Sisters: And Other Fast Fiction

By Marilyn King

Sisters Margo and Susie have learned to bury their differences and present a united front to the world. Although the sisters could not be more different, they have willingly come together to fulfill a requestto sit for a portrait for their parents upcoming fiftieth anniversary. But after they receive tragic news, the sisters animosity toward one another bubbles to the surface.

In this collection of short, short stories, eclectic characters trace paths through lifes mishaps, foibles, and joys. Bud, a firefighter and movie aficionado, is thrilled when Claudette Colbert pays him a visit. Fred, a husband in the midst of a dysfunctional marriage, receives some unsolicited advice from his car. Marylou, a widow who decides to hook up with an old friend, soon discovers that chemistry with another man will be harder to find than she ever imagined. Harold tells his family he has four weeks to liveand then receives a shocking phone call that changes everything.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abbott Press
• Release date: Apr 27, 2012
• ISBN: 9781458203335

Marilyn King

Marilyn has written six cookbooks for Atlantic Monthly Press. She has self-published one cookbook and one how-to text. Marilyn and her husband, Joe, split their time between homes in Michigan and Florida. Sisters is her first work of fiction.

Book preview

Contents

PREFACE

Sisters

It Happened One Night

The Pious David Billings

Fred’s Christmas Cruise

Lauren

The Dinner Party

Marylou

Red Admirals

Fishing with Worms

New Year’s Eve

The Picnic

The Little Red House

Making up a Quilt

Home for Christmas

The Lottery Ticket

The Diagnosis

Moving Day

Pie Recipes

About the Author

Also by Marilyn King

writing as Marilyn M. Moore

A Baking Memoir

The Wooden Spoon Cookie Book

How to Write, Publish and Sell Your Own Cookbook

The Wooden Spoon Book of Old Family Recipes

The Wooden Spoon Book of Home-Style Soups, Stews, Chowders, Chiles and Gumbos

The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book

The Wooden Spoon Bread Book

Baking Your Own

For my very best friend and sweetheart Joe

PREFACE

I make up little tales about things I see and hear. Most of these are impressions rather than real stories. It would never have gone any further if it were not for my husband Joe.

Joe prods, he cajoles, and he promotes. He influences me to take a creative writing course.

I have written non-fiction, including 6 cookbooks for Atlantic Monthly Press. That was easy. Fiction is not. But fiction is more fun. Where else can you make up anything you want, and write it down as a new story?

The Pious David Billings won first place in the 2011 Euple Riney Memorial Award Contest. It appeared in Storyteller Magazine.

I framed two of my pastel paintings, a new medium for me. One becomes my cover illustration and is the inspiration for the story Sisters. The other inspires Lauren, proving that inspiration for a short story can come from anywhere.

Having cooked my way through some of my earlier books, I could not resist including some recipes in this one. They are for the pies referenced in the story RedAdmirals.

I keep a journal of my story impressions for my own slush fund of story starters. My folder of short stories is bulging. From these I have selected a few to fill this book. Let me know if you enjoy.

Marilyn King

[e-mail]

SISTERS

Luis gets everything ready for his late afternoon appointment. His lanky body glides around his studio in a black turtleneck and slacks. With bony hands that hover over his palette, he checks the order of his paints. Titanium white, then buff; cadmium yellow, then red; burnt sienna; Prussian blue; and Payne’s Grey. He will only work on skin color today. The details of the painting will come in later sessions. His brushes stand in a large ceramic jar. A round and a flat, both size 12; and a dozen or more filberts in graduated sizes. Luis is partial to filberts for their ability to paint broad and thin strokes equally well. Satisfied that everything is arranged to his liking, he retires to the back.

In a cab, on their way to see Luis, are sisters Margo and Susie. At thirty-nine, Margo is the older of the two. Married once to an undependable sort, she is convinced that men are useless. She is never late for an appointment, and pays all of her bills on the day they arrive. Margo is proud of her orderly life.

Her little sister, Susie, is thirty-five. She never married, preferring to enjoy serial monogamous relationships. The duration of some of these puts a strain on the word monogamous. She does find men to be quite useful. They share their bed with her, take her out on the town, and buy her pretty things. One of her boyfriends, a plastic surgeon, sculpted her face and torso to proportions he felt he would enjoy more fully. That benefit, to Susie’s delight, outlasted their time together.

The sisters had their issues, growing up, as most sisters do. With their parents’ guidance, however, they learned to bury their differences, and present a united front to the world. They gradually grew apart after leaving home to go to college. Margo attended a prestigious university. Susie chose the city college. They have both settled in their hometown, but work and live in different areas of the city. What brings them together today is a request by their parents that they have a joint portrait of the two of them done for an upcoming fiftieth anniversary. The parents will arrange for payment. The sisters’ job is to find an artist and get the job done.

Who is this guy you found, and what do you know about him? asks Margo.

Susie gives the question some thought. I told the girls at the office what we were looking for, and Jill – you remember Jill, don’t you, from my cheerleading days? The guy’s name is Luis and he paints only portraits. Jill’s parents had Luis do a painting of her, and she says it‘s fabulous. She looks up suddenly, Oh, I think we’re here.

Susie jumps out and starts up the stairs of the brownstone, while Margo pays the cabbie. Luis comes from behind a curtain when he hears the bell on the front door. Margo doesn’t know why, but one look at Luis makes her feel that he knows more about her and her sister than the little information they have already shared.

There are the usual introductions, after which Margo says, Luis, you come well recommended. What it is about your work that is special?

My portraits are not pure representation, he explains. They are impressionistic. Everyone sees something different, because they bring something different with them with which to view.

The girls look at each other. Margo cocks her head in a thoughtful way. C’mon, Margo, pleads Susie, it sounds like fun.

Okay, Margo agrees, I guess I’m game.

Luis is reserved in his manner, but Margo senses that he is very pleased. Susie seems oblivious to the vibes that Margo is receiving.

They arrange to sit for Luis once a week for four weeks. This is perfect, as it gives them time to get the portrait framed before the anniversary bash they promised their parents they would attend.

As the work progresses, both girls notice something unusual about the portrait, but, because of the nature of their discoveries, choose to keep to themselves. When Margo looks at the painting after a sitting, she feels that she is portrayed as stately and handsome. Her eyes are steady, her enigmatic smile akin to that of Mona Lisa. A really good portrayal. Her sister, unfortunately, comes across as rundown and coarse. Her hair is stringy. All the bleach she’s endured for years has taken its toll. Her eyes have a vacant stare. It stands to reason that when you party more than you sleep, it shows.

When Susie looks at it, she feels that she looks quite beautiful. Her eyes shine, as does her hair. Her skin has a peaches and cream glow. An excellent portrait. Her sister, however, looks dull, dried up, and definitely unattractive. Wrinkles are the most noticeable thing about her face. Her hair looks lank and dark against her pallid complexion. She should not try to keep it such a dark brown. She never did know how to enhance what little she had to start with.

Luis moves effortlessly through all of this as he works. Sometimes a smile plays on his face, but most of the time he paints with complete concentration. Margo senses that he is aware of their pleasure, yet never discusses it. Again, Susie seems to notice nothing remarkable about Luis’s reactions.

Susie revels in her appraisal of the portrait. Margo always got anything she wanted from their mother. She was Miss Goody-Two-Shoes with excellent grades. If she said she had to study, she was never asked to help around the house. You had to practically tiptoe around her room, so as not to disturb. If she wanted something sewed or washed on the spur of the moment, her mother was always there for her. Susie thinks it serves her right to look old and ugly in their joint picture.

Margo is happy to see Susie in an unfavorable