The Talk Who: Marie and Nora Where: Their house When: Tuesday Morning
Marie got home from work late, but Nora wasn’t there. And she wasn’t there even later than that. Marie eventually fell asleep on the couch, books out around her, an obvious attempt to understand people that required cleaning out the library of all the self-help books on relationships, what men want, and even two books on the kama sutra, though those had been given up on and were set aside. The last one she’d fallen asleep on, face sticking to the page a little.
As soon as she’d pried herself away from Peter, Nora had felt guilty. Not about the night, but because she hadn’t told Marie that she’d thought she’d stay over. Because she’d never ever thought that in her right mind she’d decide to stay over at Peter’s. Hurrying home, Nora tucked a piece of flyaway hair from her face and opened the door to their house to see Marie on the couch, snoozing. She softened a little and moved toward her sister, reaching for a blanket on the edge of the couch to drape it over Marie’s body.
Marie snuggled under the blanket for a moment then shifted and felt the book move with her, which woke her up. She looked around, pulling at the blanket, then sat up. “Nor?” she asked, voice still thick with sleep.
Shit. She hadn’t meant to wake her up. “Hey, Bug. I’m here,” She said, kneeling down in front of her so that she could smile at her sister and reach up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “Go back to sleep.”
Sitting up more Marie rubbed at her eyes. “I’m okay,” she said softly. “Where were you? What time is it?” She looked around, surprised that it was light outside. That was weird. “Did your shift run over?”
“...Not exactly,” She said, looking back at her sister before sitting down on the floor in front of her. “...I was with Peter,” She answered, simply, because she had no idea how else to phrase it. How to tell her she’d spent the night away from home to learn how to let someone touch her again, when she’d been even so concerned about doing it around Marie sometimes.
Marie blinked a few times, trying to wake up completely. “You don’t like Peter…” She didn’t think she did at least. “And you were with him all night?” That was different and had Marie reaching for one of the books she’d been reading. That meant something right?
Nora looked around at the books when she reached for them and narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to start up Destruction Island’s first Cosmo magazine?” She asked, poking at one of them. “I..don’t not like Peter,” She answered, looking back at her sister. “I was with him all night, yeah…”
“No I’m trying to figure these sort of things out. And I’m not having any luck.” Not after reading so much. “You didn’t like Peter. What changed?” she asked not seeing that in a book. “Nora I don’t know what any of that means. You know I don’t know what that means.”
Nora sighed and ran her hands over her face, gloveless. “We had sex,” She admitted, taking a moment to cross her legs under her and then look sheepishly back at her sister. “And I’m awful because I didn’t tell you I was going to be out all night and I’m so sorry.”
Marie stared at her sister, then set the book she had aside and reached for another on sex. “You have to touch him to have sex with him right?” That was when she noticed the gloves. Or the lack of gloves really. “You don’t have to apologize. I just thought you got caught at work.” But instead Nora was out on a date. That didn’t quite make sense to Marie. Nora didn’t really date. At least not much.
“Yeah, touch is involved,” Nora said, now feeling really guilty for not only being a bad sister, but being a bad influence too. She really should have had a stronger talk with Marie about sex… “He wasn’t hurt, though, and...I don’t know…” Sighing, she reached for Marie, moving the book away and holding her hands whether or not her sister had any injuries. “It felt right, Marie. It still does. He’s...different than I first thought.”
Marie was glad she got that bit right. Because it seemed so unlike Nora, but what did Marie even know? She wasn’t all that great at that sort of thing. Marie raised her eyebrows when Nora took her hands. There weren’t any injuries for Nora to take, but she hadn’t done that in an age. “Different how?”
“He’s not really that pompous...not like I thought. He’s...a lot like me.” She didn’t want to say lonely because it wasn’t really accurate and it would make her feel guilty again. “There’s just something about him...I can’t really put my finger on it but I think we have more in common than I might have guessed. Are you ok with..what I did?”
“A lot like you?” That didn’t seem to make sense, but it wasn’t as if Marie understood those sort of things. She was still figuring them out. The last question made her frown. “Why wouldn’t I be okay with it? It’s not my choice.”
“It’s not your choice, Marie, but you’re my whole life. I do everything I do with you in mind…” Well maybe not last night but still. “Ever since we were kids, I haven’t really been the dating kind. And ever since we got turned or whatever, I definitely haven’t been the hooking up kind. But...I don’t know, I think I like him.”
Marie frowned. “I’m not sure you should be having sex with him with me in mind,” she said. “I’m not upset that you’re dating. I’m a big girl.”
“Well, I’m not really doing that with you in mind but…” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, working out old knots. “Something changed last night, Marie. I stopped seeing him as a big nuisance and started seeing him as...Peter. And I like Peter.”
Marie thought about then nodded. “So you’ll be seeing him again?” she asked though it was obvious she’d already decided. That seemed like the likely next step if her books were truthful. She was also asking because she wanted to know. It might help with Rick and Christien.
“I...don’t know. I guess...I hope so,” She ended on after hesitating more and went to run her hands through her hair again. “Depends on if he wants to see me again too.” Which she really hoped he did or she’d begin to feel like a huge idiot. “I haven’t done this in a really long time. I don’t really know what to think anymore.”
“Well I’ve never done it so I’m no help,” Marie said pointing to the piles of books. “But I know enough to know that he should want to see you again.” She pushed at the books, then looked at her sister. “I wish I knew more. I’m trying.”
Frowning, Nora moved and settled on the couch beside Marie, wrapping one arm around her to pull her sister in close. “Just because we had sex doesn’t mean he’s going to want to see me again. That’s an ideal situation, but it’s not always what happens. These books...Marie, the books won’t teach you everything you need to know.”
“Doesn’t make him less of an idiot for not wanting to,” Marie said, leaning into Nora. “And I know they won’t, but they’re all I’ve got at the moment and I have to come up with something.” She didn’t know what to with the men that had wandered into her life and she was really hoping the books would answer the question.
“There’s gotta be a reason why you have all of these books anyway, Marie. What’s going on that you’re not telling me about?” She asked, taking the liberty to run her fingers through Marie’s hair in a way she hadn’t been able to do in years. It felt nice, normal, and Nora didn’t want to give that up ever again.
Marie was surprised by the touch, looking up at her sister confused. She’d been much younger last time her sister had done that. “Christien. And Rick. And I’m not sure what to do.” She reached for her notes on the books, then put them aside.
“I’m gonna need you to tell me more about these boys. It’s really lame that I don’t know what’s going on with them,” Lame and real proof that she’d been a terrible sister lately. “Talk to me and let’s forget the books for a while.”
Marie leaned back on the couch, pulling her knees up with her. “Rick is...he’s very handsome. I’ve been watching him for a while,” she admitted softly. “He was at the ball, and sat with me without knowing who I was. And now he’s in Faction.” She sighed a little, overwhelmed by how easy going and charming Rick was. “He wants me to help him with his ability.” And he made Marie forget her name. “Christien is...determined.” He seemed to continue to flirt with her despite her inability to answer properly.
“Do you like them both or do you not know yet?” She smiled a little, though, thinking that it was about time Marie started to show some interested in something other than a book. “I might have to meet these two, make sure either one of them is ok for my baby sister. Besides, I don’t want someone rolling in, helping you with your ability if they don’t mean well…”
“Daryn let him into the Faction. He can’t be all bad.” Marie pulled at her hair, twisting the strands around her fingers. “I’m not sure they’re worth meeting. I’m sure I’ll scare them off like I do everyone.” She sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know if I do or not.”
“Hey, what’s this? None of that. You aren’t going to scare them off,” She said, looking back at her sister and sitting back a little so she could really lock eyes with her. “It’s ok to feel this way, Marie. And the books are great, but they aren’t going to tell you how you should feel. You’ll know when you know, and until then you just...be happy spending time with them if that’s what you want to do..”
“I scare everyone off,” Marie said, giving her sister a look. “We don’t have to lie about it.” She sighed a little and looked at her hands. “I like seeing both of them. I just don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t scare me off,” She said, lifting an eyebrow at her. “Well, if you don’t know what to say, let them do the talking. See where that conversation goes. It’s ok to be quiet. You should be you and you’ll find out who you prefer to spend time with that way. If you fake it,” She said, indicating to the books. “It won’t be natural, won’t really be right.”
“I think you’re stuck with me,” Marie said. “It’s not really faking it. It’s trying to objectively understand it.” Which was not going well. “I’m fine until they ask me questions.”
“Can’t ever be stuck with someone you love,” She said, smiling a little more as she leaned in and nudged Marie with her shoulder. “Want to try playing a game? I can be the boy and ask you questions and you can practice answering?”
“Is that weird?” Marie asked, sitting up a little bit more. “But that might be a good idea. A good practice.”
“Eh, nothing’s really weird anymore,” Nora said with a smile. She shifted on the couch and tucked her legs under her so she was facing Marie. “So, uh…” She said, purposefully lowering her voice to as low as she could get it and hunching her shoulders forward, elbows propped on her legs with attitude. “What’s your favorite meal? So I can cook you dinner and stuff.” Because, of course the only thing she could think of right now was Peter and his pasta. Of course.
Marie giggled a little and shook her head. “I don’t trust either one of them to actually cook. Especially Christien.” He was too young. He was probably too young for her, but it wasn’t like she had the relationship maturity level of an adult.
Nora shook her head then looked at Marie, aghast. “You mean you don’t trust me to cook?” Whichever one she was right now. They were playing a game and Marie had to actually answer this if it came up in a real conversation, so she was holding her sister to it.
Marie made a face and looked away, tugging at her hair. “Can’t I cook? It’s safer.” Did she want to cook for some boy? Probably not. This was hard. Much harder than advanced chemistry.
“I mean, I guess you could cook but I wanted to cook for you. Why don’t we cook together? Cooking can be fun. But you still didn’t answer, what is your favorite food?” Nora asked, eyes peering at her sister’s. What if one of those boys was like Peter, with that focus? She’d need to be ready for that possibility.
They were still talking about her. Marie considered it then turned it around. “I couldn’t pick,” which was true considering she didn’t really eat more than she had to. “What about you, what’s yours?”
Better, that was better. Smiling at her sister and giving her a nod, Nora continued on. "You know, steak, chicken wings, pizza." Apparently Nora wasn't any better with men than her sister was, because every man she could think of outside of Peter was some ridiculous, douchey frat boy. "What about your hobbies? What do you like to do?"
“Ew.” Marie made a face and shook her head. “I like to read. Everything. What about you?” She paused for a moment. “This feels ridiculous.”
Nora broke character and reached out to tuck another strand of her sister’s hair behind her ear. “That’s because you know how to answer questions. I believe you can do it around those boys too, if you believe in yourself. They’re just boys. There’s no reason to be afraid. If they make you feel afraid or try to hurt you, you know I’d handle them.”
“I’m not afraid,” Marie pointed out. “Just confused.” She felt younger when Nora treated her like that, but it was also nice. She looked down at her sister’s hand and frowned. “No gloves?”
“No gloves,” She confirmed. “At least, not around you. Not anymore. I can’t control it, but you’re my sister and I shouldn’t have been so afraid to begin with.” Plus, even if it was a different kind of touch, Nora was still starved for it. “If I’m gonna take anyone’s injuries, it’s definitely going to be you.” Taking her sister’s hand, she slumped on the couch and rested her head against the back. “I don’t think you have anything to be scared of, though. They want to talk to you, to get to know you. It might be nice if you try not to let it scare you.”
“That’s a change,” Marie said. “Did Peter do that to you? Change that?” That was interesting and Marie was itching to write it down with her other notes. “I’m sure it will be fine. Or it won’t and they won’t speak to me again. It’s not really any worse than I was before.” Of course, she wanted to see them, she wanted them to like her, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they didn’t. She hoped not at least.
“...Maybe he helped me see that I didn’t need to be so scared of it. I shouldn’t be scared around the people I care about anyway,” Nora said, glancing back at her sister with a smile. “One, they’re not going to not like you. It’s a mathematical impossibility. And two, I think you don’t give yourself enough credit. I think you’ll be a great conversationalist once you’re ready.”
Marie reached for her notebook, not able to stand it any longer when Nora was talking about her relationship with Peter and it was valuable notes. “So you care about him?” she asked clinically. At Nora’s comment she made a face. “There’s no mathematics to back that up and you know it.”
“It’s a saying, Marie,” Nora said, even though it wasn’t really a saying. “But if you’re gonna play therapist…” She stretched a little and shifted a bit, plopping her head right down in Marie’s lap. “I enjoy spending time with him. I...like him.” Was she ready to really admit she cared about him? She wasn’t sure yet. “Ask me another question, Doc.”
“It’s stupid,” Marie pointed out, but didn’t go further. She made a note in her notebook regarding Nora’s answer then thought about the next question. “Does he like you?”
Nora was quiet for a moment while she thought on that one. “I hope so. I think so. He’s very determined. He’s...a conundrum. I think I need to see him again to really figure out what’s going on.”
Marie paused. “What makes him a conundrum?”
“He’s just this...walking enigma. I can’t quite figure him out. I felt a lot closer to it last night, though. But I think I like Peter...I just think I need to see more of Peter and not the person he puts on. I don’t know. Something’ll make sense the next time I see him.” Looking up at Marie from her spot, she grinned. “You can ask me it, you know.”
Marie made notes again with a frown. “That sounds confusing if he’s not being himself. I’m not sure how you’d keep up with him.” She paused, seeing that grin before frowning. “Ask what?”
“It’s not that he’s not being himself. I just think he...chooses which side of himself to be at the times that make the most sense. But I just want to see Peter.” The grin was still there as she looked up at Marie. “Ask me about the sex.”
“He’s a chameleon,” Marie commented, feeling like that was as close to people that weren’t her got to changing their colors. “Well close to one. Not like me.” She felt her cheeks heat up at Nora’s comment and looked away. “Is there anything to tell?”
“He is a chameleon but definitely not as good a one as you are.” She waited a moment, stretching a little as she looked down at her bare arms. “There are lots of things to tell, but it depends on what you want to hear. If you want to hear anything.”
“I’m afraid no one is really as good as I am,” Marie said. That was what happened when she actually became the surroundings around her. “I suppose...what’s it like? The mechanics don’t seem comfortable.”
"They don't start off comfortable the first time but it's all right after. Don't be scared of that." She glanced back up at her sister and smiled. "It's good. I think you'll like it once you give it a shot, when you're ready to. It hasn't happened for a long time for me, since before Peter…and he's good. He knows what he's doing."
“I’m not scared of it. I just don’t see the point.” She’d never been in a situation that could even closely lead to it and frankly everything she read just sounded painful. “Knows what he’s doing how?”
“You’ll see the point with the right person. It’s not something you can really learn from a book, though.” She smiled at Marie. “He just...knows what to do. The most important thing someone can do is try to learn what makes you happy. And he does that. He’s very attentive.”
Marie didn’t get it really, but she wrote down ‘right person’ and ‘attentive’ nonetheless. “I guess...if it happens I’ll see what you mean, but I’m not really planning on it happening.
“Well, if it does happen, make sure you use protection. And I’ll get some for you if you need me to, but just..make sure he at least has a condom on,” She said, thinking her sister needed to hear the exact words. If she was going to write anything down, it should be that.
Marie made a face because she knew that much at least. She was a nurse after all. But she wrote it down nonetheless. “Fine. I still don’t think it’ll happen.”
“Well, if it does, just...make sure to listen to how you feel. And if you don’t feel like it’s right, don’t do anything you don’t want to. And let me know if any one of those guys tries to pressure you, ok?” She said seriously, reaching up to touch Marie’s cheek to impart how important that was.
Marie made another face. “That’s the vaguest thing you’ve ever said.” How she felt? That was so ridiculous. Marie wasn’t even sure what to write down.
Nora sighed a little and sat up, looking back at her sister seriously. “All I’m saying is that you don’t have to do this until you’re ready. That’s it.”
“That might be never,” Marie said, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t though,” she added, after a moment, so that Nora wouldn’t worry about her.
"Good," She said, smiling at her sister and she leaned closer to give her a hug. "Let's make some breakfast, huh?" She asked, standing up and waiting for Marie to join her. “You can ask me more questions when we have some food.”