The youngest sister worked for the pharmacy that my dad had his prescriptions at in Oak Park. She would drop my dad’s insulin off every once and awhile and my dad would make me answer the door. I flirted with her and we became friends. I would see her and her other sister occasionally in the neighborhood. They both started working at Fitzgerald’s Nightclub and I’d see them all the time.
They were in Shanahan’s for dinner with their parents and their oldest sister one night. It was the first time I met the oldest sister. She had a serious look on her face and talked in short sentences. The oldest sister didn’t seem as fun as her two younger sisters. As time went on the oldest sister got to know me and we became friends.
I’d run into the three sisters often in the neighborhood. More so the middle sister because she worked near the Board of Trade and was in the trading industry.
The three sisters were devoted to each other and were thick as thieves. Maybe that isn’t the correct phrase, because they were always giving, unlike a thief… so maybe I’ll just say they were arm in arm or hand in hand. They were rarely apart and always surrounded by incredible friends.
They traveled the world together and met friends along the way. They would go to New Orleans every year for Jazz Fest and could be seen at Wrigley in Cubby Blue from head to toe.
I ran into the three sisters on the day my ex-wife and I decided to separate and probably end our marriage. It was on my fifty-first birthday at the Fitzgerald’s American Music Festival. They knew something was going on from my unusual mood. I wasn’t the gregarious guy that day.
The serious sister took me to the side and asked me what was wrong. I told her my story and then she told her two younger sisters my predicament. A week later I was living on the top floor of their three flat in Riverside. The three sisters welcomed me with open arms and took care of me when I was trading on the lows of life.
The oldest sister would often stop me in the hallway, she lived on the first floor. She always made sure my spirits were high and that I was okay. The Shepkid’s birthdays all fell within the first six weeks that I lived in the three sisters’ building. They made sure the kids had a birthday cake at dad’s house and every year they dropped off Christmas presents.
This week on Halloween, the Oldest Sister went to heaven to see her parents. She had fallen sick around Labor Day and was in the hospital ever since. The Three Flat became quiet the entire time. The curtains on their balcony windows were shut throughout September and October. The two younger sisters were never home because they were constantly at the bedside of their older sister. Remember, they were never apart.
Until now.....
My three flat has a void that will never be filled. If you know the two younger sisters that took care of me when I was low, please give them some love while they are on their lows.
We meet people for a reason. Sometimes we never find out why, but I did. It all started in the 1980’s when the delivery girl from Sear’s Pharmacy brought my dad his prescription. I would never be able to hear the lions roar from my balcony if it wasn’t for the Three Sisters.
Rest in Eternal Peace Dear E. Ryan
