The Suggestion Box (Volume 1)

Part 2: Two Sisters (1)

Based on the following Suggestions:

Names: Tammi & Tina Carmody
Places: Pierce's House, rural countryside
Times: 4AM, Early morning
Objects: Bloody shirt, tabby cat, pile of bones

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Flathead Lake, Montana was not known for many things in the early part of the twentieth century. The area was mostly rural, the towns tightly-knit and sparsely scattered through the wide, sweeping plains. For the adventurous traveler who valued quality over convenience, though, a drive out beyond the limits of the main town was worth the effort. On the far western side of town, there was a long lane that apparently led off into some deep woods. There was a small, little-known academy constructed on the other side of these woods, not close enough to town to be necessarily associated with that particular municipality, but at least situated pleasantly enough so that any photographs presented a pleasing image for prospective students. Then, too, any troublemakers at the school couldn't necessarily wreak their havoc on the town at that distance. In a little blue and white house near this school (on the near side of the forest, down a long lane branching off the road), there lived two sisters and a tabby cat. The sisters' names were Tammi and Tina Carmody, and the cat's name was Esmie. Tammi and Tina got along well enough, but the sisters could not be more different.

Tammi, the older sister, approached her forties with gentility and ease. With a slim, graceful figure and a full head of dark hair with elegant streaks of silver only just beginning to show, Tammi seemed verily an embodiment of those two words. She maintained the flowerbeds around the yard and provided the quiet amusements for their guests, such as reading or art or needlework.

Tina, on the other hand, was still as rambunctious at thirty as she had been at twenty. If Tammi led the outdoor excursions and poured the tea, Tina provided the music and led the dancing. She would not let a single auburn hair on her head turn to grey, and rarely missed an appointment with the hairdresser to ensure this.

Tammi liked to wear soft sweaters and muted colors. Tina preferred bright fabrics and plenty of jewelry. Tammi liked to sit and think about things. Tina would far rather talk about them.

The name of their bed-and-breakfast was Pierce House, after their grandparents, John and Paulina Pierce. It had a sitting room in the front with wide windows overlooking the flower beds and the lane leading from the main road to the little house, and a parlor in the back where stood a stately upright piano, flanked on the walls by two portraits, one of John and Paulina, the other of Paulina's Scottish cousin, Butterfly Whistlestop and her husband, Horatio. Her name, of course, was not really Butterfly; it was Esmirelda, but somehow people rarely called her thus. Butterfly seemed much more fitting to her personality and her appearance. Even into old age, the crown of curls upon her head remained incorrigible. The mere sight of them always elicited a bout of laughter from Tammi and Tina. Out of the four "grands," Butterfly outlasted the others, but even so, she passed away when Tina was very young. Only Tammi carried memories of the white-haired Scottish granny with the garbled voice, and she cherished them.

Against the outside-facing wall of the parlor, with the large windows and pleasant view, was a soft, comfortable sofa, and an armchair next to that, forming a comfortable conversation corner. On the far side of the room from this stood the writing desk where the sisters sorted, stored, and answered the various letters of solicitations upon their hospitality.

Across from the back parlor was the dining room, and beyond that, the kitchen. Upstairs were several bedrooms, two of which had been set aside for each sister, across the hall from each other, while the rest served as rooms for the guests.