Until closing time, Judith and Casey worked alongside each other, giving off the air that all was cheery at the hat counter. Neither spoke to the other, however, when there were no customers.
The interview for a summer research fellowship at Einstein had gone overtime, so Tina never showed up at the store. Casey had gone home, and Tina finally arrived there an hour and a half after they were supposed to have met.
Casey let her in. Tina had never been so late, but even that was okay. It felt so good to see her. The sisters hugged each other—neither able to remember the last time they’d embraced.
“What’s that noise?” Tina asked, looking around.
“Oh!” Casey dashed back to her sewing machine to turn it off. The industrial-built secondhand Singer she’d bought in Chinatown for seventy-five bucks worked perfectly but made an intense whirring racket when it was on.
Tina dropped her coat and handbag on a nearby folding chair. “Wow,” she said, taking it all in. The apartment was more spartan than she’d imagined, with only the most essential furniture.
In one corner of the L-shaped studio, there was a full-size futon mattress, and beside it, three stacks of books were piled on the floor. A Sony Dream Machine clock-radio sat on top of a copy of Sister Carrie. A naked extension cord snaked out from the base of the brass floor lamp. Near the window with a partial view of the Hudson and Jersey City, there were two different-looking sewing machines, including the one Casey had just shut off, a stumpy wooden stool, and opposite the Pullman kitchen was a white metal café table and two folding chairs. The closet—large by New York standards, almost the width of one of the shorter walls, with its shutter-style doors thrown open—was bursting with colorful clothes. On the bottom of the closet, multiple pairs of shoes and boots were strewn about—mismatched and their mates far apart. Dozens of hatboxes attached with Polaroids of their contents dominated the apartment. No sofa, coffee table, bookshelves, or rugs.
“What are you making?” Tina asked, her manner curious and thoughtful. She squinted at the sewing machine.
“I’m entering a contest.” There was a juried exhibit for accessories at FIT, and she and Roni, the cheese seller, were entering as a team. They had designed a collapsible straw hat and matching handbag with a special compartment for the hat.
“Contest?”
“I know. It’s weird.”
Tina raised her eyebrows and shoulders simultaneously. Not much surprised her anymore when it came to Casey.
“Hey, I’m starving.”
“The food’s on its way.” Casey had ordered the pizza right after Tina called from the station. Her sister wore a blue crewneck sweater and navy slacks. Her hair was cut in a blunt style, giving it more movement. She’d taken off her snow boots on the floor, and with her legs splayed out, she wriggled her toes in shabby black socks. The Einstein interview had gone well, and she’d accepted an on-the-spot offer.
“Sex has made you even prettier,” Casey remarked, noticing the sock’s thinning fabric on the balls of her sister’s feet.
“Thank you.” Tina’s black hair swung in lovely chunks when she laughed. “I’m employed and engaged.”
“What?” Casey shouted. “Are you serious?”
“About which part?”
“You know what I’m talking about. You’re twenty-two. Honestly, I won’t think poorly of you if you don’t marry him. What’s wrong with just living with him?” Ella had married her first. Chul probably wasn’t like Ted. Dear God, let that not be the case, prayed the agnostic in her mind. Casey wondered if she should talk about Ella now. “Have I failed you? Taught you nothing? The first man you had sex with!”
“Correction. The first man who made love to me.”
“I stand corrected. Excuse me.” Casey was clutching the handbag pattern in her hand. She was wrinkling the corners of the taped-up pattern paper, so she went to place it in her black portfolio leaning against the wall.
“I thought you’d be happy,” Tina said, sounding dispirited. She’d been so relieved on the way over here with a summer fellowship in hand. She hugged her knees with her hands.
“I am happy for you. Truly.” Casey had looked forward to Tina after such a bizarre day. But this was a shock, too.
“Then you’ll come to the wedding.”
“Yes. I will come to the wedding. Of course,” Casey said. Tina was still upset with her about the graduation. Casey hadn’t gone because she couldn’t deal with her parents and went to a Kearn Davis outing instead. It was work related, but truth be known, she could’ve gotten out of it.