Chapter 14: Lilah
I'm just putting the finishing touches on the lemon meringue tarts when someone sneaks up behind me, intentionally scaring the shit out of me. I let out a screech that could probably wake the dead and whip around to see my sister Julia laughing so hard she looks like she might pee herself. She's gripping the edge of the marble countertop and gasping for dear life.
"Gotchu... so good..." she says between cackles.
"Very mature, Julia. Now I have to make another batch of meringue just to redo two tarts."
"No, you don't," she says before swiping a tart with each hand. "You'll make us late for lunch. I'll just eat these and then it's like it never even happened." She takes a huge bite out of one. Olive walks back into the kitchen carrying an empty sheet tray.
"What in the fresh hell are you doing in my kitchen?!" she yells at Julia. "Your hair isn't even in a ponytail for Christ's sake! Get out!"
Julia laughs and skedaddles back out the side door, taking her ill-gotten gains with her.
"Animal!" Olive yells at her retreating back before shaking her head at me. "Did she mess those up on purpose?"
"Oh, for sure. You know how she is with lemon curd. She’s practically a raccoon. You could always send her an invoice for them."
"Nah," Olive waves a hand in the air. "I'll just steal a nice bottle of wine next time I'm in her apartment. Ready for lunch?" she asks.
"Yup, let me put these in the display case and we can go."
"Hand them off to Allison. She needs something to do besides text her boyfriend." Olive rolls her eyes so hard I'm afraid she's going to pull a muscle. "At least she's peeled her eyeballs off of Brooks."
Olive, Julia, and I walk to Sally's boutique, enjoying the sunshine and clear blue sky. It's only a couple blocks and barely enough time for Julia to fill us in on how much she despises the doctors at the hospital. Sally waves at us from the front display where she's dusting a mannequin in a long black sequin sheath dress.
Sally's in her mid-60s and wild as all hell. Her hair is a shocking shade of turquoise and she's wearing flowing layers of white clothing and what might be every gold necklace and bracelet she carries in the shop. She kisses us each on the cheek as she ushers us inside. Styx is playing in the background as we spot Gran in the back admiring a lime green tunic. I swear to god; they cut Gran and Sally from the same cloth.
"I've got a present for you!" Sally singsongs as she hustles into the back room of the boutique.
"I have no idea which one of us she meant, but I call dibs," Julia spouts off.
Sally reappears a minute later with three dresses on hangers. "I just got these samples and they're in your sizes." She hands me a short white lace dress with a low v neck and long sleeves.
"Slutty bridal chic?" I ask her with a grin.
Sally rolls her eyes at me. "Just try it on before you snark at me about it. I guarantee that will look like a million bucks on you."
"My ass will hang out of this!" I tell her, but I scoot back to the dressing room. I can argue with Sally all day, but we'll never get to lunch if I don't at least try it on.
Olive and Julia follow me, and we change into our new dresses. Julia's dress is a red knee-length stretch jersey and clings to her every curve, making her look every inch like the pinup model she is. Olive's is a navy-blue linen sheath that makes her look like a modern Kennedy. Again, perfect.
I finally get the nerve to look at myself in the mirror. I'm shorter than both my sisters. I'm not as thin as Olive or as classically curvy as Julia. I'm more... athletic? I've always been a little insecure about it, but holy shit this dress is doing me every favor. My legs look incredible and even though I'm only 5'2", they look long as hell. I'm never taking this dress off, even if I could wear it for a wedding on the Vegas Strip.
Sally throws the changing room curtain back and whistles at us. "Let's go! I'm starving." I toss my jeans and t-shirt into my oversized purse. Julia complains about being overdressed for lunch, but Sally shuts her down immediately.
"You can never be overdressed!"
"She should put that on her business cards," Julia mutters.
Olive snatches a card off the front desk as we walk by and hands it to Julia. "She did," she whispers with a grin.
Sally planned lunch this month and refused to tell us where we were going, so we follow her down Main Street on foot. I link arms with Gran, and she tells me all about her garden as we walk together. We get to a hotel and Sally opens the front door, gesturing grandly for us to enter. She marches us across the lobby to a bank of elevators.
"Are we having room service for lunch?" I tease her as we step inside.
"Ha-ha, very funny smartass." She grins back as she hits the button for the top floor. We step out into a rooftop restaurant covered with pergolas and potted trees.
"Holy shit..." Julia trails off. "How did I not know this was here?"