Sabrina glanced at her in the passenger seat and smiled.
“She's falling asleep. She was pissed at me when I got home. I was late. You're a lot nicer about that than she is.”
“She'll forgive you when she gets to play in the grass and chase rabbits.” She was a hunter in her soul, although she was a city dog, and the only thing she ever got to chase was pigeons in the park when Chris took her for a run. “I'll give her some exercise tomorrow when I come out.”
“She needs it. She's getting fat,” Sabrina responded. As she said it, Beulah jerked awake as the car lurched forward, and glared at her, as though she had heard what she'd said and was insulted again. “Sorry, Beulie, I didn't mean that the way it sounded.” The dog curled up on the seat then, with a loud snort and went to sleep. Sabrina really loved her and enjoyed her company. “I hope Juanita doesn't attack her again,” Sabrina said to Chris. “She scared the hell out of Beulah last time.”
“That's embarrassing. How can Beulah be afraid of a three-pound dog?”
“Juanita thinks she's a Great Dane. She always attacks other dogs.”
“I eat tacos bigger than she is. She's ridiculous, she looks like a bat.” He smiled, thinking of the three dogs in their family, each one sillier than the other. Candy's Yorkie was a little princess, and always wore bows in her hair, which the chihuahua ripped out whenever she got the chance. She was a three-pound attack dog.
“Don't say that,” Sabrina warned him. “Tammy thinks she's gorgeous.”
“I guess love is blind, even about dogs. At least your sister Annie is sane.”
“She's always hated dogs. She thinks they're a nuisance. She shaved my mother's cocker spaniel once. Mom put her on restriction for three weeks. Annie said the dog looked too hot with all that hair in the middle of summer. The poor dog looked totally pathetic.” They both laughed at the image, and as traffic picked up again, Sabrina said she'd better hang up. He told her he loved her, and would see her the next day at her parents'.
Sabrina thought about him as she drove, and felt lucky to have met him. It wasn't easy to meet good men, and one as nice as Chris was rare. She was well aware of it, and deeply grateful that they were so happy with each other. It just got better from year to year, which was why her mother couldn't understand her lack of interest in getting married. It was just the way Sabrina was, and she always said it wasn't due to any failing on Chris's part. He was more than willing to get married, but patient with the fact that she wasn't. He never pushed, and accepted her as she was, phobias and all.
The drive to Connecticut was long and slow that night. She called home to apologize for the delay, and her mother told her that both Annie and Candy had arrived, and were sitting by the pool. She said they both looked terrific, although Candy hadn't gained any weight, but at least she was no thinner. And Annie was telling them about Charlie. Their mother said it sounded serious to her, which made Sabrina smile.
“I'll be there as soon as I can, Mom. I'm sorry to be so late.”
“I figured you would be, sweetheart. Don't worry about it. I know it's hard for you to get out of the office. How's Chris?”
“He's fine. He'll be out tomorrow afternoon. He wanted to give us some girl time. He's always nice about that.”
“Yes, he is,” her mother agreed. “Drive safely, Sabrina. Don't rush. We'll be up late anyway. Tammy won't be in till after two. She had to work today too. Both of you work too hard, but with good results, I have to admit. I'm not sure where you two get your work ethic. I don't think your dad or I ever worked as hard as you two.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Their mother was always generous with praise. She was proud of all four of her girls, and in their own way, each of them was doing well. More important, all four of them were happy, and had found their niche. Their mother never compared them to each other, even as children, and saw each of them as individuals, with different talents and needs. It made their relationship that much better with her now. And each in her own way was crazy about their mom. She was like a best friend, only better. They had her unconditional love and approval, and she never lost sight of the fact that she was their mother, and not a friend. Sabrina liked it that way, and all of her friends had liked her mother too. As kids, all their friends had loved hanging out at their house, and knew they were always welcome there, as long as they were polite and behaved. Their mother had never tolerated alcohol or drugs when they were young, and with few exceptions, their friends had respected the rules. And when they didn't respect them, she had been tough.
It was just after ten o'clock when Sabrina pulled into their driveway. She let Beulah out of the car, and walked to the pool, where she knew she'd find everyone. The girls were in the water, and her parents were sitting on deck chairs, chatting with them. Sabrina's arrival was met with excitement and squeals of delight. Candy leaped out of the pool and hugged her, and Sabrina was instantly soaking wet, and then she hugged and kissed Annie, and all three girls laughed with delight. Annie said it had been worth the trip all the way from Florence just to see her, and she said Sabrina looked great. She had cut her almost-jet-black hair, which hung just past her shoulders and had been longer before. As a child, Annie always said that Sabrina looked like Snow White, with creamy white skin, dark blue-black hair, and big blue eyes, just like Candy's. Their father's eyes were blue. Both Tammy and Annie had their mother's green eyes. And her mother's hair was as red as Tammy's, although hers had always been straight. She wore it short now. Tammy was the only one in the family with wildly curly hair, and she had hated it growing up. She had ironed it for years. Now she just let it run wild, in a mane of soft curls. Sabrina had always been jealous of Tammy's hair. Sabrina's was thick and dark and straight. And like her sisters, but in a totally different way, she was a beautiful young woman. She had long legs and a trim figure. She wasn't as tall as Candy, but she was tall. Tammy was tiny, like their mother, and Annie was somewhere between the two and of average height, but she was an unusually pretty girl too.
“So what's with this guy Charlie?” Sabrina asked Annie, as she dangled her feet in the pool, and her mother handed her a glass of lemonade. She looked thrilled to have three of her girls at home and the fourth one only hours away. This was what she loved best, her entire family in one place. She looked lovingly at her husband, and he smiled at her. He knew how much it meant to her. He leaned over and kissed her. After nearly thirty-five years, they were still very much in love, and it showed.
They had had their arguments over the years, though never serious ones. Their marriage had been stable since the day they married. Sabrina wondered sometimes if that was why she was hesitant about marriage. She couldn't imagine being lucky enough to have a marriage like theirs, and she didn't want anything less. If anyone was likely to be a good husband, Chris was, but she couldn't imagine being as good a wife as her mother had been for all these years. Jane Adams seemed like the perfect wife and mother to her. Sabrina had said that to her once, and her mother was stunned. She said she had the same insecurities and flaws as everyone else. She gave Jim the credit for how good their marriage was, and said he had been the perfect mate. It was easy to see that in retrospect, but she said that when she got married, she had been scared too. Marriage was a big step, but she had told Sabrina she thought it was well worth taking the risk.
“So tell me about Charlie,” Sabrina insisted. “How serious is it? Are you two getting engaged?”
“Hell, no,” Annie said lightly. “Not yet anyway. He's a great guy, but it's only been six months. I'm twenty-six, I don't want to get married yet. You first. How's Chris?”