American Woman

The house was dark and quiet except for the TV. The bright screen burned Bianca's eyes and she blinked frequently, not wanting to move from the tight grip of Jimmy. He was fast asleep, as he was normally the first person to fall asleep in any situation, and his chin was on her head with his arms wrapped firmly around her shoulder like a stuffed animal. Bianca was close to falling asleep too; the BBC documentary on Princess Diana was drab and she had had a rough day at Apple wrestling with a band she had never heard of called the Cherrie Bombers. What a dumb name, she though. What was the point of misspelling "cherry?" Unless it was supposed to be "Sherrie" like the name and I've been calling them the wrong name right in front of them. Oh! Now I'm embarrassed! How could I--

Bianca jumped as the phone on the wall next to the kitchen rang obnoxiously. Quickly, she wriggled out of Jimmy's warm grasp and sprinted to the phone, hoping it wouldn't wake anyone. She grabbed the pea-green receiver off the hook and held it to her ear breathlessly. "Hello?"

"Bianca?" responded a familiar voice. "I tried calling the number you gave me but it was one number off. Is this Bianca?"

"Daphne?" Bianca asked, knowing it was her sister the second Daphne had said her name, even when her voice was very Americanized. "Daph, why are you calling so late? Is it an emergency?"

"No--"

"Then this better be good."

"Bumble-Bee, I'm coming back to Epsom! Yeah! I lost my job at this club called the CBGB and I can't afford to pay New York rent so I'm coming home! I hope there is room in your apartment. Is Mom still around? I could live with her..."

"Daph, I'm living with--" Bianca paused, recalling that J. Edgar Hoover had all the phones tapped in American, and reworded her thoughts so as not to give away Jimmy's house. "Just fly to London and I'll pick you up. There's plenty of room."

"Okay, thanks! I've been planning my flight for some time so I'll be departing early this Thursday, so expect to pick me up at 3 in the evening on Friday."

"Daphne, I can't do that, I have to work at EMI. I- I'll send my mate Jenni and Cheev-- Er, Jenni. She's blonde, sort of short in statue, wears leather pants a lot, likes exposing blouses... Green eyes--"

"Oh! That ace girl you used to bring over to the house who always got in trouble? She was my kind of person."

"Yes, Daphne," Bianca sighed. "She'll pick you up Friday at 3. Dress nicely, you know they won't let you on those planes if you're in scrubs. See you then."

Bianca slammed the phone back on the hook and growled. She hated her sister and she knew having Daphne around would make her life all the more stressful. Not to mention, she was the one to worry about with Jimmy. She'd steal him right out from under her. It was a good thing Jenni was so reliable around him.

"Who's coming?" Jimmy asked, making her jump again. She turned to face him as he leaned against the Cathedral archway.

"My sister Daphne," she growled. "Is it-- Is it okay if she lives with us for a while until she gets back on her feet?"

Jimmy was silent, making Bianca's heart hammer against her ribs. In fact, he never replied, just remained silent as he took her hand and lead her back into the living room and fell asleep again on her shoulder as Princess Diana waved at people with that stupid parade wave.