Chapter 5: Millie

"That's Millie's car," Ed said as we pulled into the drive on Friday afternoon.

"Shit!" I exclaimed. Mildred Hawley was Jen's older sister. We had never gotten along. All the time Jen and I were dating, Millie tried to break us up. It was obvious that she didn't think I was good enough for her sister. And when she found out we were having sex she threatened to tell their parents that Jen had given her virginity to the low-life. Jen's brother, Tony, despised me too, but it was Millie that I feared the most. Fortunately, I got along okay with their parents and that, plus our determination that nothing would come between us was what gave us the strength to persevere.

Ed opened the back door and motioned for me to follow him on tiptoes. The sisters were in the kitchen, unaware that we had entered the house.

"How many times do I have to tell you? We're not going and that's final," Jen's voice carrying to where we stood on the porch.

"Jennifer Hawley, our brother is driving over two hundred miles on Wednesday night to spend Thanksgiving with us. Why are you being so obstinate? Can't you at least show up for coffee and dessert?" Millie's voice was even, more controlled than her sister's.

"We're having a quiet dinner here. If Tony wants to bring his family over I'll be glad to see them."

Millie pleaded with her sister. "Mom and Dad are going to be heartbroken if you don't come. They always liked Benny. He'll be welcome. If you don't invite him I swear I will."

Jen's voice, weak and barely audible, sounded distant. "I can't. I just can't sit at that table and pretend..."

Unable to listen to any more, I slammed the back door behind me. The kitchen became quiet. Ed shot a look at me and then barged into the kitchen. I followed.

Millie hadn't changed. She was still unmistakably Jen's sister, the noticeable differences being that Millie was two inches taller and she wore her hair long, full-bodied and slightly uncontrollable. She was taking me in, too.

"Benny, you haven't changed one bit. I could pick you out of a well-endowed line up."

"That pretty risqué talk for a librarian," I said, guardedly. Where had I heard she worked at the library?

"Mildred was just leaving, weren't you?" Jen asked her sister.

For a second I thought Millie was going on the attack. She drew herself up to her full height of five feet, eight inches and came toward me, arms extended. "It's nice to see you, Benny," she said, hugging me like a long-lost friend. I felt her breasts against my chest and her face next to mine. "Is that garlic bread I smell? I never could pass up garlic bread, could you, Benny?"

Bewildered by my former enemy's actions, I put my hands on her back and shook my head. "I never could pass up garlic bread either."

"Okay, you can stay for dinner, but no more talk about Thanksgiving, understand?" There was exasperation in Jen's voice as she delivered the invitation.

I felt Millie's lips on my cheek as she pulled away. "Did you hear that, Benny? I believe we're staying for dinner."

Though her appearance was the same as I remembered, I couldn't get over the change in Millie. I didn't know if I should distrust her or join forces with her.

We sat down to dinner in the kitchen. Jen served spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread. Ed opened a bottle of wine.

"Can you believe this, Benny? With all his money Ed's serving wine in a screw-cap bottle."

"I notice you're not refusing to drink wine from a screw-cap bottle," I quipped, becoming comfortable with her banter.

For the first time in four weeks I actually enjoyed a meal in my brother's home. Millie kept the conversation lively, asking me question after question. I didn't hold back, providing answers I thought she wanted to hear. I wasn't on trial; I hadn't taken an oath. I peppered her with question too, knowing she was being less than truthful.

Jen was unusually quiet. I caught her eyes upon me a couple of times. She shifted her stare from me to Millie and then to Ed. He wasn't saying much either. The pet names I had been hearing them use were dispensed with for the evening. When he opened another bottle of burgundy Millie offered her glass to be refilled without commenting that she was being served wine from a screw-cap bottle.

Millie helped Jen clear the table and when the sisters returned to the table with Coffee, I complemented Jen on the meal, causing her to blush. I believe everyone knew it wasn't just the food. It was the jovial company. I hadn't felt this relaxed in months.

Millie tapped me on the arm. "What do you say we give the old folks a break and do the dishes?"

Jen protested, but soon relented, telling us to load the dishwasher and let it run.

Ed said he had work to do upstairs and Jen went with him. Left alone with me, Millie became subdued, less boisterous than when her sister was in the room. We worked together, loading the dishwasher and making the kitchen orderly.

"Will you ever forgive me, Benny?"

I knew exactly what she was talking about, but I wanted her to spell it out. "What do you have to be sorry about?"