more than five minutes or you two start fighting and I get caught in the middle of it.

I know, it’s crazy, Fran told her. Why would Mom do this to us, especially when we’re already freaked out about her dying? She knows that I’ve wanted to strangle Carm’s pretty, little neck for the last twelve years.

Fran, it happened so long ago. Can’t you just let it be? You always sound so bitter.

Apparently I can’t. You and Doug have been married for a long time and have five kids and you’re always happy. If you had found out what I did do you think things would have been the same for you? Would you have been able to let it go that easily?

Maybe not, but Carm would still be my sister and what worries me is how you gave up on marriage completely.

I don’t need to be married to be happy, Fran said.

Okay, but there’s nothing wrong with long-term commitments. Have you ever been with a guy for more than a couple of years?

It depends on how they act. If they seem all ga-ga, like they want to get married and have kids, I get out as fast as I can. If they’re cool and just want to have a good thing for a while without all of the melodrama, then I’m okay.

Fran, Fran, Fran.

What, what, what?

I can picture it, Dixie said. You’ll be a hundred years old, on your death bed. You’ll be cackling away, saying ‘Ha, I sure got Carm back for what she did. I’ve spent my whole life alone with no husband and no children. That’ll teach her!’

That’s cute, Dixie, but what are we going to do about Mom? Parker said that she wanted the three of us to come to their house to discuss details with him. Mom needs us to visit some people to finish up some business. I can’t imagine what that means, but when we’re done we go back to Vegas to spread her ashes in the desert.

What an awful thought, but that’s where Mom would want to be. Is it too much for Parker to travel right now?

Yeah, Fran answered. His MS has been acting up. He needs our help but he also said that Mom specifically wanted us to make the trip. He said to plan minimally nine days because we’re going quite a distance. Do you think you can do it?

Yes, Doug’s family will help with the kids while he’s working. I just don’t know about the three of us being together that long. That’s the hard part. Carm should be okay with work. I talked to her last week and she’s on hiatus from the station for a couple of months. She’s in the middle of having her house updated but she’s done with the planning stages. The men are doing the work now and Jeffrey should be able to take care of that for a few days.

Didn’t she just redo her house a few years ago? Fran asked.

You know her, Dixie answered. Carm’s house has to look like her clothes – the latest and greatest. I guess people working on television have to stay fashionable, while nobody cares about my raggedy jeans in the car pool lane at the school.

She changes her outfits as quickly as she changes husbands, Fran said.

What about your work? Dixie asked, quickly trying to change the subject. Can you get away?

I’ll be okay, Fran told her. I sell a lot of my pottery on-line and I can put a message on my website about availability dates. The shop at my house can be closed for a while. It’s a laid-back little town and everyone will know why I’m gone.

So it sounds like you’re going through with this, Dixie said.

Not sure if I have a choice. I’d do anything for Mom, but the thought of spending time with Carm makes me sick to my stomach. I have to go to Vegas to see Parker and find out what’s going on, and maybe I can weasel out of it somehow.

Poor Parker. He must feel terrible, Dixie said.

I’ll bet he does – he adored Mom, Fran responded. He’d like us all to be there Wednesday. I’m going to book a flight and see you at the house.

Fran, Mom would be happy to hear this.

Will you do the honors of calling Caramel?

You know she hates it when you call her that, Dixie said.

I sure do, Fran answered. If you’re lucky she’ll give you a moment to get a word in edgewise long enough to give her the news.

I’ll call her. Lordie, I can’t believe Mom’s gone. This is too much.

That’s a mouthful, Fran said, trying hard to quell the sarcasm she saved for her sisters.

I’ll see you on Wednesday, Dixie said. Luv ya. Have a good day.

Mom just died. Have a good day? Uh, yeah, Fran mumbled back, wondering how she was going to survive the next couple of weeks.

She hung up the phone and wandered over to a wall that had several photographs hanging on it. New and old pictures of family and friends reflected her life back at her. The only person missing was Carm.

Fran looked around the studio at her equipment and her pottery pieces in their various stages of formation. This was where she felt the safest. There was a certain amount of disarray in her workspace but she knew where everything was and she could manage her craft with a finely honed skill. No one talked to her while she worked. She handled each piece she made with care and loved each one in spite of its slight imperfections. If an object disagreed with her too much, she would discard it and move on to something else. The good ones stood strong and sturdy, yet the softness of their beauty could be breathtaking. It was a balanced world where she had some control and she didn’t like to leave it.

CHAPTER 2

Fran’s plane touched down forty-eight hours later in Las Vegas, Nevada on a typically hot June day. She was usually excited to be arriving in her hometown but today her parents wouldn’t be waiting for her at the airport.

While struggling with her own emotions she watched the tourists who were cheering about their arrival. In the terminal she saw quite a few who were departing slowly with their heads down. Hangovers or the awful feeling of losing the next month’s mortgage did that to people. It was the nature of the city. She had grown up insulating herself from the visitors, and from the cha-ching of slot machines in the supermarkets and convenient stores. It was just home to her.

What stood out for Fran was the busy pulse of the city and the beautiful homes. She loved the Mojave Desert and the tall, brown mountains surrounding the valley. Most of all she loved Mom and Parker, her stepfather. Feeling welcome and safe when visiting them, it was often difficult to fly back to Vermont. But in that small northern village the chances of running into her sisters were pretty slim. If she lived in Vegas she would see them more often when they visited their parents.

Fran’s taxi arrived at her parent’s cream-colored, stucco home on the western side of the city and she enjoyed seeing the orange Spanish tile roof that was a common sight in the Southwest. The driveway circled around a cluster of mature cactus plants growing in the front yard. A jolt of fear ran through Fran as they neared the house. While she had been living a rather reclusive life in Vermont for twelve years, she felt tethered by her mother’s presence, even though it was long distant. Suddenly she was worried that she might float into oblivion as far as her family was concerned.

Oh, grow up, people lose their mothers every day, she thought to herself as she stepped out of the car. She refused help from the burly cab driver, grabbed her suitcases, and hauled them to the front of the house. The dry heat of the sun had already bore its way to her bones by the time she got there.

Parker Conley met her at the door and wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug. He stood tall and slender, with light brown hair that showed bits of gray if the light hit it just right. In spite of his own loss, his angular face showed nothing but compassion for Fran. How’s my girl? he asked her.

Her answer was interrupted when a black lab came rushing up to greet her. His eyes were lit up like she was a beef roast, and his tail wagged furiously. He gently nosed her leg and whimpered until she squatted down and greeted him with a hug.

Sam, my buddy! How’s the best dog in the whole world doing?

He answered by giving her sloppy kisses. His body wiggled around and his nails made clicking sounds on the ceramic tile floor until Fran finished loving him up.

That dog adores you, Parker said.

"I adore him. Is he okay?" Fran asked.

He’s been acting confused, like he’s wondering when your Mom’s going to come home, but I think he knows that something’s up. What about you?

I’ve been better, Parker, and now it’s your turn.

I can say I’ve been better, too, but I’m glad that my family’s here now. It’s been a rough few months and I’ve wanted to see the three of you.

Fran was caught off guard by a big hug from Dixie, who came running into the living room from the bathroom. Dixie’s fine, sandy-colored hair hung neatly around her shoulders, looking the same way it had when she was a teen-ager. Fran noticed that Dixie smelled like soap, as though she had just stepped out of the shower. She always had that fresh scent, even at the end of a hot day.

I didn’t think you’d ever get here, Dixie said, smiling at her sister.

Fran wondered if the perma-smile would ever wear off of her sister’s round face. How could her hazel eyes still look bright when everything was so rotten at the moment?

Well, I did get here, she responded, and I hear the sound of non-stop chatter coming from the kitchen. Could it be that our darling sister has arrived?

Please don’t start, Fran. Carm drove here from L.A. this morning and she’s on the phone with one of her kids now. This is going to be hard enough as it is so promise me you’ll be good.

I promise that I will try, for Parker’s sake, Fran said, as she got up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. She worried that his health might be suffering because of her mother’s death. Parker had married Dina, her mother, twenty-six years ago when Fran was nine years old, so she was accustomed to his health issues. He never made a big deal out of it, so she and her sisters didn’t either.

She knew that Carm was nearby as soon as a wave of expensive perfume hit her nose.

Hi, Fran, said a