They had nothing better to do than talk rudely about other girls who didn’t fit their aesthetic.
Pink should be the color associated with hell, not red.
“We have this new chicken soup on the menu. You will love it, Vespyr,” Dianna said cheerfully, and I gave her a small smile before we followed her to get to our booth.
“Such a weirdo,” I heard one of the girls mutter as we passed their table. “You can’t even tell her brother’s her Irish twin. Fennec is way better looking than her,” another one commented, and before I stopped to stare them down and show them just how rude their words were, Mama grabbed my wrist and pulled me with her, giving me a look that meant not to give them any attention.
She heard everything, and although she was the one giving birth to this town’s Irish twins, she was the last one to care.
As we sat down, she caressed the back of my head, then handed me one of the menus Dianna gave her.
“Chicken soup in summer?” I asked, pushing those girls out of my mind and changing the subject.
“I know, it’s not a summery dish, but it’s delicious,” Dianna said, holding her notepad and pen ready to write.
“I’ll have the salmon burger, please,” I said, deciding on something I knew I would devour in seconds.
“Fries with that?”
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll have the chicken soup then. Put some spice in it, will you?” Mama asked.
“Perfect. I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
Although she hadn’t asked what we’d like, she knew we would both have a coke.
Mama reached across the table to pull my hand in hers, squeezing it gently and smiling at me the way mothers so often did.
“I’m proud of you, Vespyr. You know that, right?”
I nodded, smiling back at her but quickly letting the corners of my mouth fall again.
“When I was your age, Papa and I had already spent one whole year together. We met in high school, and just like you, Papa was his own person.”
I knew that.
As similar as we looked, we were the exact opposite character-wise.
I was like Papa and Fennec like Mama.
They were both confident, didn’t care about other’s opinions, and had friends who would accept them the way they were.
Papa and I were confident too, but we only showed that trait when we were on our own, deep in the forest.
Confidence was needed when you lived miles away from society, having to fight wild animals and live through snowstorms.
We did care about other’s opinions, but only if they were ones we could turn into something useful.
We didn’t need to be criticized by people who never lived in the wild before or knew what it’s like to do so, but the sad part was, most people didn’t know there was this thing called constructive criticism.
That was a helpful thing, but just like those girls making fun of me, people didn’t know better.
“Do you miss Papa?” I asked.
“Of course I miss him. And I miss Fennec too.”
“Then why don’t you come live with us for the summer? I know they miss you too, and you won’t leave town anyway.”
She laughed softly and shook her head. “You know I can’t live in a tent for that long,” she told me.
“We have the treehouse, Mama. It’s warm and cozy in there. Please…Papa and Fen would love to have you there,” I said, my voice full of hope.
She smiled at me now, her eyes showing me that she was thinking about it. “I can’t. It’s not my world out there, but I’d be happy to have Papa and Fennec come down here and spend some days with us.”
I had to respect her decisions, and she had to respect mine.
“Will you at least drive me up there?” I asked, seeing as we had already silently agreed on me leaving.
“It’s a six-hour drive,” she stated.
“Here you go,” Dianna said as she placed both our drinks on the table.
I smiled up at her and let go of Mama’s hand to take a sip. “Going on a trip?”
“Uh, sort of. Vespyr wants to go live with her father in Wiseman. I’m not sure I can drive twelve hours.”
“Oh, why don’t you ask Jason? He’s right there,” she said, pointing at a booth on the other side of the room. “Said he was picking up a few things and then heading back to Wiseman. I’m sure he’ll take you to your Dad.”
I looked at Jason, an older guy who’s lived in Wiseman