Front porch tales 15

Marie asked her brother only to receive a slight nod. Silence fell among the group like a thick fog and Victoria pretended to be distracted by her ice cream. The silence remained until Clara came back through the kitchen. “Did you all get aquatinted?” Marie rolled her eyes and then looked from Clara to Troy as if that was all that was needed to explain. Clara perched her lips and shook her head back and forth. “Well, you girls have a good day and try not to freeze out there.” Marie stood from the bar and turned to look at Victoria who hurriedly finished off her last bite before dropping her spoon into the empty glass and moved to follow Marie’s hurried footsteps out the door. The bell rang loudly as the door slammed behind them. Victoria stole a glance through the window and saw that Clara was confronting her son and he did not like it at all. His face turned to a scowl as he tossed the towel onto the counter and stormed into the kitchen. Marie was already a good distance in front of Victoria before she realized she was alone and turned around. “Sorry you had to be in the middle of all that.” She dramatically gestured to at the café. “Troy has had a difficult time of things lately.” Victoria squinted her eyes in question before looking at Marie who turned around and began walking. “Come on and I will tell you about it on the way back to school.” That was an excellent idea since the wind had picked up a little and there was no sign of a surprise ride. Marie took a deep breath as if she was about to tell a terrible secret. “Well, I came to school my freshman year with my best friend. We would often visit the café and my mom invited us both for dinner on many nights. It wasn’t long before my brother became fascinated with my friend and I was positive the feeling was mutual. But about a year ago she told me she was leaving to marry someone she had met over the summer. When my brother found out I thought he would never smile again.” Marie stopped and turned to face Victoria. “You should have seen how much it hurt him, Victoria, it would help you understand why he acted the way he did today. I really think he was going to ask her to marry him.” The school was in site and neither girl spoke as they finished their walk and parted at their doors. ~ ~ ~ That evening Victoria flopped on her bed and allowed her mind to sift through the day’s events. She soon found herself comparing the Philip and Troy. There just was hardly any comparison; Troy let his pain dictate his actions while Philip was a perfect gentleman. Her mind succumbed to weariness as she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. She had not been asleep for long before a noise startled her awake. She saw a dark figure slowly move toward the other bed and she knew it must be Alice returning from one of her Sunday excursions. She studied Alice and noticed that her shoulders were stopped more than usual and she didn’t even bother to change before lying down in her bed. “Is everything ok Alice?” Alice jumped slightly at the question and then turned indignantly turned her head toward the wall. Victoria decided to repeat the question. “Leave me alone”, Came the muffled reply. “Hey, if there is something wrong…” “You can’t do anything so leave me be!” Alice’s voice cracked with every word. Victoria threw her covers off and moved over to the other side of the room. A few moments more of silence passed between the two and then Victoria timidly lowered herself to the side of the bed and gently touched Alice’s shoulder. A quiet sob came from her still form and as Victoria began to caress her hair.