Stella

Forty-nine

we're going to be okay

"Where are we going, Mamma?" Stella asked, her big brown eyes peering up at her mother.

"I'm taking you shopping!" Rita grinned at her daughter. "Robert despises it so I thought it would be nice for just the two of us to go." She chuckled. "I would rather not deal with his grumbling."

Stella laughed. It was such a sweet, childish sound. "Me either." She puckered her lips and glanced at her mother. "Can we get ice cream?"

"Of course!" Rita gasped. "We would be breaking the rules if we didn't!"

She smiled and turned back to face the front.

"What do you think we should get for your grandmamma? Her birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks."

Stella pursed her lips and thought. "What about a new tea set? She complained about one of hers breaking. Or what about a cruise for her and Grandpapa? I saw one on television. It looked fun."

Rita nodded her head as she drove. "That's a very good idea. I think they would enjoy a cruise. I'll talk to your father about it when we get home."

The mother-daughter duo spent a few hours shopping at the mall. They were to buy new school supplies and some new shoes for both twins. Rita often lamented about how fast they were growing.

"Soon you'll be off to college and then getting married and having kids of your own." She pouted at her daughter as she climbed into the backseat. "I feel old." She sighed. "Can you make sure the stuff back there doesn't roll around, please?"

"Yes, Mamma." Stella placed some of the bags by her feet, so they didn't move, particularly the one with a glass vase boxed in it. "Mamma," she called, "when will I find out who I'm supposed to marry?"

Rita hummed from the front seat. "When you're an adult, baby. You still have a long time to wait. You two need to grow up first and become who you're supposed to be." She smiled.

The girl sighed and looked at her fiddling fingers. "But what if he's mean? Or hits me like Mr Graham hit Mrs Graham at the party the other week?"

"You shouldn't have seen that," Rita mumbled and frowned. "If anyone hits you, you tell me and your pappa and I promise we'll deal with them. Hurting your spouse is not acceptable, darling, it should never happen. But don't worry, Stella Marie, I have a feeling your fiancé is going to be a very decent man. Your Grandpapa and Grandmamma wouldn't pair you with anyone who would hurt you and if they did, Pappa and I would make sure it didn't happen. Okay?"

Stella nodded. "Yes, Mamma." She glanced around at the road as they travelled home. "Why doesn't Robert have one?"

"Because the family didn't have a daughter."

"But what if I liked girls?" Stella asked curiously. "Or Robert likes boys?"

Rita pursed her lips, her hands tightening on the wheel. "Well, we would just have to work it out, then wouldn't we?" She smiled at her in the mirror. For Stella's sake, she hoped she would be straight, same with Robert. Just so they never had to face discrimination from their peers. Rita, herself was accepting, she just didn't want them to have to go through unnecessary pain. And discrimination was unnecessary. She sighed and glanced at her daughter. "Do you like girls like that, Stella?"

Stella blinked her big eyes and screwed up her nose. "No, but I don't like boys either. They're gross. I caught Alastair picking his nose in class the other day." She grimaced. "They find farts funny, too." 

"Boys are a bit weird. I have some stories about your father." She smiled at the thought of her husband.

Her cheeks dusted a light pink as she glanced at her mother. "But I-I think Ciaran O'Hara was kind of cute, though," Stella mumbled as she thought of Alastair's older brother. He had a really nice smile.