to Ruby Jardin than another taxi pulled up in front of her house. Tammy saw it through the window and shouted up the stairs, “Don’t look now, but I think your sister just arrived.” Standing at the bathroom sink, her toothbrush in hand and her mouth full of so-called super-brightening paste, Savannah tried to be thrilled. It had been nearly a year since she had seen Marietta, and she wanted so much to be happy about this reunion. The woman in the mirror looked back at her with bloodshot eyes. “It has nothing to do with Marietta’s vexing ways,” she told the makeup-less hag looking back at her in the mirror. “You wouldn’t be happy to see Brad Pitt right now.” “Yeah, right,” the woman replied. “I’ll be right down,” she shouted, spitting toothpaste all over the faucets—a particularly irritating occurrence, because spraying toothpaste everywhere was Dirk’s job. He had equally disgusting jobs, which he also did well, but she decided not to dwell on them, in the interest of plastering a fake smile on her face and greeting her sister.
