White Lies

"I concur," said Sophie in her most lawyer-like tone. "We have ample evidence to believe that the future male lawyers in the state of New York shall be entirely devoid of sexiness."

The rest of the family roared out in laughter. Trudy had to lean on her husband, who was himself doubled up on the couch. Martin too held the handle of his couch for support, to prevent himself from falling over. Mackenzie silently mouthed a thanks at Sophie for diverting the situation.

"Sophie, bless you my child," said Trudy, wiping her tears. "You are a right ray of sunshine, aren't you?"

"Our little girl has a fine taste in friends," Raymond remarked, composing himself from the laughter. "Think of this as your place, Sophie. You're our other daughter from now on."

Sophie turned red at the compliment. Her lips split into her most appealing smile.

"Not your daughter," she thought, eyeing Kenzie beside her intently. "I wish I could be your daughter-in-law instead."

The funny thing about wishes is, they never come true the way you want them to.

* *

November 2012

Sophie had finally stopped crying. Her dress had damp spots where her tears had dripped off her chin. Mackenzie gave her a napkin to wipe the wet streams off her cheek, each line drawing a deep scar inside Kenzie's heart.

"Do you need some water?"

Sophie nodded slowly. Mackenzie fetched her a chilled bottle from the mini-fridge. The cold water gave some much needed life to her parched throat, worn out from crying. The water trailed down from the corners of Sophie's tilted lips down to her dress. Mackenzie watched in awe as fat droplets splashed on her breasts, splattering in slow motion.

"Start at the beginning, Soph. What happened?"

"The reality of what I was about to go through finally hit me," said Sophie. "I kept thinking of it as a wedding and not dwelling on what it actually signified, until now. Now, I suddenly realized that I am going to marry someone I barely love."

"How can you say that?" said Mackenzie, holding a hand over Sophie's mouth. "You love Martin."

"No, I don't," Sophie said angrily. "I never have and I don't think I ever will. He isn't the one for me. You are and you know it. Yet you want to keep up this charade?"

"Soph, listen to me," Mackenzie said, holding her friend's face between her palms and forcing eye contact. "He loves you. Martin loves you more than he has ever loved anyone. Don't do this to him."

"I'm sorry, Kenzie. But I don't love him back. That is the truth and he will just have to deal with it," Sophie said, defiance blazing in her eyes.

"You will HAVE to love him back. There is no other way."

"Yes there is a way," said Sophie, standing up. "I am going to call this sham of a wedding off. It's high time."

"Noooo!" replied Mackenzie, mortified. "It's too late."

"It's never too late for love," came the disembodied reply. "Our love won't be hidden any longer. It will be free, like it was always meant to be. Your parents will accept it. They have to."

"They won't. Can't you see that? They will make sure no one gets a happy ending," plead Mackenzie desperately. "Trust me, I know them."

"Then we will make our own happy ending. You and I."

Mackenzie sensed the argument slipping away from her. She knew that she needed a desperate measure to win.

"If our love meant anything to you..."

"Oh please!" swept off Sophie, disdainfully. "You've kept me a prisoner to that line for too long. It won't work this time. This wedding is over."

She turned around and stomped three steps towards the door before she heard a voice unlike she had ever heard before. It was Kenzie's, but somehow lacked the soft musical quality. It was hard and sombre and betrayed a powerful intent.

"Don't do it."

The robotic voice made Sophie stop in her tracks. Slowly, she turned around to see a stranger standing in the centre of the room. Kenzie's face had darkened. Her eyes were glassy and her brow furrowed. Her hands were clenched into fists which shook involuntarily.

"You listen to me and you listen good," she said, her tone unwavering. "You think the love we shared is strong? You haven't seen anything. It is nothing compared to the love I feel for my brother. You and I were lovers for four years. I have loved my brother from the second I laid eyes on him in the hospital. It may be inexplicable to others, but I understand it well enough. I would trade a hundred of your loves for one of those."

Mackenzie took one step closer to a bewildered Sophie. Her green eyes bored right through her.

"This is my brother's special day. He has waited so long for it, and he goddamn deserves it to be perfect. If you so much as tarnish it one tiny bit, I will hate you for the rest of your life," Mackenzie spat out. "Mark my words. You will be dead to me."

Sophie was scared. For the first time, she did not see the face of her lover, but that of a fiercely loving elder sister. One she was not going to earn the ire of. Mackenzie let her fingers go through Sophie's hair and pulled her in for a kiss. This kiss was hardly tender, but seethed with passion. Kenzie's tongue thrashed and churned inside Sophie's mouth, taking her aback with the intensity. She pulled back to see Sophie's stunned face, still trying to digest what had happened.

"Now go get married."

Sophie nodded and rushed off, her mind a tempest of thoughts. This meeting had not gone as she had planned.

It took a few long minutes for Mackenzie's pulse to return to normal. She had no idea what had come over her, but in retrospect, it made her smile.

Logic and sense sometimes can be overwhelmed by love, the most powerful motivator. Well, most powerful after fear. When love didn't work with Sophie, her mind involuntarily tried fear.

* *

December 2007

"Are we going to tell them tonight?" said Sophie, her blue eyes stared deeply into Kenzie's iridescent green irises. They sat on the ivory swing, atop the plush velvet cushions lined with golden ermine. The chains rocked them back and forth in the gazebo on the lawns outside the house.

Mackenzie looked at her, wishing she had an answer. Any answer but the one her logical mind was pushing towards her lips. Her parents dined with the likes of Pat Robertson on a moment's notice, lifelong Evangelists that they were. The Clark family was well known for their blatantly conservative views.

"We'll find a time and place," she replied finally. "We will."

The crimson sun was about to set over the horizon. The clouds around it lit up, filtering the rays till a dull orange halo spread across the sky. It illuminated the twilight, seamlessly blending into the mauve hue of the emerging night. A solitary line of light split the cerulean expanse of water, catching a yacht or a sail-boat.

"Why do people say our love is wrong?" said Sophie in a small voice, holding Kenzie's hand and softly caressing the back of her palm. "Why?"

"Because they don't know. Their perspectives of right and wrong are still skewed. It's getting better, though," Kenzie said softly.

Turning her torso towards Sophie, Mackenzie held her palm tightly.

"Close your eyes, Soph."

Their eyes closed and their fingers intertwined. Mackenzie spoke in a hollow, sepulchral voice. "We are holding hands, walking down Madison Avenue. You are wearing that azure dress that brings out your eyes so well. Your eyes, those lovely blue sapphires that light up everything they dare to gaze upon."

Sophie could feel her mind beginning to drift.

"Your ring finger has a lovely diamond ring on it. It sparkles as much as your smile. Everybody walking past us stops to stare at you. They only admire, they don't judge."

Kenzie paused for a while, weaving the fantasy some more.

"You are pushing a pram, Soph. It has our son, Roscoe. He's an adorable little boy, isn't he?"

"He is," affirmed Sophie, far removed in her thoughts.

"He's dressed pretty smartly, too. We keep walking, pushing the stroller through a crowd of smiles until we reach Giorgio's. If Roscoe is anything like his mommies, he'll love European food. Did you remember to get his formula?"

"Uh huh. It's right here in my purse."

"The entire restaurant is reserved for our family and friends. Martin is at the door to greet us. Once inside, your jaw drops in awe seeing what's inside. The elegant decorations, the people all around, the laughter and the smell of the delicious food wafting through the air."

Their fingers locked tighter. Kenzie went on.

"Right in the centre of all the merriment, is a large, three tier cake. The three tiers have three different flavours, painted in coloured swirls around the sides of the cake leading upwards. On each flat surface, there rests a candied ornament. We are standing in front of the cake, collectively holding a knife."

Mackenzie opened her eyes slowly, drinking in how beautiful Sophie looked with her eyes closed. Her mind was still in that hall, amidst all the people with Roscoe in her arms now. Kenzie leaned forward and pressed her soft lips against Sophie's, her tongue finding a way in to taste the succulent sweetness of her lover's mouth.

The initial contact took Sophie aback, unable to see it coming with her eyes closed, but she melted into it. Two pairs of ruby lips clamped together, moving against each tenderly. Their tongues played to the dying embers of the sun. Sophie's eyes opened too.

"Happy anniversary, Sophie Clark-Larson."

Sophie simply could not hold back the ocean of tears. The fountain of liquid emotion burst forth from her eyes, drenching her cheek. The tears just kept flowing, with no end in sight.

"Happy anniversary, Mackenzie Clark-Larson," she choked out between sobs.

Then they kissed, and kissed again, each tongue trying to be more ravenous than the other. The ardency of the kiss was exquisite, the passion, incomparable. Pairs of hands crept through strands of hair, drawing the other face even deeper into the sensual lip lock.

"We'll tell them soon. Very soon. We'll tell Martin first," Mackenzie plotted. "He will accept it, that I know for sure. Then, all three of us can decide how to break it to my parents."

Sophie nodded. Having seen a slice of heaven in the fantasy, she was willing to follow Kenzie's lead towards making it happen. Mackenzie was always the smart one, she would do the right thing.

Dinner was a humorous affair. Everyone seemed in a jovial mood, in no small part due to the '49 Petrus opened on the occasion of the daughter's homecoming. Only Martin sat glumly, still three years shy of his first taste of alcohol.

"... and then," said Sophie, her eyes teary from laughter. "... Kenzie here realized that what she had been using as shampoo for a month was actually liquid hair-removal wax."

"Hey!" retorted Mackenzie. "I lost a lot of hair. It wasn't funny."

"I beg to differ," interjected Trudy. "I found it hilarious."

"In that case," started Mackenzie, turning towards her parents with a salacious smile on her lips. "Wait till you hear about her 'underwear incident' at the gym."

"More wine?" offered Sophie hurriedly, before her friend could begin.

"Aww c'mon, Martin. Why so sad?" soothed Kenzie, placing her palm under his chin and clutching it. She dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "You can have some wine later if you really really want. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"It's not that," he waved off, and returned to idly twirling his fork. His eyes looked down at his plate, but he could not bring himself to eat the delicious glazed tenderloin. He stabbed at with aimlessly with his fork a few times, obviously distracted.

Mackenzie immediately knew that something was amiss. She knew her brother too well to miss a sign like this. Something plagued him. She lowered her voice again.

"Is something bothering you?"

"No," Martin lied badly.

"What is it?" she pressed on.

He looked up at her with an all too familiar expression of dread. His heart thudded against his chest and choked out any words that might have formed. He looked at his sister's kind gaze and saw a profound understanding and more love than he could ever fathom.

"I want to tell you, but not here, not now."

"Come to my room at night," she whispered, biting her lip tersely. "There is something I have been meaning to tell you too."

Martin's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He wasn't sure at first that he heard right.

"Yes, Martin. There is something I have to tell you too. Something very important. My room, after the lights go out."

He nodded. Mackenzie reached over with her fork and pierced a small chunk of tenderloin. She made sure to get the side with the honey glaze, Martin loved that. She lifted the fork to his mouth and fed him. He parted his lips just enough to accept the offering. Their parents stopped their meal to smile at each other, warmed by the tenderness between their children. Even Sophie smiled.

"I'll eat the rest," he said, taking the fork from her.

After dinner, the parents retired to their bedroom and the housekeepers got busy preparing the guest bedroom for Sophie.

"One day," she thought wistfully. "One day I won't need the guest bedroom. I can sleep in Mackenzie's bed, right by her side."

She had some work to catch up on, so she took out her laptop and started typing, her mind still resting on how they were going to break the news and how Mr and Mrs Clark would take it.

"Kenzie will think of something. She always does."

In another part of the house, an uneasy tension hung in the air. Mackenzie eyed the clock mounted on the wall and then the door. Every agonizing second tortured her. She needed her brother. She needed to hear what he had to say and tell him her own secret.

As far as Martin went, his elder sister could do no wrong. She was his hero and he worshipped her. Even though he was smarter, had the better grades and wasn't bad to look at, he always looked up to her. In return, she loved him unconditionally, even blindly. She loved every part of him, most of all his smile and would go to extraordinary lengths to see him smile.

The clock chimed ten times to herald the penultimate hour of the day. Mackenzie was broken out of her reverie by the sound of the door creaking open. A precocious face peered through the opening. She patted a part of the bed close to her. He slowly walked over, his head still slung low.

She held his hands to her chest and looked at her brother's beautiful face. An involuntary sniffle distracted her for a moment.

"What's wrong?" inquired Martin.

"It's just that..." she began, her tone trembling. "My baby brother is all grown up. I'm so happy for him, I'm crying."

She released his hands and engulfed him in a tight hug. Her hands locked around his back and she buried her face in his shoulder. A few residual tears moistened his shirt. Her palms rubbed his back gently.

"Who goes first?" he whispered into her ear.

"You do," she said, detaching herself from the hug. "You always come first."

"Okay then," he said, collecting his thoughts. She smiled, listening at rapt attention. Her hand still held both of his.

"I guess it's for the best that you are the first to hear it," Martin started. "You always know the right things to say and right things to do. I'm too shy and, honestly speaking, too scared to do it on my own."

"Go on," she urged, still holding his hands together. Her neck craned forwards and her ears pricked up, waiting for the next sentence. Every instant seemed stretched. Martin's lips opened in slow motion and the words he had been holding back came out.

"I think I'm in love with Sophie."

Mackenzie blinked. Her brain was still processing these words. She shook her head, just to ensure it wasn't a dream. He went on.

"Remember that day four years ago, when I helped you shift to your new place? I saw your roommate for the first time, and I have had feelings for her right from then. That made me a believer of love at first sight."

The words only registered superficially in Kenzie's mind, an array of thoughts ricocheting around in her skull.

"She was all I could think about -- her golden hair, her rosy lips, her gorgeous smile and her beautiful eyes. Sophie became my waking dream."

Mackenzie nodded listlessly, barely aware of her surroundings.

"I couldn't bring myself to date anyone at school. All I did was visualize her. No one else stood a chance."

He paused to look her directly in the eye and continued.

"Twice a year, you bring her over during your holidays, and twice a year, I want to go up to her and tell her how I feel. But I can't."

Martin's tone was breaking up. A hint of moisture appeared in the corner of his eyes.

"I can't, Kenzie. I just can't. I'm too scared. I'm scared she'll turn me down and it will break my heart. I'm scared you will lose your best friend because of it. I'm so scared, Kenzie, so so scared."

A tear drop dripped off his chin, but Mackenzie caught it before it touched his arm. Her delicate fingers reached up and wiped the wet trail away, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"This is probably my last chance. I will be going to MIT in the fall and the two of you will have jobs. Who knows how long it will be before we even meet again?"

Mackenzie smiled. She knew precisely what to do, but she had to make sure. Holding his chin in her palm, she asked him softly.

"Are you sure you're in love with Sophie?"

"More sure than I have been of anything in my life."

That was all she needed to hear. The heartburn of her choice segued into the warm glow of knowing she had another chance to make her brother smile. Her mind was willing to go through the sorrow, for a greater good, but there was another factor at play -- Sophie.

"Do you want me to ask her out for you?" she said, her heart shattering to pieces at the mere thought of losing Sophie.

His eyes shot up disbelievingly at hers.

"You would?"

"Of course, I would," Mackenzie replied plainly, masking the pain she felt inside. "I would do anything for you."

Martin smiled. He wasn't especially religious, but in that moment, he thanked a nameless deity for giving him the gift of such a sister. He hugged her tightly. Mackenzie could feel droplets trickling down her cheeks. Whether they were of sorrow or joy, she didn't know.

"Go to the guest room and tell Sophie I want to talk to her. Just tell her this."

Martin nodded, his eyes gleaming with gratitude.

"What about your problem?"

"It can wait," she brushed off casually. "Wasn't that important anyway."

"Are you sure? It sounded important at dinner."

"Nah... that was me being dramatic. Now go."

Martin nodded and rushed off, leaving Kenzie to her own thoughts. This was going to be hardest thing she had ever had to say and it needed to come out exactly perfect. A sexy smile stretched under silky blonde hair peeked into her room soon enough.

"You called?"

"Yes, come in and close the door," Kenzie said sullenly. Sophie approached her and put both hands on her shoulders, leaning in for a kiss, but Mackenzie shook her off. She looked into her lover's green gaze with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong?"

"We need to talk. Something new has come up."

Sophie propped her head up on her elbows and listened intently. Mackenzie took a few minutes to organize her thoughts into coherent words before she started.

* *

November 2012

Mackenzie slumped back into her recliner, worn out from the encounter. She needed something strong to relax. The cabinet under her bureau had a bottle of Merlot. Good enough.

She poured the dark liquid into a glass and held it idly in her hand. Her wrists rolled the glass around watching the wine creep up to the rim and back down. Her eyes followed the swirling liquid in the glass, playfully falling back when it was on the brink of flowing out.