Chapter 4
It was a nice day – that was the first thing that Lucia noticed when she woke up that morning. Sun shined down on her face as she stirred awake. After stretching, she climbed from her bed and opened her bedroom window. A small sigh left her lips as she smelled the fresh morning breeze. She could taste the moistness in the air.
Lucia wondered if it was a good morning for a walk around the block, or down to the park in which she hadn’t been to yet. She soon began to get dressed and ready for the day.
“Good morning,” a thick voice came as Lucia ran her turquoise brush through her dark hair. She looked up to find Vance smiling at her. A grin appeared on her lips.
“Morning, Van,” she replied. Recently, she had started making up nicknames for things and people – even the flowers in her room. She’d read that it was good to talk to your plants.
“Hmm…I like that nickname. I think it suits me,” Vance teased his sister. He kissed her forehead softly. “Any plans for today?” He balanced himself on Lucia’s night stand. They had gotten her a new bed of her choice off of the internet.
Meanwhile, Lucinda was downstairs researching. She was a journalist for the local newspaper – where she’d been working for the past fifteen years. She’d always loved to write and read. Currently, she was reading a novel by Daniel Greene.
“Jon,” Lucinda called, “do you think Lucia would like if we picked up some flowers or seeds?” She wondered. Vance had been telling them many things about her – she wished that she could be the one to talk to others.
Since her daughter had been home she’d said less than ten words to Lucinda. It broke her heart, even though she understood why she wasn’t talking to her. She knew she had to find a way to bond with Lucia.
“She’d like that, I know it, love,” Jon replied, placing a hand on each of his wife’s shoulders. “Vance says she likes the mums. Maybe try some Sunflowers – those are nice.”
Lucinda agreed and left for the store before Lucia came down the stairs. “Morning, kids,” Jon said as he made his way to the kitchen. He took out a large pan. While his wife wrote, Jon cooked. He was a chef at an Italian restaurant. He enjoyed cooking for everyone and anyone.
**
Soon, Lucinda returned home. Lucia, Vance, and Jon sat at the table, eating the omelets that Jon had made them all. It was the most delicious food that Lucia had eaten – then again, she hadn’t really gotten out much until this week. She cringed at the thought.
“Hey Lucia,” Lucinda smiled at her, placing the small bag containing the items she bought onto the counter. Her daughter simply smiled at her. The woman smiled back, though she was frowning inside. She wished that her daughter would talk to her. “So, I got something that we could do together.”
Lucia tilted her head, her black hair falling to the side. She wondered what her mother had gotten – and if she wanted to accept doing anything with her. The truth was, throughout the week, she had only been getting to know Vance. She was only willing to know Vance.
“Well, I was thinking that the front yard needs some color, so I picked up some flower seeds. Do you think you would want to help me plant them and take care of them?” Lucinda smiled at her daughter.
Immediately, at the mention of flowers, Lucia’s eyes brightened. “I’d love to help,” she exclaimed, a large smile on her face. She stood up quickly, even though she hadn’t finished her food. “Can we start now?”
Knowing that she had been right, Lucinda nodded. She gave her son and husband a look that said that they couldn’t help. With that, they descended to the outdoors. The woman had taken all of the packages out of the bags, along with the few plants that she bought already grown.
They decided that it would be best to do it right in front of the house, on the sides of the stairs up to the house. “What kind of flowers did you get?” Lucia wondered, gazing at her mom’s identical face.
Lucinda set out the five packs of seeds, then the two plants. She gestured towards them. “Well, we already have Chrysanthemums and Lilies in the back, but those are red and white; so I got a different color of each of those. Yellow and purple,” she paused. “Then I got Sunflowers – those are very pretty I think.”
“Oh, I like those!”
“And then Irises – my favorites, and Daisies.” Lucinda couldn’t help but smile. “These are already grown, but that’ll be even cuter, yeah? I don’t know what they’re called.”
Lucia smiled and stared at the grown flowers in their pots. They were all different colors, as if someone died them. She reached out and touched them, smiling softly. “I bought a rose bush, Lucia.”
The girl looked up at her mother. “Roses? What color are they?” Lucia wondered. She’d read about those too – they were very popular and a sign of different things. White was pure, while red was romance and love.
“Red – they’re the prettiest you know.”
Lucia smiled. She agreed, though she did fancy the black ones as well. Surprised that she was actually talking to her mother, the girl stood up. “I’ll get the planting supplies…where are they?”
“In the garage, dear. Just on the wall, they’re hanging up. We’ll need gloves, shovels, and a watching tin.”
Nodding, Lucia walked to the side of the house and into the side door of the garage. From the outside, it looked small and dinky, but from the inside it was large. She looked around at the numerous tools scattered along the walls. A silver Slug Bug that Lucia recognized as Lucinda’s was seated in the middle, taking very little room from the garage itself.
After another moment of looking around, Lucia found the items she needed and walked back out into the yard. It wasn’t too cold that day, and she was glad that it wasn’t supposed to rain. It was the perfect day for gardening.
“Ready?” Lucinda asked after Lucia had put on her gloves. She nodded in response and the mother and daughter began to garden and plant the seeds in which would grow into beautiful plants – they hoped.
**
Dinner cooked as the Patton family sat at the dinner table. It was odd for Lucinda to be cooking, let alone cooking a large meal. Usually, the family would have small meals that only fed them all for one night – maybe leaving occasional leftovers; but tonight, they were having a meal that could last three days. Lucia was becoming suspicious.
Lucinda moved into the dining room, placing the food onto the table. Vance sat up eagerly, watching as his mother sat down. He grabbed for the mashed potatoes but before he could, Lucinda smacked his hand away. “Wait,” she said as he pulled his hand back.
“Ow, mom! What the hell?” Vance said, faking a pouting face.
The doorbell rang and Lucinda gave her son a sharp look. “Wait until everyone is here. That should be him.”
Lucia tensed at the sound of this – had they invited someone over without her knowledge? Shivers were sent down the girl’s back. Vance must have sensed it, because he reached over and touched her arm as she heard the door open.
In stepped a handsome, tall man. He was taller than Vance, but looked near the same age. His hair was a shaggy blonde. His skin made Lucia think of the people she’d once seen on television from Hawaii. He reminded her of a surfer. It wasn’t until the man came closer when Lucia could make out the color of his Andromeda green eyes. Her heart skipped a beat, though she was nervous.
“Lucia, this is Mason Harris, Vance’s very good friend,” Lucinda said, gesturing towards the boy as he took the seat across from Lucia. “We invited him over for dinner.”
Obviously, Lucia thought. Her stomach churned and she looked away from the handsome man. “Hello,” Mason said to her. She didn’t respond.
“She’s a bit shy,” Jon told him as Vance dug into the food instantaneously.
“Understandable,” Mason replied. His eyes stayed on Lucia. He was shocked by the looks of her.
“She looks so much like you, Mrs. Patton.”
“What have I told you about that, Mason? It’s Lucinda. I won’t having family call me such a formal name.”
Lucia was becoming irritated – why were they talking about her like she wasn’t even there? She wrapped her arms around herself and pushed her chair out, running out the back door.
It was dark, but she could still make out her flowers, looking as though they were sleeping. She walked towards them and fell to the ground, shivering at the slight chill in the air. She regretted not grabbing a jacket before she came out.
Lucia closed her blue eyes, wondering why her family would do this to her. She’d had such a wonderful day with Lucinda, yet she decided to turn her back on her daughter? Tears formed in the girl’s eyes as she stroked her Lilies gingerly.
“Hello,” she said to them, “you’d never hurt me, would you Issy?” Lucia said to the one in which she named so.
“No, and I’m sure mom and dad didn’t either,” a voice came, causing Lucia to jump. She knew the voice well enough to call it out.
Vance walked to her side and draped a blanket over her shoulders. Lucia accepted it and held it around her as her brother sat down beside her. “I’m sorry,” he said.
Lucia kept her eyes closed – she wouldn’t let him get out of this. What did they think she was? One thing was for sure – she knew that she couldn’t be around that guy. Wasn’t her family enough? Why did she need anyone else?
“Mason won’t hurt you and I know you don’t care, but he’s a nice guy. He’s my best friend.” Vance claimed. Lucia simply turned her back, staring at Issy and her sisters. She just wanted to be happy; she wanted to go to her real home. Why couldn’t things just be like before when it was just Josh and her? Lucia frowned because she knew it would never be like that again.
“Please, Lucy,” Vance said, noticing that the girl winced when he spoke her nickname. “Give him a chance.”
“I don’t want to give him a fucking chance!” Lucia yelled angrily. “They took me away from my home to meet you bloody people! I don’t know you; I don’t know any of you!” She screamed, tears running down her pale face, which was whiter than usual.
“Lucia, I…what did that man do to-“
“Joshua was sweet to me! He loved me, he loves me dearly!” Lucia let out a small sob and Vance moved closer to her, attempting to wrap his arms around his little sister. “Don’t touch me,” she whispered as she spun around and ran back into the house. She slammed the door behind her as she walked into the dining room. She took another glance at her family and Mason before running up the stairs and into her room.
It wasn’t until she closed the door and locked it when she let out the loudest sob. She wanted to see Joshua – she wanted him to hold her and tell her that he loved her like he use to do…before he began drinking.
Lucia reached for her stuffed elephant and hugged her to her chest, closing her eyes once again. And this is how her night would end – crying and wishing she were home. She didn’t care that she was with her real family…it didn’t feel like she was at home