“Come, sister,” said Emily as she entered the hall. “Take me to the 3-Piece Metropolitan Dining Set we loved as girls.”

Across the dark wood of the family’s ancestral home they walked, Emily and Diane. Emily took the lead as she always did, with her head held high and her short dark hair smooth and still. Diane moved quickly behind her, blonde curls bobbing. Through the open windows came the smell of the family’s garden and just the slightest hint of rain. That was to be expected this time of year, in the country.

The servant’s quarters were off limits, but the girls never paid those rules any mind. With much scolding from Cook they grew up in that kitchen. In their childhood they were always underfoot, and the 3-Piece Metropolitan Dining Set was as familiar to them as the large oak table in the family’s upstairs dining room. It was at this 3-Piece Metropolitan Dining Set that they’d first learned what it meant to be sisters… and friends.

“It’s been so long,” said Emily, running her fingers over the durable rubber wood. “Do you remember the night that Roger died?”

“Our spaniel,” said Diane flatly. “I remember how Mother cried.”

“You cried too,” answered Emily. “And we both hid under this 3-Piece Metropolitan Dining Set, pulling the two included chairs in close like fences made from black microfiber.”

Diane tugged at her hair and looked away. “I wanted the clean, simple lines to lock me away. I blamed myself for leaving the gate open. I never meant-”

“Shh.” Emily held up a finger. “It was never your fault. It was mine. I was the eldest, I should have locked the gate. You couldn’t have been expected to know” Diane tugged her hair even still. Then she relaxed, and took her sister’s hand.

“Oh, Emily,” Diane said with a catch behind her voice. “It’s so good of you to be here. Since Father’s illness, I… I… Oh, without a loving older sister, I don’t know where I’d be!”

“Probably in constant turmoil like those witches down the street in Downton Abbey,” replied Emily.

“You mean Mary and Edith?” asked Diane.

“Yes!” said Emily. “Can you believe how they treat each other? Like harpies! They might as well be having a street fight with dinner knives!”

“Sign of poor breeding if you ask me,” agreed Diane. “I suppose that's the sort of thing that happens when you start arranging marriages between cousins for financial gain. Thank goodness our family has a proper source of income selling opium to the Chinese. Oh, by the way, have you heard the latest? About the Turkish fellow? Oh, you’ve simply got to know, it’s all over the city…”

The countryside was dark now, and the shy crickets met the quiet laughter of the sisters. And it was nearly dawn before the girls made their way to the room they shared, forever the best of friends, leaving the 3-Piece Metropolitan Dining Set as clear and clean as it needed to be, so that Cook could prepare the morning meal. Was there ever a more charming family? Was there ever a better house?

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