Thea at Sixteen

  “Perhaps when Gina is no longer well enough to appreciate your visits, you could ask Mrs. Chambers to fix you up with someone more appropriate,” Nick said.

  “Disease doesn’t require a pedigree,” Thea declared. “People get sick. Nice people. Nice people come from bad families. It isn’t like your family was so great.”

  “My family is not at issue here,” Nick said. “Nor do I appreciate that tone of voice when you’re talking about things you don’t understand.”

  “I understand why you don’t want to visit this Gina person, Sybil and I don’t blame you, but I think I’ll go with Thea on Monday,” Claire said.

  “What?” Thea said.

  “You heard me,” Claire said. “Hospitals don’t scare me. I don’t mind going. I know I’m not as exciting as Sybil, but I guess I’ll have to do.”

  “I don’t see any reason for you to go, Claire,” Nick said. “And I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

  “I know,” Claire said. “That’s why I’ve decided to go. We can walk together after school, all right, Thea?”

  “Fine,” Thea said. “I know Gina will be pleased to meet you. The only reason she wants to meet Sybil is because Sybil is her age.”

  “What’s going on here?” Nick asked. “Claire, you’ve never volunteered to do a nice thing in your life.”

  Claire shrugged. “I’m not being nice,” she said. “Just curious. I want to see this Kip with my own eyes. I figure if he has Dani for a sister, and you’re so dead set against him, he’s probably worth a look.”

  Thea scowled. It was just like Claire to decide to chase Kip. And how was Kip supposed to deal with a beautiful avaricious fourteen-year-old like Claire?

  “Kip will be there?” Sybil asked.

  “Maybe,” Thea said. “Maybe not.”

  Claire laughed. “Kip is always there,” she said. “You’ve got to start paying more attention, Sybil. Even Thea says interesting things sometimes.”

  “I am sick and tired of your attitude, Claire,” Meg said. “Yours also, Sybil. It isn’t going to kill either of you to visit a sick child. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll visit, too.”

  “Not on Monday,” Claire said. “Monday’s my day to visit.”

  “Daisy, I understand that you like to help the less fortunate,” Nick said. “That’s one of the things I love about you. But in this case, why not leave bad enough alone? Thea, keep visiting. Claire, go if you must, but just the once. Daisy, if you have the time to do volunteer work, fine. Ask Mrs. Chambers. I’m sure she’ll be delighted with your assistance. But I don’t want any more involvement with Gina’s family than that. Have I made myself clear?”

  “You’re a great one for helping the less fortunate if it serves your purposes,” Thea said. “You were the one who made me do this volunteer work in the first place. Why? You thought I’d be fluffing pillows only for rich sick people?”

  “I don’t care for your attitude, Thea,” Nick said.

  “I don’t care if you do care,” Thea said. She was trembling so hard she had to hold on to the ladder.

  “This has all been a terrible mistake,” Meg said. “I thought we could all do something together, clean the dining room, the way a family should. I see I was wrong. If anything is going to get done in this house, I’ll have to do it alone. Fine. I want all of you out of here. Do you hear me? I want you out of here right now.”

  “I’ll stay, Megs,” Sybil said. “I like helping out.”

  “Out!” Meg said. “This instant!”

  Thea climbed down the ladder. She couldn’t understand why Megs should be mad at her. They were the only two who agreed. She carried the bucket down with her, and left it on the floor, by Megs’s side. Megs did not smile at her as Thea stood there.

  “Out,” Meg said. “And I don’t want any of you anywhere near this dining room until I tell you to come in.”

  Even Claire was silent. She filed out of the room with Thea and Sybil. They climbed the stairs slowly, trying to hear any conversation between Nicky and Megs. If there was any, it was whispered.

  “I’ve never seen her that mad,” Thea said, walking into Claire and Sybil’s room with them. It no longer mattered that she was angry with them. This was no time to be alone.

  “I thought she was going to start crying,” Sybil said. She looked like she might cry as well. “I never meant to make her that mad.”

  “It wasn’t just you,” Thea said. “It was all of us. Except maybe me.”

  “Sure,” Claire said. “Little Miss Perfect would never do anything to upset Big Miss Perfect.”

  “You make me sick,” Thea said. “And you do, too, Sybil.”

  “I’m sorry,” Sybil said. “I’ll go with you if you still want me to.”

  “Congratulations,” Claire said. “You finally bullied Sybil into doing what you want her to.”

  “I’m glad,” Thea said. “If it took bullying, fine. She’s going to make a very sweet girl feel a little bit happier. It’s about time Sybil agreed. If she’d agreed when I first asked her, none of this would have happened.”

  “If she’d agreed, when you first asked her, we’d still be scrubbing the dining room walls,” Claire said. “I’d rather be here. Thanks, Syb.”

  “You’re welcome, I guess,” Sybil said. “Is it scary in the hospital, Thea? Are there a lot of dead people all over?”

  “I haven’t seen a dead one yet,” Thea told her. “It’s just a few sick kids in a big room. It’s kind of like that room we had in Harrison, only nicer. And some of the kids are bald. That’s all.”

  “Is Gina bald?” Sybil asked.

  Thea shook her head.

  “The hell with Gina,” Claire said. “Is Kip bald?”

  Sybil laughed. Thea was torn between laughing and throttling Claire. Laughing won out.

  “What do you think they’re doing down there?” Sybil asked.

  Claire checked the clock. “By now?” she said. “By now, they’re probably showing the dining room some sex,” she said.

  “Claire!” Thea said.

  “Wanna bet?” Claire asked.

  “Absolutely not,” Thea said.

  “I’d rather they were having sex there than fighting,” Sybil said. “Wouldn’t you, Thea?”

  “Thea doesn’t like to think about sex,” Claire said. “All she likes is love.”

  “Love’s what’s important,” Thea said.

  “Yeah, but sex is what’s fun,” Claire replied.

  “I don’t care about either one of them,” Sybil declared. “Just as long as I never end up dying in a hospital.”

  “You won’t,” Thea promised her. “Not as long as I’m around to protect you.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “I think I’ve changed my mind,” Sybil muttered as they stood outside the hospital door. “Do I have to go in?”

  “You promised,” Thea declared. “It really isn’t so bad in there, Sybil. You won’t mind once you get used to the place.”

  “Why can’t you and Claire go without me?” Sybil asked. “Hospitals are scary. They’re full of sick people and dead bodies.”

  “You’ll be a dead body if you don’t move it,” Claire said. “Come on, Sybil. The sooner we get in there, the sooner we can leave.”

  “You’re going to owe me one,” Sybil declared. “A big one, Thea.”

  “And I’ll pay you back, I promise,” Thea replied. “Come on. Gina’s going to be so thrilled.”

  “And I’m going to be so sick,” Sybil said, but she followed Thea through the corridors. Her complexion, Thea noticed, had turned pale green, but she needed hardly any pushing from her two older sisters. Claire, on the other hand, looked right at home. She cast appraising glances at every man she saw, and gave more careful looks to the male doctors. The men looked back at her. Thea wondered what Claire would be like if she weren’t so beautiful, and then realized she wouldn’t be Claire. Claire was her beauty. She was all magnificent exterior.

  “This is Gina’s wa
rd,” Thea whispered. “Come on. Let’s go over so you can meet her.”

  “Thrillsville,” Claire muttered, but she led Sybil to the bed that Thea pointed them to.

  “Gina, hi, how are you?” Thea asked.

  “I’m okay,” Gina said. Thea noticed how listless she looked, and how small in comparison to Sybil. This was the Gina who was dying, not the twelve-year-old Gina Thea was used to.

  “I brought you some visitors,” Thea declared. “Gina, I want you to meet two of my sisters, Claire and Sybil.”

  Gina pulled herself up in her bed, and Thea rearranged her pillows to give her some support. “Really?” Gina said. “They’re really Claire and Sybil?”

  “What do you think, that she’d hire ringers?” Claire asked. “Thea doesn’t have that kind of imagination. Hi, Gina. I’m Claire.”

  “And I’m Sybil,” Sybil said. She extended her hand for Gina to shake. Thea noticed it was shaking, and gave Sybil five extra points for bravery.

  “I can’t believe you’re really here,” Gina said. “Thea’s told me so much about you, and I’ve wanted to meet you, and now you’re actually here.”

  “We wanted to meet you, too,” Claire said. “Thea hasn’t talked about anyone else since the two of you became friends.”

  Thea couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Claire was being nice. Where was the catch?

  “I like her so much,” Gina said. “You’re so lucky to have a sister like her.”

  “We know,” Sybil said. At least Claire didn’t agree. Thea was starting to worry that Claire herself had hired the ringer. “Do you have any sisters, Gina?”

  Gina nodded. “One,” she said. “Her name is Dani.”

  “I know her,” Claire said. “We’re not in any of the same classes, but I’ve seen her around school. She’s very pretty.”

  “You really know Dani?” Gina asked.

  “She probably doesn’t know me,” Claire said. “I’m new to the school. We move around a lot. I don’t know if you know what that’s like, but when you go to a lot of different schools, it pays if you figure out fast who’s important and who isn’t. I guessed that Dani must be important because she’s so pretty and popular.”

  Thea balanced herself against the chair to keep from fainting.

  “You have a big brother, too, don’t you?” Sybil asked. “Thea’s mentioned him to us.”

  “Kip,” Gina said. “He’ll be here soon. He comes every day after work to visit.”

  “That’s great,” Sybil said. “You must be happy to see him.”

  “I am,” Gina said. “Before Thea became my Friendly Visitor, Kip was the only visitor I had. Him and my mom. Dani would come, too, but she’s so busy with school and her friends. She means to come a lot, but then stuff happens, and she can’t.”

  “She should come more often,” Claire said sharply. But then she smiled at Gina. “She could check out all the handsome doctors if she did.” She winked broadly.

  Gina laughed and was almost herself again. It hurt Thea to see how much worse Gina was than she’d been four days earlier. Gina really was going to die. Thea began to believe what Kip kept telling her.

  “I don’t know why I’m babbling this way,” Claire said. “I hear from Thea that Sybil’s really the one you want to meet.”

  “We’re the same age,” Gina said. “But Sybil’s a year ahead of me in school.”

  “I haven’t been sick,” Sybil said, looking as though she were about to be. “I guess you’ve had to miss a lot.”

  “It’s okay,” Gina said. “My mother brings me homework to do. Thea’s been helping me with my spelling. She says you’re a wonderful speller, Sybil.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Sybil said. “Thea, is there a water cooler around here?”

  “I’ll show you where it is,” Thea said. “Claire, can you entertain Gina while we’re gone?”

  “I’ll try,” Claire said. “I hear you read TV Dreamstars, Gina.” She found the copy by Gina’s bedside, and Thea left the two of them poring over it, comparing favorites.

  “I feel awful,” Sybil said.

  “You’re acting like a baby,” Thea told her. “Why can’t you be more like Claire. I don’t believe I said that.”

  “It’s easy for Claire,” Sybil declared. “She doesn’t care. She’s just playing a part.”

  “Then you play a part, too,” Thea said. “If Claire can pretend to be nice, then you can pretend to be human. You’re a lot closer to it than she is.”

  Sybil didn’t laugh. “Gina looks terrible,” she said instead. “I didn’t think she’d look so sick.”

  “I know,” Thea replied. “I never saw her look this bad.”

  “Do you think she’s going to die today?” Sybil asked. “While we’re with her?”

  “No,” Thea said. “Gina isn’t going to die today. I promise.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Sybil asked.

  “They wouldn’t have let all of us visit if Gina was that sick,” Thea declared. “Look, just hang in there a few more minutes, until Kip arrives. Claire will check him out, and then she’ll want to leave, too. The two of you can go home then. All right?”

  “All right,” Sybil said. “I really hate hospitals, Thea. Before today, I just thought I did, but now that I’ve been in one, I know how much I hate them.”

  “You’ll be out of this one in half an hour,” Thea said. “And then you won’t have to come back until you have a baby.”

  “I’ll adopt,” Sybil replied. “I feel better now. Let’s go back.”

  Thea and Sybil walked back to Gina’s bed. Claire had made herself comfortable on it, and was telling Gina a story that Gina was obviously entranced with.

  “And then Nicky said, ‘That wasn’t mouse poison, that was caviar!’” Claire said, and Gina burst into giggles. “Honestly, Gina. I figured if I had to make a mistake, at least I did it the right way. Think what would have happened if Nicky had served all those business people mouse poison, thinking it was caviar. But Nicky didn’t see it that way at all.”

  “Did he punish you?” Gina asked.

  Claire tossed her hair away from her eyes. Thea was struck, as she often was, by Claire’s resemblance to Nicky. “Nicky never punishes me,” she said. “He always means to, but somehow he never gets around to it.”

  “Does your mother punish you?” Sybil asked.

  “Not since I’ve been sick,” Gina replied. “It used to drive Dani crazy. I’d do something wrong, and Mom wouldn’t say anything about it. Dani says when she does something wrong, Mom really lets her have it.”

  “Life is so unfair,” Claire said. “Isn’t it, Gina?”

  Gina nodded. Thea thought about just how unfair life could be, and decided to change the topic.

  “So, Gina,” she said. “Did you do much schoolwork this weekend?”

  “No,” Gina said. “I haven’t felt real good since Friday.”

  “Are you sick?” Sybil asked. “I mean, do you have a cold or something?”

  “I don’t think so,” Gina replied. “Kip says I’ll feel better soon. And I feel better today than I did yesterday. Do you catch colds, Sybil?”

  “Sybil is never sick,” Claire replied. “It drives me crazy. When I was younger, I used to get all kinds of things, mumps, stuff like that, and I’d be moaning and groaning, and Sybil never caught a single germ. I’d try. I’d tell her to finish what I was eating, and I’d swap toothbrushes on her, and pillows, and she never got anything I had.”

  “I didn’t know you did that,” Sybil said. “Boy, you’re mean, Claire.”

  “I wasn’t mean, I was lonely,” Claire said. “Stuck in the house alone all day with Megs. She’d try to play with me, but it was never as much fun as when you and I played. It’s really neat having a younger sister, Gina. They’re much better than older ones.”

  “I guess,” Gina said. “Older brothers are nice. I love Kip.”

  “I always wanted an older brother,” Claire said. “I would have
swapped Thea if I could.”

  “But not Evvie,” Thea said.

  “I liked Evvie,” Claire said.

  “You don’t like Thea?” Gina asked. “Why not?”

  Claire laughed. “I like Thea,” she said. “I just figured she’d be easier to swap. But I never wanted a kid brother. Do you have any friends with kid brothers, Gina?”

  “I used to,” Gina replied.

  “They are the worst,” Claire said. “Always being pests. Sybil was never a pest. She wouldn’t always do what I wanted her to, but at least she stayed out of my way most of the time.”

  “I had to,” Sybil said. “You would have run right over me, otherwise.”

  Claire laughed, and so did Gina. Thea shook her head in disbelief. Playing a part or no, Claire looked like she was born to be a Friendly Visitor.

  “What’s going on here?” Kip asked, walking over to the bed. “Is this a convention of NOW or something?”

  “I like that,” Claire said. “You couldn’t mistake us for Miss America contestants?”

  “Sorry,” Kip said. “I was so dazzled by all the beauty, I missed the obvious. Hi, Thea. Hello, pumpkin.” He bent down and gave Gina a kiss. “You’re looking better today.”

  “I feel better,” Gina said. “Thea brought her sisters. Sybil and Claire. The one on my bed is Claire, and the other one is Sybil.”

  Poor Sybil, Thea thought. Reduced from goddess to the-other-one status. Not that Sybil seemed to mind. She looked instead pathetically relieved that Kip had arrived, and was clearly counting the seconds until she and Claire could make their getaway.

  “Claire,” Kip said. “Sybil.” He gazed at both of them. “It was nice of you to come visit.”

  “We wanted to meet Gina,” Claire said. “Thea keeps talking about her, almost like she was another sister.”

  Kip stared at Claire, who stared right back. Thea didn’t care for that at all. “I guaranteed you a visit,” she said. “But instead of one visitor, I brought two.”

  “Very nice of you,” Kip said. “What’s that in your hand, Sybil?”

  “Oh, I brought something,” Sybil said. “I almost forgot. Gina, I don’t know if you can keep stuff like this, but I brought you some lipstick.”