Mai Griffin
minutes before the post arrived she had predicted news from
abroad and, at Maud’s reaction, she passed instantly from being
upset to blind fury. As usual, Maud belittled her talent for
predicting news or events. With a pitying look and a superior
smile she’d pointed out, “Within days of my birthday, cards from
Australia were to be expected. The fact that Alice has also
written, from Canada, is pure coincidence! Even without it you
would have claimed to be right.”
Norma choked on her reply as Maud slit open the second
envelope, also addressed only to her. Even sitting, Maud’s
slender build and height, inherited from their father, gave her a
lofty grace that dwarfed her younger sister, filling her with envy.
Norma bitterly resented taking after their mother, who only had
to look at food for it to go to her hips!
Maud, her elegant head up-tilted slightly as she peered
through the lower part of her bifocals, kept quoting parts of the
letter aloud, without apparently noticing Norma’s mounting
irritation.
Alice, their childhood friend used to play more often with
Norma but took her secrets to Maud, often for advice. This
naturally resulted in her greater attachment to the revered older
sister as they grew up. Hearing that Alice planned to remarry,
Norma interrupted, suddenly lifted from her black mood. “I told
you so,” she cried. “Surely you remember? I knew she would. I
dreamt about her standing outside the church with a bouquet.
People were throwing rice!”
“Really,” Maud sighed, “Alice is barely fifty-five and
extremely attractive, she wasn’t likely to remain alone for long.”
Drowning her sister’s protests and riffling through the pages
noisily, she said firmly, “When she divorced Sam, I could have
predicted myself that she’d soon find someone else and I don’t
claim to be psychic!”
In a flash of temper Norma jumped up and started to leave
the room but at the door she stopped and turned. “His name is
Roland,” she announced triumphantly, waiting.
Maud glanced down the page and saw that Norma was right.
At first she was genuinely surprised but then answered with a
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