"You just wanted to stay home, so you could mess around with Petey Snyder out in the garage. Remember when I caught you?"
"But you didn't tattle and I loved you for it. I would have really gotten it."
"I bet it was Petey Snyder who put the hole in our fence. Remember that?"
I turned to Karen. "We used to sun bathe, with our tops off, until we discovered someone had wiggled a hole in the plank fence from the vacant lot."
"Ma thought it was funny, but we didn't," I said.
"You had a fit; I didn't care. I knew whoever peeked couldn't blab anyway. I was sort of proud of my boobs."
"Did you and Sarah really run around naked in front of each other?"
"God, yes! And more! We were shameless hussies."
"I wouldn't like anyone seeing me that way."
"Karen is very modest," I offered.
My sister laughed. "We sure weren't! I remember checking out how much each other's boobs had grown. We had no shame, at least with each other."
"You didn't do that in front of your parents, did you?"
"Not as blatantly as when we were alone, but modesty was never a big deal in our house. Our mother saw us naked all the time. We just didn't flaunt it like we did in front of each other. No one in our house was ashamed of their bodies. My father might sit around in his undershorts on a summer day. But your mother Sarah and I were worse!"
"Maybe if I had a sister . . ."
"Karen, don't apologize for modesty," Suzie cautioned. "It's your body. Show it off only if you want to."
"In about ten years," I added, tired of being relegated to an observer in this conversation.
Suzie laughed in her infectious way. "We're corrupting this child, sister!"
"Believe me. Karen is no child. I've already corrupted her a hundred ways and she handles it like a trouper. She wants to know everything."
"You and Sarah sound different about some stuff," Karen said.
"We're as different as night and day," Suzie said. "I'm more like my Dad, and Sarah has more of Mom's genes, but in some strange way we're almost twins! Go figure."
"You're right, Karen," I said. "Suzie and I liked and disliked different things but we certainly loved each other, didn't we Sis?"
My sister smiled her agreement. "We both loved Christmas, family games, each other's company, rock and roll, and sure disliked freaky clothes, rubber boots, most green vegetables and getting enemas; remember? God, I hated it when I saw that red bag coming out!"
"Why?" Karen asked. "Grandma only gave them to you to make you feel better."