Three Sisters One: Algeria

As she washed a laughing Little A, Al was 98 percent sure that her sister was just joking. As she powdered and dressed Little A, she was 85 percent sure. When she was feeding Little A, she was 51 percent sure that her sister was joking. By the time she put him to bed, she was frantic and was desperately trying to reach her sister. When she couldn’t reach Legs, she called Sai.
“Hello?”
“Sai, it’s me Al. Listen, did Legs tell you where she was going for lunch to day?”
Sai was silent for a minute and then said, “Uh, no. look I have to get to class and you know, no talking aloud.”
Before Al could say anything all she heard was dial tone. When she tried to call back, all she got was her sister’s voice mail. She growled in frustration but in the end, all she ended up doing was eating cookie dough and imagining ways in which she would surprise her sister, snatch Samuel and ride off into the sunset. Three hours after she dropped off her son, Legs showed up carrying a doggy bag. She was looking slightly rumpled with wisps of hair gently framing her face.
“Al, I brought this as a peace offering.”
Al knew it contained something chocolate and yummy. She willfully ignored it.
“Chocolaty deliciousness is not gonna work this time, Legs. So spit it out, what happened on the date?”
Legs sighed and pushed her way into the house. She walked into the kitchen and sat down. Al followed after and sat down across from her. Legs put the bag on the table, sighed again and pouted.
“Nothing happened. It was a business transaction. He wanted a painting. We were just going over the details, I promise.”
Unable to stop herself, Al jumped up and started hula dancing around the room, chanting, “Yes, yes, yes, how do ya like me now.”
After five minutes of this Legs stood up, and said, “Well, after this shameful display, I think it’s time to take my son home. I just got him stop your little dance of happiness.”
To busy dancing, Al nodded vaguely in her sister’s direction and continued swinging her hips all around the table. She heard the door slam and danced all the way into her bedroom. She collapsed on the bed and kicked up her feet.
The next day, feeling happy, she did here usual morning routine and returned home feeling completely refreshed. She changed for work and went and opened the garage. She was working on the she was planning on give to her little sister as a birthday gift when she noticed a pair of dress shoes. She slid from under the car, her heart beating loudly, thinking it was Samuel. When she actually saw who it was, she felt her mouth drop. It was Nunzio Turismo, her rival, best friend, and the first, and up to date, only man she had every slept with. He was handsome in a two piece dark charcoal suit with a light pink shirt, looking causally mussed. His short black hair was slicked back and his thin mouth was smiling, showing of rows of shockingly white teeth. His eyes, one dark brown, the other hazel, were staring at her in the intense way that never failed to make her feel naked.
“Well,” he asked in slightly accented English, “aren’t you going to greet me, tesoro?”
Al felt and heard her mouth snapping shut. Now that the shock had worn off, she remembered why it was that she hadn’t seen his deceitful lying face in five years. He seemed to notice the change come over her immediately.
“Now Algeria, it’s been years, can’t you forgive me yet?”
“Forgive,” she growled, grabbing the nearest thing to her, which happened to be a lug wrench, and lifting it menacing over her head, “you’re lucky that I haven’t tried to castrate you on sight. What are you doing here?”
Backing away slowly, like one facing with a frightening beast, Nunzio warily eyed first Al and then the wrench. “I missed you, tesoro. That is all.”
Al snorted but slowly lowered the wrench. When she was seventeen, she decided that she wanted to lose her virginity, and the only guy she trusted not to act like a complete asshole was Nunzio. Her first time was nice. They were already staying in a great hotel in France so she just snuck into his bedroom. Afterwards, there was no awkwardness because they both knew that it was just sex. However, it was when she turned twenty that the problem started. She started to have feelings for Nunzio, and knowing him so well and being a bit bolder, she told just to get the feelings off her chest. To her surprise, he had the same feelings. No, the problem came when just a month later she found him in bed with Liza Rossman, which was even worse because Nunzio knew she hated Liza with a burning passion. It soured her on touring and two years later when she heard that they were getting engaged, she wrapped her last tour and came home for good. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was so embarrassed. She dropped the wrench and turned away for Nunzio.
“You really hurt me you know. It wasn’t just that you were my first boyfriend, it was that you were my best friend, and that’s the thing that really killed me.”
She felt him walk up behind her, the smell of his cologne still comforting to her even after all these years.
“I made a mistake tesoro, one that I now want to correct.”
He turned her around and embraced her. “Let’s become friends again, Algeria. I want you to trust me. And even if you can’t believe it, I still love you.”
She returned his embrace, never noticing that Samuel was standing in the door way, looking for all the world, as if his heart was breaking.

I’m not Italian, so some of the things that Nunzio says may be inaccurate. I invite you to correct me and also any mistakes as this is unbeta’d