Marie stood at the door, wearing a housekeeping uniform and holding a little basket of toiletries in one hand. She froze at the sight, then slowly turned to avoid eye contact.
Annie did not move, with her little hands holding her towel to her hair. Big Sis was certainly not reacting as excitedly as Second Sis. Was she more accepting of Annie's peculiarities? But did she not say that Carrie had a closer relationship with her, the youngest sister?
The little girl carefully wrapped the towel around herself. "Big Sis, come in and close the door." Yes, talk about it. Clarify the situation. Then what should be done should become obvious. "You're letting the cold air in." An excellent excuse to start the conversation.
Marie stepped in and closed the door. Then she turned towards Annie but still avoided eye contact.
"Um... what just happened?" Annie asked, "This isn't supposed to happen, is it?"
Marie thought for a moment. "The 'no disturb' sign was not on the door... I guess... I guess I forgot to check that the room was empty before coming in."
Annie smiled reassurance at her sister. "I suppose it's good that this happened with me. Imagine if it were one of the other guests."
Marie looked down, though her expression eased. "Yeah, that would be really awful."
Annie felt like a little tease. "Imagine if you just came in as a handsome young man stepped out of the shower, body glistening wet in a steamy room."
The bespectacled sister giggled. She covered her slowly blushing cheek with her free hand. "I'd... I'd probably die of embarrassment."
"And then he'd take you, pulling you in for a passionate kiss..."
"Oh, please stop!" Marie laughed, her face thoroughly red now. "That only happens in romance movies!"
Annie stepped up to her sister. "It's okay, no harm done, right?"
"Yeah..." Marie smiled at her.
The younger sister returned the smile. "Don't worry, this will be our little secret."
At those words, like a switch had just been thrown, Big Sis' smile disappeared. She looked aside. "I'll... I'll come back later. Please get dressed." With that, she disappeared through the door taking her little basket with her. Outside, there was the distant click of the hotel room door closing.
***
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