The Sisters by Nadine Matheson

42 yet she felt much older.
    ‘What are you doing home?’ Jessica said as she instinctively pulled her towel around her tighter at the sound of Andrew’s voice, surprised to see him standing in the doorway. His blue Hermes tie was slightly askew and he had the tell tale signs in his eyes that he was recovering from a liquid lunch.
    ‘It’s a bit early for you isn’t it?’ he continued. ‘I mean, it’s only 7pm, don’t tell me you actually came home to cook dinner for your husband?’
    ‘You can talk. I can’t remember the last time that you came home before midnight. I should call the newspapers and let them know,’ Jessica replied as she squeezed past him and walked over to the chest of drawers in the bedroom.
    ‘Don’t get too excited. I only came to change my shirt,’ Andrew said as he walked up behind Jessica, put his arms around her and began to remove her towel. ‘But that doesn’t mean I haven’t got time for a quickie.’
    ‘Well, I haven’t,’ she said as she pulled back the towel, grabbed her underwear from the drawer, went back into the bathroom and locked the door.
    ‘What is with you? I’m not asking for an eighteen hour tantric session,’ Andrew shouted.
    Jessica put on her underwear and silently cursed that she hadn’t picked up the rest of her clothes, which were laid out on the bed. After she’d finished moisturising, she did her make-up and then plugged in the straighteners. ‘Not bad,’ she said as she looked at herself when she was done. She turned sideways and viewed her profile in the mirror. She couldn’t remember the last time that she’d even stepped on the elliptical machine or used the rowing machine in the basement. It wasn’t as though she’d got fat; she was running around like a blue arsed fly for 18 hours a day but she was definitely slacking. Her once firm stomach had softened and she could see the delicate folds of love handles beginning to form.
     
    Neither Jessica nor Andrew said anything to each other as she came back into the bedroom and continued getting dressed.
    ‘You look nice,’ Andrew finally said as Jessica put on her Jimmy Choo flats and picked up her bag from the bed. She didn’t reply as her phone beeped to let her know that her cab was arriving in 10 minutes. She still hadn’t told him that Lucinda was back or that she was meeting her that evening. It wasn’t as if they had all sat down at the dining table and had anything resembling a family dinner where they would discuss what was happening in their lives. She looked into his eyes and wondered what his reaction would be, whether he’d be surprised or pleased. If he had any brains at all, he’d remain indifferent.
    ‘I’m meeting Lucinda.’ She watched his eyes intently for a reaction.
    ‘Oh she’s back is she,’ Andrew said as he got up and opened the bedroom door. ‘Tell her that I said hello.’ There was no mistaking the slight flicker of a smile before he walked out the door. She stood in the room for a few minutes waiting for the sound of the front door being opened and closed before she went downstairs. The house was deadly quiet as Lena, who was in the middle of her GCSE exams, was locked in her bedroom studying. She resisted the urge to pick up the dog, who was asleep in his bed, just so she could receive a few minutes of genuine affection from him.
    Jessica walked down the stairs into the living room and looked through the shutters to see the familiar black and white sign of the Addison Lee cab waiting on her road, with its hazard lights rhythmically flashing away. Jessica walked into the kitchen, opened the wine cooler and pulled out a bottle of vodka. ‘Just a quick one,’ she said as she filled a tumbler with vodka.
     
    Lucinda had been waiting for forty-five minutes and was now on her second glass of Pinot Noir. The restaurant was busy for a Wednesday night and Lucinda had quite enjoyed watching couples, friends and business acquaintances sitting at the other