Scratching the Itch

I ran into David at the mall a week after that. He smiled wanly as he came over to say hello.

"Hey, Chris, what's up? How's Priya doing over in Mumbai?"

I felt a sharp pang of guilt. Priya had been gone for three weeks now, and it was like I had forgotten about her. I hadn't answered her emails or text messages for two days. The ones I had read sounded increasingly sad and lonely.

"Oh, she's doing great," I said, hoping my lie wasn't obvious. "She's coming back a week from tomorrow."

"That's great. Hey, there's something I wanted to ask you. I don't mean to put you on the spot, but..." David hesitated, but I knew where the conversation was going. He took a deep breath and launched right in.

"Is Tammy seeing someone else? She's been acting really distant lately, and she keeps blowing me off. Has she said anything to you?"

"Dude, you're imagining things," I reassured him. "She's been acting flaky around me, too. She's definitely not seeing anyone behind your back. Trust me." I felt sick to my stomach as I dished out these lies with a smile.

David's face brightened. "OK, thanks. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable...I just needed to know. Thanks, buddy."

* * * * * * *

The next day, after our parents left, I told Tammy about what David had said. She looked like I had punched her in the stomach, and I could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I chatted online with Priya last night," Tammy said, as she began to sob. "She says she knows you're cheating on her. She said she just wished you were man enough to at least dump her to her face like her last boyfriend did, instead of running around behind her back."

I took Tammy's hand in mine, as I reached over for the box of Kleenex on her desk. "We have to stop this, Tammy. We're going to hurt everyone we care about. Mom, Dad, David and Priya. It's..." I searched for the word, but it was Tammy who completed the thought.

"It's selfish." She looked up at me, the tears streaming down her cheeks. "You're right. We have to end this." She dried her eyes and then hugged me tightly.

"I just want one more night," she whispered in my ear. "One special night, and then it's over forever."

* * * * * * *

Tammy told me to keep that Friday open. Susan was accepting an award on behalf of her clinic at a black-tie charity dinner at some swanky hotel in Boston; Dad was going as well, and they were going to stay the night. One of David's friends had Red Sox tickets that night, so he was gone as well. It was just Tammy and me, for one last night.

I got off work early that night, around 9 PM. As I pulled into the driveway, the house looked dark, but as I opened the front door, I could smell something delicious. I walked down the front hallway to the kitchen. There were candles burning in the dining room, and the table was set for two.

"Tammy?" I called. I heard the tap of high heels, and she stepped into the room.

She looked breathtakingly beautiful. She was wearing a strapless black velvet cocktail dress that hugged every curve of her body, and which stopped at her upper thigh. Her hair was down, falling over her right shoulder, and her wet lips glistened in the candlelight.

"Tammy, you look gorgeous," I said. I went to hold her, forgetting about the two bottles of wine in my hand. I laughed. "One of the bartenders at work gave me these. One red, one white. I told him I was having dinner with a beautiful woman tonight." I set the wine down on the table and wrapped Tammy up in my arms as I gave her a soft kiss. In my other hand, I held a single red rose, which I brushed against her cheek and then gave to her. She squeezed my hand lightly and smiled.

"Thank you. Now go upstairs, take a shower and get dressed. Something nice. Then we can eat."

I showered and got dressed into my one suit, a charcoal grey pinstriped number that Dad had picked out for me. As I came down the stairs, I saw that Tammy had already served dinner. I walked up behind her and kissed her on her bare shoulder as she reached up with her hand and caressed my face. Soft music was playing on the stereo in the background.

"It smells delicious," I said. "What are we having?"

"Filet of sole in white wine sauce, saffron rice with parmesan cheese and steamed broccoli and carrots with lemon vinaigrette." She raised her eyebrows for effect. "And brownies and ice cream for dessert."

"You made all this?" I asked, incredulously. "I've never even seen you boil water."

"See? After all this time, and we're still learning about each other," Tammy said.

After dinner, Tammy looked across the table at me, and smiled coyly, waving her rose at me. "Aren't you going to ask me to dance?"

I got up and walked over to her side of the table, taking her proffered hand. "May I have this dance?"

Tammy giggled. "I thought you'd never ask."

We held each other close as we swayed to the music. Tammy laid her head against my chest and sighed.

"I wanted tonight to be special. Promise me you will remember this."

"I will always remember you, just the way you are right now," I said. I lifted her chin and softly kissed her, and then led her upstairs to my bed, one last time.

* * * * * * *

When I woke up the next morning, I was naked and alone. On the pillow beside me was one of those pastel-colored heart candies that teenage girls love so much, the ones with the sappy romantic phrases on them like XOXO or KISS ME. Tammy and Priya loved these things, saving the ones they really liked or that someone special had given them. I picked it up and read it.

THANK YOU, it said.

I went downstairs to find Tammy, but she had already left. The kitchen and dining room were clean, the wine glasses and dishes washed and put away. I might have thought the night before was a dream but for a single red rose on top of Tammy's dresser, slightly wilted and fading.

* * * * * * *

Priya returned home from her grandparents the following Wednesday. Her flight was arriving at Logan at 3 AM, and I convinced her parents that since I wasn't working that day, I could drive to the airport and bring her back. I asked her mom not to tell her that I was picking her up, saying I wanted to surprise her.

Priya's flight was delayed, and it was almost 5 AM when she finally emerged, pulling her oversized rolling suitcase. As she scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face, I stepped up holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Chris!" Priya cried as she ran over to me and hugged me tightly. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes betrayed a roiling kettle of emotions, but in a moment, I could discern suspicion give way to uncertainty, which was in turn replaced by hope.

"I wanted to be here," I replied. "I missed you. A lot." I gave Priya a kiss as I took her suitcase and led her to the Mustang.

The sun was coming up as we left the airport and hit the highway. I put the top down and laughed the whole way home as Priya happily sang along with the campy 70s pop songs playing on the AM radio, her hair whipping around in the wind.

* * * * * * *

It was sunny and bitterly cold as I stepped off the MBTA train from Boston. My first semester of college had just ended, and I was coming home for Christmas break. I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked down the stairs from the train platform to the parking lot, scanning the scene for my Dad.

"Chris, over here!"

Tammy and Priya were standing in front of Priya's hideous lime green Beetle, which was parked along the curb in front of the train station. Priya threw her arms around me and gave me a big kiss on the cheek, while Tammy hugged me hard. With the crush of term papers and final exams, I hadn't seen Priya in three weeks, and I hadn't seen Tammy since Thanksgiving.

"Let's go, it's freezing out here," Priya said.

"Shotgun!" Tammy called out, as she opened the passenger side door for me. I tossed my bag in and squeezed into the back seat as Priya pulled away from the curb. We hadn't gone more than a couple of blocks when Priya turned and pulled into a strip mall.

"Oh, shoot, I need to stop and get some wrapping paper," Priya said as we parked in front of a drugstore. "I'll just take a second," she said as she hopped out, leaving Tammy and me in the warm car.

"Everything OK with you and David?" I asked as I leaned between the two front seats.

"Yeah, everything's great. I mean, I wish I got to see him more, but in a way that's cool too. You know, absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that." She looked down and bit her lip.

"Chris, do you ever feel guilty about what we did? I mean, you know, about last summer?" She hesitated for a moment, and her face darkened. "Sometimes, I still do."

"Why? We did the right thing for everyone, you and me included." I leaned my head against her headrest. "I promised that I'd always remember it. But now, I've got the coolest sister in the world, and that means more to me than anything."

Tammy face brightened instantly. "You really mean that?" She stuck her arms back between the seats and pulled me forward in a crushing hug. "I want us to have a real family Christmas. Our first. Mom, Dad, you and me."

"We will," I croaked, as Tammy squeezed the air out me. "And we are. A real family, I mean."

"Oh my God, I almost forgot," Tammy said as she released me. She reached into her coat pocket and took out a long jewelry box and handed it to me. "Open it," she urged. Inside the box was a delicate silver and turquoise necklace. It was exquisite, but I was mystified.

"What is this?" I asked.

Tammy shot me a look of exasperation, then shook her head. "It's your Christmas present to Priya, dumbass. She'll be so touched that you noticed that she was admiring it, so just play along like you actually did notice, for once." She smiled at me. "I did the rest of your shopping, too. Mom, Dad and me. The packages are in your closet with the receipts. Just give me the cash later."

"That's awesome! Thank you. But why'd you do that?"

"I knew you'd leave it until the last minute, and I didn't want you getting all crabby and out of the Christmas spirit." Tammy winked at me. "Besides, I'm the coolest sister in the world, right?"

We looked out the windshield as Priya came bounding out of the CVS, a gleeful smile on her face. She had a red and white Santa cap on her head, the price tag still attached and hanging down onto her cheek. In her right hand, she was waving three giant peppermint candy canes. She looked silly, radiant and undeniably beautiful all at the same time. And she was mine, all thanks to my sister Tammy.

"Yes, you are, Tammy. Yes, you are."