It was no surprise to her that Luke was probably the reason that Helena hated Bette so much.  She saw a lot of Luke in Bette.  They both walked with an air of sophistication and confidence—so much so that it appeared arrogant.  They commanded the attention of others wherever they went.

You had one eye on the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte.  And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner. —Carly Simon, You’re So Vain.

“Well, I wanted to see Mummy and catch a glimpse at my elusive little sister. Where is Mummy?”

“She’s on a business trip.  I’m house sitting—we’re house sitting.” Helena reached for Bette’s hand—claiming her as her own so Luke couldn’t.

“Oh, well, would you mind of I hang out for a few days here?”

Yes, she did mind.  She didn’t want Luke anywhere near her—but mostly, she wanted him nowhere near Bette.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

Helena always did have a problem saying no to people.

“Well, I don’t know about you ladies, but I’m famished.” Luke turned around and started toward the house.  Helena and Bette walked closely behind.

**

Bette and Helena changed clothes after rinsing the sand from their skin.  While Bette changed, Helena looked for Luke downstairs.  She found him in the kitchen, making a sandwich.

“Hey, sis.”  He took a bite of his sandwich, “Want some?”

Helena wrinkled her nose, “No thanks.”  Helena took a seat at the counter, “What are you doing here, Luke?”

“I told you.  Wanted to see our mother, decided to stop by.”

“Why didn’t you call her first?”

“I wanted to surprise her.”

“Bullshit.  You’re here to check on me and she sent you.”

“No, she didn’t send me.  I did, however, want to see my younger sister.  I see you’re doing well.  Tell me about the girl.”

“Mummy told you everything, remember?”

“Why are you being so secretive?  Is there something about her you want to hide?”

“No, you know exactly why I’m being so secretive.  There’s nothing about her that I want to hide.  I just want to hide her from you, entirely.”

“Helena, please grow up.  Everything we went through as kids is in the past.  I won’t try to steal your girlfriend, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Fuck you.”

Luke just rolled his eyes, noticing Bette coming behind Helena.  She rested her arms around Helena’s waist, pressing her head against her shoulder.  She lightly brushed her lips against Helena’s chin, but Helena was too busy staring down Luke to pay attention to Bette’s affection.

**

Bette and Helena took the guesthouse as their nesting place for the week, so when night fell over the city, they retired there.

“So, what’s the problem with you and Luke?” Bette asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it’s obvious that the two of you don’t get along.”

“We fought non-stop.  We used to compete for everything.”

“Sounds like sibling rivalry.”

“Not when you’re brother steals every woman you’re ever close to.  Charlene Gomez in 9^th grade, Hilary Butler in 10^th grade, Gabrielle McClintock in 11^th grade, Akiko Matsui in 12^th grade and someday it’ll be you too.”

Bette laughed, throwing her head back, “I don’t know if you noticed but I’m a lesbian.  I don’t like men and Luke has no chance with me anyway because I love you.”

Bette kissed Helena, quickly erasing any doubts Helena may have had thanks to Luke.

The buzzing of Bette’s phone as it sat beside them disturbed them from taking this any further.  Kit’s name was on the caller I.D.

“Hey, Kit.  What’s up?”

“We kind of need you to get to The Planet, like right now.”

“What’s wrong?  Is it an emergency?”

“Sort of.  There’s a woman here, claiming to be your mother.”