behind—a slim girl in a sparkling, skimpy bikini. Her suit bottom was so tiny that Joséphine thought it was almost superfluous. Everything about the girl exuded grace and beauty, aperfect match for the refined decor of the pool, its blue water reflected in undulations along the walls. All of Jo’s self-consciousness returned, and she drew the bathrobe tighter around herself.
This time, I swear I’m going to stop eating, effective immediately, and I’ll do sit-ups every morning. I was a slender young girl once, too.
She saw Alexandre and Zoé in the water and waved at them. Alex started to get out to say hello, but Joséphine waved him off. He dove back underwater, grabbing Zoé’s legs and making her shriek.
The girl in the red bikini turned around. It was Hortense.
“Hortense! What in the world are you wearing?”
In her astonishment, Joséphine said this louder than she’d intended.
“Come on, Mom, it’s a bathing suit. And don’t shout like that. This isn’t the public pool in Courbevoie.”
“Hello, Jo,” Iris said, sitting up to put herself between mother and daughter.
“Hello,” said Joséphine, immediately turning back to her daughter. “Hortense, will you tell me where that bathing suit came from?”
“I bought it for her last summer, Jo. There’s no reason for you to get all worked up about it. Hortense looks amazing.”
“Hortense, go change. Immediately.”
“No way! Just because you wear a burlap bag doesn’t mean I have to.”
Hortense met her mother’s furious glare without blinking. Strands of hair had escaped from her barrette and her face wasflushed, partly spoiling her femme fatale look. Joséphine spluttered with rage at her daughter’s insult.
“Okay, girls, let’s calm down,” Iris said, smiling to ease the tension. “Your daughter’s growing up, Jo. She’s not a baby anymore. I know it’s a shock to you, but there’s nothing you can do about it. Unless you plan to stick her on a shelf between two dictionaries.”
Feeling faint, Joséphine sat down on the deck chair nearest Iris. Confronting her sister and her daughter at the same time was more than she could handle. She slumped there for a moment, feeling shaky and defeated. She stared at the watery reflections, the plants, the white marble columns, and the blue mosaics without really seeing them. Then she got up and took a deep breath to hold back her tears.
The last thing I need is to make a fool of myself.
She turned around, ready to confront her daughter. But Hortense was over on the pool steps, testing the water with her toe.
“You shouldn’t get so worked up in front of her, you know,” muttered Iris, rolling over onto her stomach. “You lose all your credibility.”
“Easy for you to say. She’s awful to me.”
“It’s called adolescence, and she’s in the thick of it.”
“It’s still awful. She treats me like dirt.”
“Maybe that’s because you let people walk all over you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You let people treat you any way they please. You have no self-respect, so how do you expect others to respect you?”
Joséphine gaped at her sister.
“I mean it,” Iris continued. “Remember when we were little, and I used to make you kneel in front of me and balance your most prized possession on top of your head. You had to bow and offer it to me without letting it fall. Otherwise, you’d be punished! Remember?”
“That was just a game!”
“Oh, it was more than a game. I was testing you. I wanted to see how far I could go, what I could get you to do. You should have put up a fight, but you never did. So don’t be surprised your daughter treats you that way.”
“Stop it! Next you’re going to tell me it’s my fault.”
“Of course it’s your fault!”
That was too much for Jo. Big tears rolled down her cheeks. She wept in silence as Iris regaled her with stories of their childhood, of the humiliating games she had invented to keep her sister enslaved.
Here
This time, I swear I’m going to stop eating, effective immediately, and I’ll do sit-ups every morning. I was a slender young girl once, too.
She saw Alexandre and Zoé in the water and waved at them. Alex started to get out to say hello, but Joséphine waved him off. He dove back underwater, grabbing Zoé’s legs and making her shriek.
The girl in the red bikini turned around. It was Hortense.
“Hortense! What in the world are you wearing?”
In her astonishment, Joséphine said this louder than she’d intended.
“Come on, Mom, it’s a bathing suit. And don’t shout like that. This isn’t the public pool in Courbevoie.”
“Hello, Jo,” Iris said, sitting up to put herself between mother and daughter.
“Hello,” said Joséphine, immediately turning back to her daughter. “Hortense, will you tell me where that bathing suit came from?”
“I bought it for her last summer, Jo. There’s no reason for you to get all worked up about it. Hortense looks amazing.”
“Hortense, go change. Immediately.”
“No way! Just because you wear a burlap bag doesn’t mean I have to.”
Hortense met her mother’s furious glare without blinking. Strands of hair had escaped from her barrette and her face wasflushed, partly spoiling her femme fatale look. Joséphine spluttered with rage at her daughter’s insult.
“Okay, girls, let’s calm down,” Iris said, smiling to ease the tension. “Your daughter’s growing up, Jo. She’s not a baby anymore. I know it’s a shock to you, but there’s nothing you can do about it. Unless you plan to stick her on a shelf between two dictionaries.”
Feeling faint, Joséphine sat down on the deck chair nearest Iris. Confronting her sister and her daughter at the same time was more than she could handle. She slumped there for a moment, feeling shaky and defeated. She stared at the watery reflections, the plants, the white marble columns, and the blue mosaics without really seeing them. Then she got up and took a deep breath to hold back her tears.
The last thing I need is to make a fool of myself.
She turned around, ready to confront her daughter. But Hortense was over on the pool steps, testing the water with her toe.
“You shouldn’t get so worked up in front of her, you know,” muttered Iris, rolling over onto her stomach. “You lose all your credibility.”
“Easy for you to say. She’s awful to me.”
“It’s called adolescence, and she’s in the thick of it.”
“It’s still awful. She treats me like dirt.”
“Maybe that’s because you let people walk all over you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You let people treat you any way they please. You have no self-respect, so how do you expect others to respect you?”
Joséphine gaped at her sister.
“I mean it,” Iris continued. “Remember when we were little, and I used to make you kneel in front of me and balance your most prized possession on top of your head. You had to bow and offer it to me without letting it fall. Otherwise, you’d be punished! Remember?”
“That was just a game!”
“Oh, it was more than a game. I was testing you. I wanted to see how far I could go, what I could get you to do. You should have put up a fight, but you never did. So don’t be surprised your daughter treats you that way.”
“Stop it! Next you’re going to tell me it’s my fault.”
“Of course it’s your fault!”
That was too much for Jo. Big tears rolled down her cheeks. She wept in silence as Iris regaled her with stories of their childhood, of the humiliating games she had invented to keep her sister enslaved.
Here
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