My sister Lisette and I have had an up & down relationship our whole lives. She's just hitting 60, while I'm 2 years older, with another brother, Mark, in between, and another sister, Lyn, 10 years my junior.
She got married shortly after high school, but I knew that that was more to be able to move out of the house and not lose the support of the parents than because she was in love with Bob. I told him, warned him, that he'd regret marrying her, but he didn't listen, and 14 months later it was done. I had predicted 12 months.
So now Lisette could live away from home, do what she wanted with whomever she wanted, and didn't have to answer to anyone. And she still got total support from the parents.
We were great friends, hanging out together, having a lot of the same friends in common, but then I moved away and we really didn't see each other much for the next 30+ years. I knew that she had never re-married, never even had a long-term or serious relationship. I also knew that she didn't have many friends. Apparently she was too much like our mother.
But Lisette was a beauty, always turning heads. She had long, brunette hair, hazel eyes, a full C-cup, and a great ass. She loved snow skiing and partying, though she did have a mouth on her. She wasn't afraid to say anything to anyone. She was also a very smart person, having built her own business and become successful and wealthy.
We hadn't really talked or seen each other in 10-15 years. I'd seen her once for a couple of hours with other family members on one of my infrequent visits back to Florida from my current home in Portugal. We didn't really talk much, but there were also no sparks. I almost hadn't recognized her, but as soon as I heard her laugh/cackle, I knew it was her.
So it was with great surprise that my phone rang one day and I found Lisette on the other end when I answered; not an email, an actual phone call. I figured it had to be bad news (from her point of view), but to my surprise, she actually just wanted to talk to me.
An hour or two later, we had smoothed over the uncomfortable air between us of the last years and had had a really nice, friendly conversation. As it was drawing to a close, I told her that she was always welcome to visit if she should have the desire. I was blown away when she said she just might do that.
"You really mean it?" she asked. "You wouldn't mind if I came to visit?"
"I'd love it, actually," I replied. "It's been too long."
"Well, I've been wanting to get away from here and not just for a few days," she replied.
"Come for as long as you like or need," I quickly assured her. "There's plenty of room and you won't be in the way or lack privacy."
"God, I really should," Lisette said, sighing heavily.
"What about the business?" I asked. "Can you be away for long?"
"Believe it or not, I sold it," she replied. "So the only excuse I have now for anything is me."
"You sold it!" I exclaimed. "That is really cool. I hope you did well."
"They were idiots," she said, laughing. "One of the big mega-corporations that just had to have more of a monopoly in our area than they already had. A few million more or less didn't mean shit to them."
"A few million?" I gasped.
"Can you believe it?" she replied. "So now I've got my serious drop-dead money, more than I can spend before I die."
"Well, then, no excuses," I said. "Let me know when you're arriving and I'll meet you."
I was in a bit of a fog for the next day or so as I absorbed the ramifications of reconnecting with Lisette. I was blown away by the fact that she had cashed out so nicely. I knew how hard she had worked to build the business, having done subcontract work for her in the past. Still, I was unprepared when the phone rang a few days later and it was Lisette again.
"I've booked a flight," she said straight away. "Faro, right?"
"Yes, right," I replied, in shock. "You're really coming?"
"Am I still invited?" she retorted, the same old Lisette.
"Absolutely," I replied. "Email me your flight details and I'll meet you."
That's why I found myself at Faro airport 2 days later with my arms filled with my 'little' sister. She was laughing with tears running down her face. I was almost in shock. She looked far different than when I had seen her a few years ago, perhaps 20lbs lighter and seeming far more youthful than her 60 years.
"So, where's your car?" she asked after we had collected her bags.
"I don't have one," I told her.
"You don't have a car?" she asked in disbelief.
"No," I replied. "I don't need one living in Lagos, so I don't bother with the trouble or expense. If and when I need one, I can easily rent one. That almost never happens, though."
"How do you get around?" she asked.
"I mostly walk," I informed her. "But I have a bicycle and also a scooter. It seems to work for me."
"How did you get here?" she asked.
"Train and taxi," I replied. "It's the most economical."
"Well, I'm not worrying about economics right now," she said. "I'm beat. Can we take a taxi back? I'll pay."
"Definitely," I agreed.
"It feels good here," Lisette said when the taxi finally dropped us off in front of the building where I had my apartment. "Smells right."
"This place is magic," I replied as we headed up the stairs. "This one is mine," I informed her when we got to the 2nd floor, "but I also have an efficiency on the roof where you can stay. That way you'll have your own space, too," I added, leading her up to the roof.
"Oh My God!" Lisette exclaimed when we turned the corner to the front door and she saw the view.
"I never get tired of it," I told her, admiring the overlook of the entire old city, as well as the entire 5km length of Maia Praia and the ocean with Alvor and Portimão in the distance.
"This is so tiny," Lisette said when she saw the 100-square-foot efficiency.
"It's just so that you'll have your own space," I explained, showing her how everything worked, how the sofa bed opened, where she could put her things.
"Now we'll go downstairs to the rest of the place. You'll have a set of keys to everything and you should feel as though it's just one big place, just that this is your bedroom. Be wherever you want, whenever you want," I said as I opened the door to my 2-bedroom apartment one floor below.
"This is so you," Lisette said when she saw the walls covered floor-to-ceiling with bookshelves full of books. "Oh, this is gorgeous," she said when I showed her the bathroom.
I had remodelled it and it was now a huge walk-in shower/sauna, along with the toilet and bidet.
"I love it," I agreed, "especially when I use the sauna more in the winter."
"I love saunas," Lisette said.
"What do you want to do?" I asked. "Are you tired, hungry? I imagine you'd like to take a shower."
"What time is it?" she asked, looking at her watch. "It's after 8:00. I do want to eat. What time are the restaurants open until?"
"We can get served if we sit by 10:00," I informed her.
"I think I'll take a quick shower, then," she said.
"Here are a set of keys," I said, handing them to her. "Just tell me if there's anything that you need up there. This is also a sofa bed," I told her, indicating my sofa. "It's very comfortable. Where you sleep is entirely up to you. Same with the bathroom/shower. You're welcome to use either one. The one upstairs is more of a field shower; you get wet, turn the water off and soap up, rinse, turn the water off. If you're very efficient, the hot water will last for the whole shower."
