Great Girls(Victoria Pedretti)

C. 21🕰

"How many cubes do you want?" I queried Luci, referring to the three sugar cubes that I managed to grab all at once as I held them over a tiny teacup of jasmine tea.

"Three is fine," she answered. Ah, just the right amount.

I dropped the cubes into the cup and allowed them to dissolve as I picked up the teaspoon from the white-tiled counter.

I went over to the fridge to grab some milk for Luci. I figured she might like some since she had some last night before bed. Opening the right door of the refrigerator, I said, "I think I saw some oat milk in there if you want that, or do you prefer—"

Out of the blue, Luci asked me, "Do you think he still loves me?"

Paralysis had taken over my body, and I wouldn't budge. I stared at the carton of egg whites in the fridge as I tried to think of a way to answer her query.

I closed the door and strolled from the kitchen to the living room, which happened to be in the same room together.

"He didn't say that he did, but he...practically drank himself to demise because of me. I think he's still hung up on me and is using alcohol as a means to cope with the tragic ending to our love story. But that's the thing, " she shared, gazing into space while she was sitting with her legs crossed on her grandmother's yellow sofa.

I sat down beside her, resting my arm on the cushion. "What's the thing?" "When he and I were a thing, we were never serious. We were the iceberg, and our relationship was the Titanic."

I chuckled, holding in my laughter, giving Luci the wrong idea that I was making fun of her because her expression hardened. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to mock you. I just...I can't put my finger on why everyone compares a relationship to a horrific and historical event. You know, why associate dying people with love? It's not the same."

Luci giggled to herself as her eyes dropped to her red and black plaid pajama shorts with black strings attached to the holes. "It is the same," she softly spoke as I tilted my head in incredulity. Her eyes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly when she stopped to gaze at me.

"Someone dying in a tragic case is equivalent to the love you used to have for someone that just dies right before your eyes. The only difference is those people on the ship couldn't choose when and where the iceberg would hit them. But I could. I could..." she stopped.

My softhearted instincts forced me to give Luci's dainty knee a light squeeze as I rubbed it in comfort.

"I could've chosen to save mine and Theo's relationship, but I was so ludicrous. I pushed him away when he needed me the most because I put my needs and happiness before him, " she confided as her cheeks flushed with dismay.

I sensed she was about to cry, so I did the only thing that I felt was right, not considering that she might respond differently to my approach to cheer her up.

My mother always told me that I was terrible at comforting sad people, and she was right. I mean, did I solace Luci up when she couldn't find the elephant cutter, yes. But that doesn't make me a saint.

I got up from the tan jute rug and paced to the Currier Spinet, whose white keys were aging with a tint of beige. I slid my fingertips across the surface delicately.

I put one hand on the piano keys, and from there, it was magic. A spell had fallen upon me; I pulled the bench out from under the piano and sat down, becoming possessed by the music that was coming from the piano.

I played a funny little tune that the professor used to play a lot on the piano when my sister and I were evolving back then. My mother tried to get both of us to play it, but only one child thrived in that department, and it wasn't me. Sure, I can sing, but I can't play an instrument for the life of me.

Then, I began singing the sweet but oh-so-humorous lyrics.

"I used to pray to a funny little fat man.
Til I found out he was Santa Claus.
'Cause Saint Nick never brought shit."

While I was striving to take away some of that negative energy in the atmosphere by roleplaying a composer, I heard footsteps patter on the floor, followed by an extra weight being added to the bench.

She relaxed her tiny head on my shoulder and scooted closer to me as I proceeded to sing.

"And there I go cursin' again.I'm my only friend, and I'm definitely my very worst enemy.
It kinda triggers a memory; let's bring it back to 83
When I ate a watermelon, swallowed the seeds
Suddenly there was a watermelon growin' in my tummy.
I skipped a jump rope every time I jumped up.
I heard a rattle that sounded like a tambourine."

It was only then I discovered that my appointment to see my doctor, which I begged my mother to set up a week ago because my anxiety crept up on me while I was on the phone with the receptionist, was today at nine, and it was eight forty-seven.

I stopped myself from singing any more of Little Jackie's "28 Butts" "I got —to go see Dolly," I said, springing up from the seat as I ran away from the piano and out of the living room.

I nearly fell on my face, running up the staircase, when Luci screamed, "Dolly?! As in Dolly Parton?!"

"No, I'm meeting with my doctor. His name is Dr. Dolly!" "Isn't that a girl's name?!"

Halting and holding onto the stairs' arm, I stuck my head out from under the ceiling. "Honey, with my name and the century that we live in, names no longer conform to certain genders."

a/n i hope all is well with you guys and you're staying at home, where you'll be less at risk of getting covid-19, unlike a couple of toddlers who just so happened to throw tantrums because they can't have their way. i'm not naming any names, but couldn't be me. anyway, i just wanted to clarify that the time zone takes place in the middle of the twenty-first century. okay, i hope that clears things up for those who are confused.

thank you so much for reading. please don't forget to vote, comment, and share.

have a good night.

-nabi