Chapter 10 #3
“You sound like my other sister. Serenity is forever going on about how we have a duty to Helen while she’s still with us.
I’ve not had anyone talk to me in a good long time, and I thought that you’d be sympathetic about my sister.
” She said the only one she was sympathetic with was her dying sister.
“Figures. I’m always the bad guy when things like this come up.
I didn’t give her cancer. She just got it somehow.
I wasn’t going to stay with her at all if she could give it to me.
I’ve seen what it would do to my body, and I won’t have myself taken away by some disease that makes you wish for death. ”
“Did she say that to you?” She said that she’d thought that if Helen had any lick of sense, she’d say the same thing. “You mean you’d rather she just die and get it over with instead of having you sit with her in her final hours?”
“Yes, that’s it exactly. I’m not going to feel sorry for her either.
Whatever she’d done to get herself in this way is entirely her fault.
” The woman told her to leave. “Leave? You’re not even finished with cleaning my nails.
I want a new set put on. And don’t think I’m leaving you a tip either.
I’m going to make sure that everyone knows how you nearly took my finger off, too. ”
“Get out of my sight. I want nothing to do with you anymore.” She said she wasn’t going to.
“Yes, you are, or I’m going to call the police.
I know my rights, and it says that if I don’t want to deal with you, I don’t have to give you service.
So get out of here right now before I have you arrested.
Surely there is something in the laws about being a cold, heartless bitch. ”
When the woman pulled out her cell phone and called the police, she left.
No one else in the salon would finish her nails either.
It wasn’t her fault that Helen was dying, was it?
She didn’t give her cancer. People were just unfair about how they treated her, and she was going to have to figure out how to deal with them.
Pulling out her phone, she wasn’t surprised to find that she had five missed calls from her sister. She didn’t bother calling her back. She was free of the hospital, and she wasn’t going to go back because Serenity was going to bully her. And she would too, she just knew it.
Finding someplace that would do her nails took her until nearly six.
Promising herself she wasn’t going to mention Helen, she found herself talking about herself.
It was a better topic anyway, and she enjoyed talking about herself more than she did her sisters.
They were both fuddy-duddies, and she hated to be around the two of them.
As she was getting the final coat on her new nails, she thought again about having her hair done.
But the thought of having to find someone this late in the evening didn’t appeal to her.
That was going to be something that she’d do tomorrow.
Finding her hotel after forgetting the name of the place she’d been staying since being in town, she went to her bathroom and took a much-needed shower.
After washing her hair twice, just to get the smell out of it, she wrapped herself in the hotel robe and sat on the bed.
Even if she didn’t have anyone to talk to, this was so much better than sitting around the hospital room for hours on end.
It wasn’t as if she stayed in her room for the two days she was watching over Helen.
She’d made her way to the cafeteria looking for a good-looking doctor that she thought she could hook up with.
Then, when that hadn’t worked, she’d take walks around the building looking for something to do.
Not only was Helen’s room boring, but the entire hospital was as well.
She didn’t like to say this to her sister, but she might have to.
If Serenity decided to die, she was going to tell her to do it on a cruise ship or something.
At least she’d have something to entertain herself while watching over her.
When her hotel room phone rang, she decided to answer it with a cheery voice. It always made her feel better when someone commented on her voice when she answered that way. Waiting for the person on the other end to talk, she was ready to hang up when she realized that the person was crying.
“It’s Serenity. Helen died an hour ago.” Then the line went dead.
Wanting to call her back, she pulled out her phone to give her a piece of her mind.
Why had it taken her an hour to tell her?
She was her sister, too, by god. Plus, she needed to make arrangements with someone to get her hair done now.
There was no way that she was going to be looking like her dead sister when she could do something about it.
“What do you want, Beth? I have to make arrangements for Helen.”
“Why didn’t you call me sooner so that I could be there with her?” she said that she’d left her messages. “I didn’t get them. I had my phone on mute so that I’d not have to hear from you again.”
“And just how do you think I was supposed to get in touch with you if you had your phone on mute? I’m not that good at tracking you down.
” She told her that she should have called the police to look for her.
“My sister just died, pardon me for not calling the police to hunt down the one person who was supposed to be here with her when she died. I barely made it to the hospital to say my goodbyes. I’m guessing that you’ve had a wonderful evening with getting your nails done.
Did you get your hair done as well? I’m sure you want to look good when we have her funeral. ”
“You’re being really snippy. And yes, I got my nails done.
They really needed it after being cooped up in that room for so long.
Had I known she was going to die, I would have maybe stuck around longer.
” She told her that she wouldn’t have because she was selfish.
“I’m not selfish. I’m entitled. I know the difference. ”
“You make that sound like a good thing. But you’re selfish too, if you want to know the truth of it.” She made a sobbing sound, and it made her ask what was going on. “Helen just died, I told you. Would you like for me to be cheery with you? I’m not going to be, so don’t even answer that.”
“She’s better off dead anyway. You told me that she was suffering.
I never saw it. They were keeping her so doped up all the time, she barely acknowledged me when they came in to give her more meds.
How was I supposed to know that she was going to die tonight?
” Serenity didn’t say anything, and that pissed her off, too.
“We’ll have to make the arrangements, I suppose.
Another few hours of time that I’m never going to get back. ”
“You’re such a bitch. How did I miss that for all the years that you were growing up?
” She said she never paid attention to her.
“And now that I do, I’m not at all happy that we’re related.
Helen had made her arrangements when she first got sick.
All you have to do is show up and be there.
You don’t even have to watch over her anymore, either. She’s gone.”
When she hung up the phone on her end, Beth wanted to throw her phone across the room. But she didn’t. The company said they’d not replace it anymore if she did that. Instead of putting it away, she looked at the messages from her sister.
“She doesn’t have much longer to live.”
“Get here if you want to see her again.”
“You’re not going to make it if you’re not already in the hospital.”
“She’s gone, Beth. Our little sister is gone.”