Page 12 of No Quarter

“So, when is the big day?” Suzie asked.

“We haven’t set it yet,” Tom said, raising an eyebrow at Valerie.

“Same old Valerie,” Suzie said rubbing her brow.

“And what exactly does that mean?” asked Valerie, putting her hands on her hips.

“Uh oh, she’s entered big sister mode. You always put things off,” Suzie said. “Remember the time Billy Jenkins asked you out to the prom?”

“Oh my God,” Valerie laughed.

“Should I be worried about this Billy Jenkins?” Tom inquired.

Suzie leaned forward in her seat. “Valerie was asked by a guy named Max to go to the prom with him. But she really wanted to go with Billy Jenkins. She told Max she’d think about it, meanwhile hoping that Billy would ask her out. Turns out, she waited so long that Max asked someone else, and Billy brought a girl from out of the neighborhood. She ended up going alone.”

“That’s not the Val I know,” Tom said. “She’s assertive as all hell.”

“With things that don’t concern her, yeah,” Suzie answered. “Like her job as an FBI agent. I bet she’s one of their top people, always leading from the front. But when it comes to her relationships, she has a tendency to dither. Not knowing what’s good for her.”

Valerie knew her sister didn’t mean anything by those words, but they did irk her. Mostly, because of how true they were.

She hadn’t set a date for the wedding because she still felt overwhelmed about it all.

“Why don’t you two let me get used to being engaged before I’m dragged down the aisle, okay?” Valerie knew the second she said those words that she had hurt Tom’s feelings.

“Dragged?” Tom asked. “I didn’t think I’d have to do that.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

There was an awkward silence.

“I’m sorry,” Suzie said. “My mind’s a bit scrambled still, I didn’t mean to cause an argument.”

“It’s fine,” said Tom, unconvincingly. “There was something else Valerie wanted to ask you about.”

“I’m feeling a bit tired…” Suzie said with a vacant look out of the window.

“It can wait for another time then,” Valerie offered.

“No … sorry … you’ve come a long way,” said Suzie, changing her mind. “What is it?”

Valerie felt the dread building deep inside. She didn’t want to have this conversation, but she knew she had to.

“It’s about Dad and Mom,” she said, finally.

“What about them?”

“I visited Mom a few weeks ago and she said some wild things about Dad.”

“We all say wild things sometimes,” said Suzie. “Especially when you’re in a psychiatric ward, and they haven’t gotten your treatment right yet.”

Valerie didn’t know how to say it. So, she blurted it out.

“She made me question whether he was our real dad or not.”

Another silence. This time it was accompanied by a flicker of hurt in Suzie’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Suzie,” Valerie said, reaching over and touching her sister’s hand. “It might not be true. It might all be nonsense. But I wanted you to know that I was looking into it.”

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