Sisterhood - Temptation Ch. 14

"Oh thanks," Aria giggled loudly.

Miriam slid off the bench to make way for Aria, who shuffled across until she could spring down onto her feet. Aria pulled down on the hem of her dress to straighten it about her body, then took Anna's hand. Anna's bright eyes twitched in a brief expression of mischief before she took her eyes off Katharina and stared out into the Hall. She strode forward, dragging a hurrying Aria with her.

Katharina turned to the remaining figure now standing beside her. She tested Miriam's shy, squinting expression, trying to sound it out. "Would you...?" Katharina began cautiously, "Shall we dance too?"

"You don't have to," Miriam replied, "You have a drink to finish anyway. Let's sit first."

Katharina looked down at the glass in her hand, "Right. Okay." She set it down on the table, carefully pushing aside Anna's near-empty glass, then hoisted herself up onto the bench.

Miriam followed suit opposite her. They sat for a moment, both smiling awkwardly, then Miriam spoke, "To be honest, I don't really like it."

"Like it?" Katharina asked.

"Dancing," Miriam set her hands on the table, her fingers steepled together, "I have to do it sometimes of course, and it's okay. But maybe I can't face it just now."

"No problem. I'm not such a keen dancer myself," Katharina took a longer sip from her drink. The cold bubbling water hit her eyes and nose with an invigorating sting of bitterness, "Wow. I hadn't realized I was so thirsty."

When Katharina looked up, Miriam seemed to be examining her face. Then Miriam's eyes darted away, "So you've had a busy Summer Ball so far then?"

"Yeah I suppose. Well, there were these..." Katharina hesitated to say the word. It felt a little ridiculous, now that the others had gone and she was talking to Miriam alone, "Er, these... milfs. Older women I mean. We got dancing and talking with them. We were thinking of taking them," Katharina lowered her voice, "You know, taking them to the North Wing. If they wanted."

"Good for you," Miriam smiled, "Do you like older women then?"

Katharina looked at Miriam's face again, hesitating. Miriam was definitely not what Katharina thought of as an 'older woman', but she was obviously older than Katharina. Perhaps she was in her late twenties.

"Sure," Katharina replied, "I mean, they were very nice. Very kind too. I guess beautiful women are beautiful, whether older or younger."

Miriam's smile twisted awkwardly. Katharina couldn't read it, but she worried that her remark had sounded trite or superficial.

"They are," Miriam replied simply.

There was a silence. As usual when a conversation seemed to be dying, Katharina panicked, and began searching her recent memories for something to remark upon or ask about. But Miriam spoke first, "Tell me, is there a particular one that you like? A beautiful woman?"

"Well..." Katharina stalled, caught off guard.

"Your friend Ivy is very lovely, isn't she?" Miriam made a subtle gesture of her head, indicating the direction the others had left in.

"Her? Oh, well. Yes, of course," Katharina wondered whether something else was being asked of her, obliquely, "But I mean I like dmurrhisi girls," as she spoke, she realized that her statement sounded unnecessarily defensive, even accusatory, so she added, "... too."

"Sorry, yes, of course. Everyone does. I was just observing. That she's pretty, I mean," Miriam laughed nervously, "My thoughts tend to jump about a lot."

"Oh don't worry," Katharina smiled reassuringly.

Katharina felt a growing sympathy for Miriam. Curiously, despite the fact that Miriam was older than her, Miriam's shyness and awkwardness rather reminded Katharina of herself a few years earlier, as an insecure teenager, before leaving school. Katharina knew that she herself still was far from awash with self-confidence, but she felt that she had at least made peace with her own persona, could appreciate those few traits and abilities that she was proud of, and had accepted that she wouldn't change those that she wasn't proud of, and indeed didn't have to. Miriam, despite her chattiness and her furtive smile, seemed somehow visibly unhappy with herself.

"You know you rather remind me of her," Miriam announced, interrupting Katharina's introspection.

"Who, Ivy?"

"No, sorry, I'm jumping around again," Miriam tutted to herself. She nodded at the place where Katharina was sitting, "I meant her."

Katharina wondered for some seconds what Miriam meant with her gesture. "You mean Anna?" she said, surprised.

"Yes," Miriam gave her a coy smile, "A bit."

"Well..." Katharina was taken aback, "She's... She's really beautiful. I'm flattered, I guess. I would love to look like her, but I don't think I do."

"I didn't mean so much physically," Miriam looked Katharina up and down, "Although you do. You have lovely hair like hers, and the figure. The expression a bit too. But I meant also the way she was, before. When she was your age."

Katharina was unsure how to respond. In part, she felt a tiny flicker of pride to think that Miriam saw some resemblance to a girl so beautiful as Anna. But she found it difficult to judge what Miriam had intended with her remark, if anything, or whether it was even sincere. "Well, I really hope I look that good when I'm... at her age."

"She's thirty," Miriam said.

"Oh," Katharina supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Anna was Miriam's older sister, after all. "She looks a lot younger."

"I know." After staring up wistfully at the arched ceiling for a moment, Miriam sighed, then looked at Katharina again, "So, Katja, I really hope we get to meet again, later. I enjoyed your company. But I think unfortunately very soon there is a meeting of the coven, which I have to go to. I should fetch Anna."

"Okay. It was really nice to meet you too," Katharina replied. She was at once somewhat relieved that their conversation seemed to be drawing to an end, yet also glad to have met Miriam, despite the occasional awkwardness of their interaction.

Miriam leaned out of the booth and glanced over her shoulder, "Ah. Here she is."

Katharina looked too and saw Anna approaching again. Anna's long black dress swished about her striding legs. Her freckled cheeks were flushed a vigorous pink. Aria was hurrying behind her on her short thick legs, looking similarly invigorated from the dance.

"Come, Miriam," Anna called out, breathless and cheerful, "It's time."

Miriam smiled silently at Katharina, then shuffled sideways to slip herself off the end of the bench. Katharina swayed, at first making to slide out after, then wondering whether she should. She would not be following the two senior girls, after all, so perhaps the natural thing to do was to sit and wait for Ivy to return.

As Miriam took a first step towards her sister's outstretched hand, she stopped and pivoted back round to look at Katharina, "Um, Katja, could I maybe ask a small favor of you?"

"Of course," Katharina replied. Then she realized how delighted she probably looked, and straightened her face, "What can I do?"

Miriam looked back and held out her hand to Aria, "If you feel like it, you could perhaps spend a moment with Aria here. Look after her for me."

"Spend...?" Katharina began. She hesitated to ask for clarification. It struck her as a little rude to do so with Aria right there smiling at her.

"Only if you're not busy," Miriam cast her eyes aside, coy, "Take her for a dance, or share a drink, whatever she might like."

"Of course, of course," Katharina replied quickly.

She looked at Aria. Aria was chuckling gaily and smiling the same bright white smile Katharina had seen on the girl's face earlier, baring her two slightly longer front teeth.

"Thank you," Miriam smiled. She seemed gratified. "And see you later I hope," she turned and was led away by Anna, who gave only a faint toss of her head in acknowledgment as she departed.