VEN THE WEATHER SEEMED HAPPY that I was with Joe. For the next few days, the tourists got their money’s worth. The sun shone warm and the sky shimmered with pure, clear blue. The wind sang gently through the pines and the birds answered cheerfully, red-winged blackbirds chuckling and mourning doves cooing. On Tuesday, I had to work the later shift, so I had the whole morning to myself. I liked these days, since I had time to grocery shop, clean, drop by the senior center and visit my patients, whatever. Sometimes I’d pop in on my mom or bring doughnuts and coffee to Katie and my godsons, but today I chose to stay home.

Digger and I had gone for a run, and my dog was now panting contentedly on the deck. I was cooling down a little before showering, watering the flower boxes that I had planted on the recommendation of Sam, my part-time landscaper. He’d advised me well, and the plants were in full flower, trailing purple petunias tumbling out amid dark green ivy and brilliant pink dianthus. Good old Sam. Always knew what he was doing.

Digger leaped up from his slumber, growling, as a sleek convertible pulled into my driveway. I gaped, water dribbling from my watering can onto my sneakers, as my sister got out of the car.

Trish! I hadn’t seen her since April. As was her custom, she looked…rich. Wearing a calf-length, silky white skirt and matching sleeveless top that showed her well-toned arms and a discreet stripe of her lean, tanned tummy, she stood for a moment, looking around as if she had just arrived on an alien planet.

“Millie?” she called, sliding her expensive-looking, narrow sunglasses onto her head.

“Hi, Trish!” I called, grabbing Digger’s collar. “It’s okay, buddy,” I soothed. Taking another look at Trish’s outfit, which probably cost about a week’s worth of my salary, I pictured it covered with dog hair and saliva. “Come on in,” I said. “I’ll just put Digger in the bedroom.”

Hurriedly and apologetically, I imprisoned Digger, though I thought perhaps I should have kept him around for moral support. Glancing around my kitchen, I saw that it was, well, immaculate, thanks to my morning bout of scouring. A coffee cup in the sink. Not bad at all. “Come on in, Trish.”

She deigned to enter, unspeaking, posture perfect, hair falling in rich waves to her shoulders.

“How have you been?” I asked, self-consciously running a hand through my own sweat-stiffened hair.

“Great,” she replied absently. Her gaze flicked up and down my frame, quickly assessing my appearance and then apparently moving onto other, more pleasant things. “It’s really…different in here.”

“Do you like it?” I asked, then practically bit off my tongue. I knew better than to fish for compliments from this one.

“Well…” my sister answered stoically. “It’s very…cute.”

“Have a look around,” I said resignedly. She was already in the living room, surveying the family photos I had placed on the wall.

“Who are these kids?” she asked, pointing to a picture.

“They’re Katie’s boys! My godsons?”

“Right.”

No praise issued from Trish’s perfectly glossed lips as she walked through my small domicile. But she wasn’t really hostile either, so that was a plus. Part of me wanted to show off to Trish, because even if she wouldn’t say it, I thought she might be impressed. I watched her as her size-four frame walked from room to room. Digger’s tail thumped hopefully against the bedroom door, and I silently promised him a long tummy scratch after Trish had left.

“Want some tea?” I offered, more for something to say than anything else.

“Sure,” she called. I almost had to grab the counter to keep from falling down in shock. This was a first. Me, playing hostess to Trish. Very weird.

“Well,” she said, coming back into the kitchen, “It’s better than what Gran had, I guess.”

“Gosh, thanks,” I replied, putting the kettle on to boil.

“You’re welcome,” Trish said, brushing off the seat before sitting.

Trying not to grind my teeth, I got the last two cups left from Gran’s wedding china, set them on their translucent saucers and dropped in a couple of tea bags. Not to impress, Trish, of course, because that was impossible. No, just to show her that we Cape Codders had a little class. I got out the sugar bowl. Of course, Trish didn’t take sugar—empty calories!—but I did, and I defiantly shoveled a healthy teaspoon of it into my cup.

“You could do a lot with this place,” she commented, tapping a perfectly manicured nail on the table.

“I already have,” I said sharply, taking a seat across from her. Trish looked startled.

“Oh, sure,” she placated. “Um…did you do it all yourself?”

“Well, Katie helped a bit, and Curtis and Mitch gave me some suggestions. But mostly, I guess I did. I sanded the floors and painted and all that stuff.”

“Mmm hmm,” Trish commented. “Well, I hope you know how much it’s worth.”

“Yes, Trish, I know,” I sighed.

“We wouldn’t have to worry about Danny’s college tuition if Gran had divided her house between us,” Trish said, adjusting a gold bracelet on her slender wrist.

Ah, the trump card. Danny. There was nothing for me to say. Yes, I felt a bit guilty that I had inherited this house and Trish had gotten only a few thousand dollars, but I wasn’t the one who’d made that decision. Gran had given me her sweet little home, and I loved and cared for it as she knew I would. At the time our grandmother had made the will, Trish had had her own home. I’m sure Gran had assumed that my sister and Sam had done just fine. Of course, it would never cross Trish’s mind to actually get a job to help pay for Danny’s tuition…. I took a deep breath and tried to quell my irritation.

We sat awkwardly for a minute. Digger whined from the bedroom. I’d rather be with you, puppy.

“How’s New Jersey?” I asked.

“Wonderful,” she answered immediately. “Avery is fantastic, and there’s so much to do in the city. And his place down there…well, there’s nothing like it on the Cape.”

It was my turn to murmur “Mmm hmm.” Avery. What a dopey name.

“Does your, uh, does Avery get along with Danny?”

“Of course!” She looked annoyed that I’d even ask. “He loves him like a son.”

Well, then maybe he could kick in a little tuition money, I thought. Avery was richer than God, wasn’t he? “How nice,” I managed to say. Fortunately, the kettle was boiling so I could get up and make a face behind Trish’s back. Pouring the water into our cups, I set our tea on the table.

“So, Trish, tell me. What exactly do you do all day?” I asked. “I mean, Avery must put in long hours on Wall Street…what do you do when he’s gone?”

Trish daintily bobbed her tea bag up and down in her cup. Satisfied that her brew was the right strength, she dangled the dripping tea bag over the cup and raised her eyebrows questioningly at me. Rats. I’d forgotten spoons. Irritated, I snatched the hot tea bag in my bare hand and tossed it into the sink, not getting up from my seat.

“Well,” said Trish coolly, “we do so much entertaining. There’s always a million things to do, make reservations, research the latest restaurants, make sure we have tickets to whatever’s on Broadway in case Avery needs to impress some clients. Plus I work out every day at our club. And I have to supervise things like the housekeeping.”

“Wow. You must be so busy.”

“I am, Millie,” she retorted. “You have no idea what that sort of lifestyle demands. And I like it. I like not being a cop’s wife and vacuuming sand out of my car every week. I like going to the city and visiting museums and seeing plays. There’s more to the world than Cape Cod, you know.”

“Oh, I do know. It’s just that there’s nothing better in the world than Cape Cod. And no one better than Sam! How can you not miss him? Don’t you ever wish for your old life, Trish?”

“Not really. I mean, of course I miss Danny, and Mom and Dad. But wait till you’ve lived here another decade, Millie,” she said, a trace of bitterness in her voice. “We’ll see what you think then.”

“Well, if the Cape is so hick, then why does Avery have a house in Wellfleet?”

Avery owned one of those monstrosities overlooking Wellfleet Harbor, a massive, glaringly modern house of glass and chrome. In fact, that was how my sister had met Mr. New Jersey; Trish had been organizing a tour of homes last spring, and apparently she’d found Avery’s bedroom particularly interesting.

“Oh, that,” she said dismissively, sipping her tea. “We sold that.”

Digger began to whine pathetically.

“I can’t believe you got a dog,” Trish stated, her expression sour.

“Trish, why are you here?” I asked rather rudely.

“What?”

“Why did you drop by here? Just for a sisterly chat?”

“Oh,” she replied. “No, not really. I’m here to pick up Danny for a visit, and he and Sam are out somewhere, apparently. Mom wasn’t home, so I drove over here to kill some time.”

Digger’s whines took on a deeper note, becoming more of moan. I felt like joining in.

“Trish…” I began. The ring of the phone interrupted me. Grateful for the distraction, I got up to answer it. Digger began to claw maniacally at the door at the sound of my footsteps. “Down, killer,” I said before picking up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi, Millie.”

Joe! Hooray! It was Joe!

“Hi, Joe,” I said, stepping into the living room so Trish wouldn’t see the goofy smile that spread across my face.

“How you doing?” Joe asked.

“Great,” I lied. “What’s up?”

“Oh, I had a few minutes, thought I’d give you a call.”

Aw! Loved him! “How are you?” I asked, blushing with the newfound pleasure of just chatting.

“Well, I’m good now,” he said.

“Aw,” I couldn’t help saying. In the kitchen, Trish rattled her cup on the saucer, lest thirty seconds pass without her being the center of attention. “Listen, Joe, I’m sorry, but this isn’t the greatest time…. My sister is here, so I shouldn’t really be talking on the phone. I’ll call you, um, tomorrow, all right?”

“Okay,” Joe said agreeably. “You have a good day. Catch you later.”

“Bye.” I grinned and hung up gently. I stood for a minute, savoring the sound of his voice and the warmth it brought.

“Who was that?” Trish asked as I came back into the kitchen.

I took a breath. “Oh, that was just, um, a friend.” I stood up a little straighter. “Joe Carpenter.”

Trish’s mouth dropped open. Even my gorgeous, snobby sister was not immune to Joe’s glorious beauty.

“Why would Joe Carpenter be calling you?”

I couldn’t help myself. I stamped my Nike-clad foot. “Trish, for God’s sake! You’ve been here for half an hour and you haven’t even noticed that I’ve dropped twenty pounds since Christmas. My hair is eight inches shorter and three shades lighter. I’m not your ugly-duckling little sister anymore! Maybe Joe’s calling me because he’s my boyfriend!”

“Joe Carpenter is your boyfriend?” she asked, ignoring everything else I’d said.

“Sort of,” I muttered, gathering our cups up and putting them in the sink.

“Well. That’s…that’s great,” she said. “And you do look much better.” She offered me a little smile, and I felt my anger drain away, well-trained little sister that I was.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Just about, what, ten pounds to go?”

I walked over to the bedroom door and released the hound. In a blur of black and white, paws scrabbling, he went straight for Trish’s crotch.

Good dog.