Regardless of circumstances, it felt like a celebration whenever the four sisters were together. Even though their father had retired to his study with the door firmly closed, and nothing could fully dispel the chill absence of their mother, for a short time the house felt full again. It echoed with voices and laughter and movement, and the family could pretend nothing was wrong.
It’d been a while since all four of them had hung out. A longer while since they’d been together without arguing. Franklyn brought a slab of beer in from the garage, placing half the cans in the fridge to cool. Auryn opened a bottle of wine. After some cajoling, they even persuaded Stephanie to have a drink.
Nobody mentioned the altercation between Franklyn and Henry. It wasn’t the first time Franklyn had got into trouble, and nobody thought it’d be the last. By nature, she rubbed people the wrong way. Her school record had been a history of near-disasters.
Now she was at ease, sprawled in a chair with one leg thrown over the arm, a can of beer in one hand and an unlit cigarette in the other. Their father didn’t mind them drinking or making noise, but drew the line at smoking in the house.
‘Hey,’ Auryn said, settling on the sofa, ‘I meant to ask, Franklyn. Are you really going back to university?’
Franklyn gave a careful shrug. ‘News travels fast, doesn’t it?’
Guilt needled Daniela. She hadn’t been sworn to secrecy, but still …
‘So, is it true?’ Auryn pressed. ‘Or is someone spreading mad rumours?’
‘I’ve not decided,’ Franklyn said. Her tone was more serious than Daniela had heard in years. ‘But yeah, it’s something to think about.’
‘Finishing that business course, are you?’ Stephanie asked.
‘Nah. I’m looking at theology.’
Stephanie raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s a career departure,’ she said. Unlike the others, she’d remained standing, as if even when relaxing she couldn’t lose the stiffness her job had hammered into her. A certain tightness marked her eyes. Nothing escaped her notice. It felt like Stephanie was always poised to spring into action at the first sign of anything improper. In a different life she could’ve been a superhero.
The idea made Daniela snort into her drink.
‘Maybe it’s time for a career,’ Franklyn said. ‘A proper career, I mean. No more bouncing from one rubbish job to the next. And let’s face it, I was never cut out for the business world. That’s for people like him upstairs, isn’t it?’ She smiled, but the twist to her lips made it ugly. ‘I thought you’d approve. Really, I’m just copying. You’ve got the nice, stable, legal career. What’s wrong with us wanting the same?’
Stephanie chuckled but said nothing. Daniela looked away, irrationally annoyed that everyone except her was progressing with their lives.
‘What would you do with a theology degree?’ Auryn asked. ‘I mean, what can you do? Apart from becoming a lecturer or a vicar.’
It was difficult to imagine Franklyn doing either of those. Difficult enough to picture her knuckling down to complete a university course. Franklyn had always been moody and solitary, without close friends, more content to be off on her own than hanging around at home. She’d also been closest to their mother. Being the eldest meant she’d known their mother the longest, and remembered when there’d been more smiles than silences. Franklyn was the one who’d tried hardest to make her stay. She’d encouraged their mother to make outings, to drive into Briarsfield or take the bus in a long circular journey out along the valleys and back again. Franklyn had kept up the Sunday trips to church with her long after the others lost interest.
And yet nothing Franklyn did was enough to make her stay.
One of Daniela’s clearest memories was of a fight she hadn’t been meant to witness. Aged twelve, Daniela had watched, through a crack in the door, as her father berated their mother in that whip-tongue voice until she’d pulled off the eternity rings he’d given her and flung them at him. Daniela had barely had time to get clear of the door as her mother strode out. Two days later, their mother had packed her bags, leaving Daniela with a clearer memory of her hands than her face.
She thought of the sort-of funeral they’d held, out on the fishing platform above the swollen river. None of them had spoken of it again. But a few weeks later, Daniela went back to the garage to look through their mother’s remaining possessions. At that time, she’d noticed other items conspicuously missing. Everything of value, like the jewellery, had gone. As had the crucifix from the hallway, the one with the sad Jesus, which was no longer hidden under the pile of magazines.
Franklyn didn’t answer Auryn’s question straight away. She turned the beer can with her thin fingers. ‘It’s not something that’s come out of nowhere,’ she said at last. ‘Wanting to change … wanting something different. It probably feels like I’m springing this on you, but it’s always been in my head. I want something different. I want to do something. This week was …’ She stopped. ‘Anyway, I came home to clear my head. And to get some support.’ She flashed a grin. ‘That’s what we’re here for, right? To look out for each other. I bet Auryn hasn’t been getting hassled over her academic choices.’
Auryn’s ears went pink. She hated to admit how well she’d done at school. Everyone in the family knew she was the bright one – the one with the high-flying career ahead. From a young age she’d known what she wanted to do with her life. Daniela envied that, a lot.
Stephanie was envious as well, Daniela knew, because although Stephanie had her own career – one she insisted she loved – she’d fallen into it more or less by accident, recruited straight from high school. Someone had to keep the peace in the household, and Stephanie was the only one capable. Policing had been the logical, inevitable choice. A concrete way to enforce the rules of the house.
But Auryn was still the smartest, with the best qualifications and the pick of universities.
Daniela had never considered Franklyn might be jealous too.
‘I don’t blame you for wanting to get away,’ Franklyn added to Auryn. ‘Get out, see the world. It’ll be good for you. And Leo.’
Auryn nodded. ‘I think he’s more anxious than me to get away.’
‘No surprise. If Henry McKearney was my dad, I wouldn’t stick around either.’ Franklyn made little dents in the beer can with her fingertips. ‘If he’s smart, he’ll hang on to you.’
Auryn frowned. ‘What d’you mean by that?’
‘He’s not got much to look forward to here, has he? If he can escape Stonecrop and tough it out at university, he’s smart enough to go far. But studying medicine is a long hard slog. He’ll need support.’
‘You mean financially.’ A hard edge crept into Auryn’s voice. ‘You think he’s only staying with me because our family’s got money.’
‘I never said that.’
‘You’re thinking it pretty loudly.’
Franklyn drained her beer. ‘No, I’m not. You and Leo need to support each other. That’s all I mean. It’s a big, scary, horrid world out there. Even if it is better than this fucking place.’
Stephanie raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s some fine language. Are you sure you’re cut out to be a vicar?’
Franklyn laughed and threw the empty can at her, and the tension in the room dissipated for a while.
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