CHAPTER XI – THE LONG HOLIDAYS
So, with the new year dawn, so to speak, Orange was in her recovery mode. Her blue face was changed back to normal. She took Professor Suthern's medicine regularly and before another week passed, the bandages were off her hands and her fingers were as good as they were before the accident. One morning, when Lily went to visit her alone, she saw Orange up and fully dressed.
"Is it... Are you... Will they..." she stammered.
"It is! We are going home." Orange nodded her head in delight. "At last. I was beginning to think I'd never leave this room." And she held her arms wide and Lily hugged her very careful not to hurt her "baby-sis" in any way. Maybe Orange was still too weak and was not supposed to get strained. Lily looked at the doctor-summoning button with all due respect and considered pressing it. Orange followed her look and laughed, "They fixed it after last time. You can press it again."
"They FIXED it? I knew there was something wrong with it. It obviously wasn't functioning correctly." said Lily.
"Well, they fixed it after you broke it, in fact." Orange said laughing.
"Ha! You don't say!" was Lily's astonished answer.
Orange checked out of the hospital and went home. It was still early in the year, and the school holidays was going on. Professor Suthern had stayed for some time and spent New Year's Eve with the Hollises and Lily and he left just before Orange came back. Aunt Leonora had left the Christmas tree decorated in the living room, so that Orange may have a chance to see it. Even though its charm had passed, Orange enjoyed it very much. Lily had taken all the Christmas present she had received to the hospital room, but Orange never get to look at them. So, they brought everything back, as it was still well-packed in nice boxes and the morning after Orange's return the Hollises and the Lemonpie sisters had a Christmas Day replay of opening the presents. Most present made them cry and the whole process took their day. When Orange looked up from the pile of colourful paper, it was already dark outside. The fire was burning softly and the lights were bright on the tree, twinkling in and out of various modes, to the girls' delight. Professor Suthern had helped aunt Leonora make a special glitter to apply over the walls and the ceiling, which changed colours, too, ranging from soft and subtle to bright and inviting. The aroma it dispelled was also magic, Orange's favourite – cinnamon and apples, varied with Lily's favourite – orange and lemon. Because they were so absorbed in the presents and their memories, they had not switched the lights on and when dusk fell, they remained like that, looking at the fire and the glitters on the walls. Lily could almost hear the rustle of the trees in the forest and could feel the breeze on her face. She remembered the winter forest where they has nearly lost their lives, or at least some fingers. That was not a forest to dream of, Lily thought. Yet, ignoring the icy cold wind that pierced through them with a shrill voice, even that was a magical forest – its trees casting long shadows, as if scratching across clearings covered with snow, where the pale moon was reflected by a myriad of snowflakes, making crispy sound below your boots. "Not my boots," Lily said aloud, impressed by the vividness of the moment. The others looked towards her. Aunt Leonora stood up and said, "Well, I'd better get to preparing the dinner. I totally lost my mind here. Are you hungry?"
Lily and Orange did not answer. In fact, Lily was not especially hungry. After weeping for some time, she felt cozy and comfortable just sitting on the thick rug in front of the fireplace and looking at the flames playing random and wild.
Then, at the end of the winter holidays, Lily and Orange had to decide. Their uncle and aunt needed to go back to work, and the girls were expected back at school. At least, Orange was. Lily filed a request for holidays prolonging and had her permission soon. Because of her hospital stay, Orange had no time to take any steps towards arrangements with her school. On the first day after the holidays, she went to school accompanied by her aunt. For a long time, Orange was not sure what she wanted. She did not feel like leaving home, even for a couple of months, but she was afraid of remaining alone there, too. The night before Lily had said, "Aunt, what if I stay at home? Will it be possible that Orange stays here, too? Or do we need an adult all the time?"
So, when Orange and Leonora stepped inside the elementary school in the neighbourhood, Orange had no clear idea how she could get what she wanted. She explained that to the Headmaster, though, hoping she would be able to advise her. Leonora confirmed that her husband and she would agree with whatever decision the girls make, and not press their custody to the extreme. "The girls are mature enough. We will come regularly, of course. We were thinking something like twice a month for the weekend." The Headmaster was listening and nodding. Finally, she said, "You know, Mrs. Hollis, that the law allows such a thing. We have to have a hearing in front of a judge, of course."
When they left the Headmaster's office almost an hour and a half later, they had an appointment for the hearing and every assurance that the school will take care of Orange, if she decided to stay.
That was how Lily and Orange Lemonpie started the longest and strangest holiday in their lives, looking after themselves alone and making everyday decisions ... basically, every day. By and by Lily grew to like this kind of living. It was all new to her, she had no experience in household work, neither did she know how to cook or do most chores around the house. They were lucky their aunt and uncle visited every two weeks, for there was always something wrong, or just not right with the Lemonpie household. Sometimes, a door knob broke, or a drawer went out of its slide. Lily tried to fix such things either by simple tricks she could remember, or using some tool. Yet, the result was never too lasting. At least, that was the case in the initial couple of weeks. Step by step, screw by nut, Lily improved and when the Hollises came to their regular visit at the end of March, there was nothing to be fixed around the entire house.
The struggle in the kitchen was more epic and took more victims, so to say. Lily tried to try hard, but she knew she was doing only her second best, so when Orange voiced her desire to take that burden away from her, Lily sighed in relief.
Around the end of January Lily was already free of too much house duties and had time to start thinking.
At first, right after the winter holiday, when the Hollises left and Orange started school again, Lily had to clear the whole mess created during that crazy Christmas break. Her uncle helped her put the Christmas tree apart and in its box again, but Lily had to finish all the rest.
While Orange was at school, she stayed home and tried to put the house in order. There were piles of plates and trays to wash, dry and put away to places that Lily did not know. She had forgotten the place of everything in their house. It seemed so long she had not been there, although thinking about it, Lily realized that she spent her whole there and used to help her mom all the time. "All the time?" Lily thought to herself with a wry smile. All the time when she was not emailing Violet or Erin, or the other girls, and all the time when she was not busy playing football with her dad. It was Orange who helped all the time. Orange was familiar with every single thing in the kitchen and the garage; she even knew how to use most items. Anyway, Lily had switched to a new profile. She had accepted the part of an adult who needed to take care of the young orphan. She made sincere attempts to learn how to cook, to keep the house clean and tidy and to do the shopping. To a certain extent that kept her mind off her loss and she did not have to waste energy fighting her confusion and anger. At first, Lily was timid going to the supermarket, for, as she found out, things were not arranged in a familiar way, the place was big and many people rushed besides her, obviously knowing exactly where they were going. She stopped as early as the entrance section. There were shopping carts and shopping baskets. Which should she take? A cart would be uncomfortable to push, but a basket would get heavy. Yet, it was smaller and would make her control the volumes of her purchase. She took a basket and went around the supermarket, section by section, randomly putting various stuff in her basket, not convinced she knew what she w
as doing. From time to time she could see another shopper looking at her and what she read in their eyes was condescension. It was curious how Lily, so self-confident on the football field, was intimidated by the looks of average customers at a local supermarket. "Yes, exactly," thought Lily. By the look of the elderly lady near her, she realized that she had said it aloud.
"Yes, my dear?" asked the elderly lady. Lily saw the lady was with a cart, although it was not very full.
"Uhm, I'm sorry. I was just thinking aloud. I didn't realize that." said Lily and smiled.
"It seems it is your first time in a supermarket." smiled the lady. Lily was beginning to like her. "Can I help you in any way? Maybe show you where you can find the items on your shopping list?"
"My shopping list?" said Lily. "But of course, that's a great idea." She pursed her lips. "If only I had made one."
"Ah, it's not a big deal. Just think of what you need in terms of aims." seeing the puzzle on Lily's face, she explained, "For instance, are you going to cook dinner, do the laundry, or clean? Then, how many people are having the dinner you are going to cook, and so on."
Lily just blinked. Now, that was some strategy. It needed analytical skills, too. It was almost like making a plan for the football game. Well, almost...
Soon enough, Lily got "tuned in" as she liked to say and shopping was merely a routine for her. She enjoyed this game of grown-up for a long time.
Most days Lily thought of her mom and dad and tried to repeat every single thing they used to do around the house, for fear she might forget them. Forgetting was like losing them in real and forever, remembering was keeping them alive to some degree. She noticed that Orange was doing the same. They had dinner in total silence, because at times Lily could not remember exactly the words her father used to enquire about their day at school. Lily was somewhat embarrassed because of that. She felt secret guilt, as if she was some kind of a traitor. As far as her days at school were concerned, Lily had been away for a complete school year and a half, so it was natural she had lost touch with family dinner rituals. Yet, Lily was intimidated by Orange's sincere look of expectation. Her younger sister looked up to her to replace her parents, to play their part and speak their lines. It looked as if Orange was afraid to step onto a new stage. Lily sensed that Orange's emotional balance depended on preserving the situation as close to the original one as far as possible. Unfortunately, they did not talk much, being already strange to each other. The two sisters realized that all their lives so far they were linked by means of their parents, and it was their parents who acted as props in their everyday existence. Without the mediating role of Mrs. and Mr. Lemonpie the sisters did not even know what to say to each other at dinner.
"It didn't use to be like that." Lily said one evening, looking at Orange over the potato soup. "I remember we used to play a lot as children. How come now we don't know how to speak to each other?"
Orange's eyes widened and she gaped, "Aw, yes, that's right." And her mouth remained ajar.
That annoyed Lily a lot. It seemed her sister had many annoying habits of being too slow and sometimes too thick. "Shut that mouth!" Lily snapped at Orange. "And stop staring like an idiot."
Orange blinked several times rapidly, in total humiliation. Her lips remained parted and tears glistened in her eyes. It was even worse than before. "And she doesn't look any prettier." Lily thought, merciless. Then she felt sick. She got vertigo and her ears started to boo in an intolerable manner. She could sense a grey porous cloud of damp and dirty matter wrap around her brain, right inside her head, and saw a shabby, frayed curtain drop before her eyeballs. She especially felt it in front of her eyeballs and not her face; she felt this damp curtain inside her head, under her skin and bones. It was as if her eyes were the windows to a building and this was their curtain, only it was a poor one and made Lily feel unspeakably week. In a second, she wanted to stand up and tried to make a motion with her hand, in an attempt to protect herself. All Orange saw was Lily's terrified look, followed by emptiness and an indefinite mechanic gesture of her hand, as Lily slumped on the floor.
On the next morning, Lily woke up to nice breakfast in bed and hot coffee, the way Professor Suthern had made it. Orange had requested to stay home to care for her sick sister and had called aunt Leonora to ask about Lily's breakfast tastes. After all, Leonora was the last woman who had had breakfast with Lily. Orange was aware of the abyss that had opened between Lily and herself. She was determined to neutralize it, though.
That weekend Orange and Lily Lemonpie, the two orphan-sisters, who had been estranged without knowing it, found the way back to each other through Lily's sickness and Orange's talent in the kitchen.
"Oh, my God! You are a goddess of cooking!" exclaimed Lily over and over. "How did you let me make all those tortures for you? And you actually ate them?"
"Well, you know, I needed time to study. If I cook, there will be no such time." Orange smiled. "Besides, I think you should learn, too." Lily frowned, "No, thanks."
"It's not that hard, believe me."
"Are aunt and uncle coming this weekend?" asked Lily. "That's according to the schedule, right?"
"It is. Yet, they are not coming."
"Have you told them I'm not OK?" asked Lily in bewilderment.
"I have. That's why they decided against the schedule."
Lily was even more bewildered. "What do you mean?"
"They thought it would be a good chance for us two to sort things out for ourselves." Orange was looking for the proper words. "You know, after mom and dad died, we've always been in company with someone, and never having the house to ourselves and time to enjoy our own company. Well, something in that sense." Orange shrugged her shoulders.
"And what do you think about it?" asked Lily carefully.
"I think," said Orange slowly with a smile, "that it's high time you went back to school." She paused. "And football." and smiled again. Not waiting for Lily's possible answer, Orange stood up and went towards the dressing table. She opened a drawer and took something from there. It was an envelope. It was a letter. It was a normal, paper letter, addressed to Lily Lemonpie, written in handwriting, on a ruled college paper, punched at the side margin, ready to be put in a folder. The handwriting was hardly readable and apparently several pens had been necessary for this letter, for the tint of the blue ink used to shift every page.
"I will leave you alone to read your post. Whenever you are up to it, you may join me in the living room." said Orange, took the tray with the empty plates and left.
When Lily took a closer look at the letter, she saw that it was not only the pens that were changed, but the hand holding them, too. "Oh, my God!" she thought, in disbelief. That letter was written by several of her friends and each had signed at the end of their section. She saw Violet's name at the bottom of the first page, then she spotted Simona's and Erin's. Lily could not wait and looked fervently to see for one particular name. Was it possible? Or, rather, was it probable that HIS name would also appear in the letter? She had already sat up in bed and turned her sheets. It was warm in the room, so she could stay in her pyjamas for a while. By the end of the letter, she started to feel indifferent. Buster's name was not there. Of course, that meant nothing. After all, her friends had gathered together to write her a letter. Perhaps none of them volunteered to go and ask Buster if HE had anything to say to Lily.
Violet's part was somewhat strange. Of course it was. What else could it be? Lily tried to concentrate. What would she have written to a friend of hers whose parent had just died? What? So as not to sound too curious about details as to get offensive and, at the same time, not to sound too indifferent and DO get offensive. "Yeah, what!" she almost yelled to herself. Lily tried to calm down. Yet, Buster had not written. Not a word had he put down.
Sombre and dull, Lily read the letter her friends had put together. They were all asking the same thing – when she was coming back. Simona spoke of synchronized swimming and the Christmas con
test which they had won. Erin told her all about lessons. Germina filled half a page of jokes and funny things that happened around the school. Veronica was nice and tender, she started by offering condolences; then said Lily's position as a captain was waiting for her, Buster had been appointed temporary captain during her absence, they played one match without her, and it was a tie. Lily's jaw dropped. Buster was a captain for one game?!